bringing home in a 5 gal bucket

[geleen]

I will be bringing home some adult discus in a bucket.
The drive home is 40 min.

The Ph change will be from about 6.8 to 7.8
Temp at home will be similar.
Hardness will be different, but I don't know how much. (from peat filtered to non peat filtered)

What are the latest opinions on acclimatizing?

Should I add some (prime) at the place of purchase?

Drip rather quickly, say 1 hour to triple the volume in the bucket and then dump all at once in the quarantine tank?

I would like to avoid netting.

Your opinions are valued.
Thanks
J.

[Tropical Haven]

Since it will be only a 40 minute drive you will not have to do the drip method. Just make sure the temp of the water is the same as your tank water and then add them to your tank.

[Don Trinko]

I use a cooler. It helps keep the temp from droping and many coolers will hold water. Don T.

[rick.c]

imo the drip does more harm than good !! the fish are allready in water that they have comtaminated so dump the fish in a soft net and get them in the new water .I have never used the drip method and never have had a problem

[FishLover888]

You need some kind of heating to keep the water temp from dropping, or you will just have to turn your car heater really high.

I did the same awhile back and I was using the car heater in a Summer day to keep the temp in the 80's. It was the long drive for about 90 minutes.

I would use a net because I don't like the water in the bucket after a while. The amount of ammo must be really high since there is no filter working. If you dump the whole water into your QT tank, you may want to do a 90% water change right after it or the ammo would be really high in your QT tank, which does more harm to the fish than the netting. Sometimes you will see the fins burn out a bit the next day. They grow back in a week or two but I can image the stress on the fish.

[White Worm]

Drive them home with the heater on and the windows up, set your tank temp to 80, grab them out of the bucket with two hands and put them in the tank when you get home. Gradually bring tank temp up to 83-85. I use styrofoam boxes with large plastic bags inside. I have also used buckets with plastic bags inside. The bags keep the water from sloshing out when driving. Lightly tie the bags closed at the top.

[AADiscus]

You could put the plastic bag in the bucket like Mikscus said and then put a heat pack between the bag and the bucket, this will help keep the water warm.

[geleen]

Thanks a bunch, some very good tips :)

Tempurature today = -17 Celcius getting a bit better by the weekend

Interesting that non of you are concerned about the PH difference! :)
J

[rick.c]

as long as you keep the ph stable then it is no big deal.better to get them settled in than leave them in dirty water for exstended period

[Discus-Hans]

From a low Ph to a higher Ph is most of the time no problem, from high in low can kill your Discus in no time.

Back in Holland I sold ALL my Discus in buckets, 40 minutes is nothing, the temp going down a little is not a big deal.

Don't feed them 24 hours before transport. We ship 2 x 4" Discus in 1/4 gallon for +/- 15 hours don't think the ammo is a problem in a 5 gallon bucket with a few Discus.

Lower the temp. in the tank were your Discus are going into, come home, open the bucket, grab the Discus and drop him in the tank, put your heater slowly higher and they will be fine.

We do the same, tomorow I get 45 boxes in again, before I go to the airport I do a big water change with a lower temp. water. When I come back we just "drop + plop" the Discus in the tanks and a day later they are happy swimming in a normal temp.

NOTE: make sure the bucket has no sharp point at the bottom in the middle (a lot have) your Discus will lay flat and can harm itself.

Hans

[geleen]

Dank je wel Hans :)

Back in Holland I sold ALL my Discus in buckets, 40 minutes is nothing, the temp going down a little is not a big deal.



Thanks all, this is helpful.





D

[troyclark]

When transporting fish for a period of time (usually 2 hours from KC/Overland Park to Manhattan ) I use an inverter on my car cigarette lighter to run an airpump and a small heater. I also put a digital thermometer in the bucket so I can monitor the temp. Works for me. HTH