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article: Handling Fish
Handling Fish
Creating a water garden that is going to hold fish requires you to learn how to
handle fish. Moving fish from the hatchery, from the pet store, and from tank to
tank when you are gardening, in the water garden will be ‘smoother’ and your
fish will thrive longer when you handle them with care. Some fish are going to
be more delicate than others, trickier to catch and will require special
containers when you are moving them around. Here we are going to discuss some of
the most asked questions about handling and moving fish for healthy and thriving
fish.
When you have already stocked your water garden, sometimes you may be leery
about adding fish and the water from the handler where you have obtained your
new fish but you don’t have to worry. The majority of the time, when you have
done your research, you are going to be purchasing fish from a reputable dealer
who cleans his or her water and the water will pose no threat to your water
garden or the fish that you already have in the water garden. If your water
garden is established with a filtration system and the environment is already
‘balanced’ when you are adding new fish, any trace problems will easily and
quickly be taken care of by your diligence and care.
Gardeners that use nets and hands to transfer fish should realize that they are
putting just as many germs or risks into the water garden as the new fish itself
does. There are problems with using nets when transferring fish though, the fish
lifted out of water, the net pulling on delicate portions of the fish, and the
air that the fish is in when being transferred to the pond will add stress on
the fish. Putting the fish directly into the water garden from the container
that you bring it home it is one of the best methods for transferring fish so
you aren’t going to touch it, your net won’t hurt it, and the fish is not put
under additional stress.
Moving the fish to your new pond when you are just purchasing them, or when you
have to quarantine a fish should be done in small steps. Moving fish is
traumatic fish experience and handling them carefully will ensure that you don’t
loose any fish. When you are transporting fish in a bag, you should set the bag
in the water, so the water in the bag will slowly become the temperature of the
water garden. Keeping the fish in the partial sunlight, not in the full sunlight
when you are transporting them is recommended as well so the water in the bag or
container does not become too hot adding more stress for the fish. When you are
transporting the fish in a bag or container and it has been a long ride, setting
the fish in the container for a few hours on a stable place will lessen the
stress levels for the fish.

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