Heeere fishy fishy fishy

December 30, 2007 3:57 PM

How long can our fish live in the plastic bag from the pet store?

I promised my 3-year-old a fish once she was potty trained, and today was the day. We brought home the tank, 4 guppies, and a blue mystery snail, who are waiting in the plastic bag from the pet store until their tank is ready. The instructions said to cycle the tank with the dechlorinating solution and filter for 48 hours, but it occurs to me that the fish might die in their bag before that time. How long can they live in the bag, and do we really need to let a 2 gallon tank cycle for 48 hours? Thanks!

posted by chihiro to pets & animals (7 comments total)

I don't keep freshwater fish so I can't speak to the chlorine removal bit, but I will say that keeping the fish in the bag for 48 hours is a bad idea. Ammonium (from waste) will build up, oxygen will be depleted, making the water conditions very stressful for the fish. You can start to alleviate this by leaving the bag open so that gaseous exchange can take place. If the bag is too unstable, you could transfer the fish and their water to a tupperware container-- one of the disposable kind, that hasn't come in contact with dishwashing liquid, and the like is best.

For my saltwater tank, I use bottled, distilled water, which doesn't have to be dechlorinated. My guess is that you could use it for freshwater fish as well, but you might want to double check with Google.
posted by chickletworks at 4:07 PM on December 30, 2007

Chihiro, just put them in a big spaghetti pot or whatever with normal tap water until your tank is ready.

My goldfish, Fred, lived happily in an old fashioned goldfish bowl for five years, only to be killed by my youngest sister attempting to feed him an slice of American cheese. Barring cheese incidents, yours will likely be OK for a few days.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:35 PM on December 30, 2007

I've used deionized water in a pinch with my old freshwater fish. He was fine.
posted by nursegracer at 4:39 PM on December 30, 2007

They're guppies. Just toss 'em in the tank. They should be fine, and would face more danger from being stuck in a plastic bag for two days than from going into their tank early. As long as you have water in the tank, plus the requisite amount of dechlorinating solution, they should be good to go. Just make sure you feed them very sparingly (take whatever you think is the most minuscule amount of food, then feed them half of that, once per day), especially for the first few weeks, so that the tank has a chance to build up the beneficial bacteria that form an integral part of the nitrogen cycle by digesting fish waste. Happy guppy-keeping!
posted by infinitywaltz at 4:42 PM on December 30, 2007

The good news is that guppies are extremely hardy fish. They are an excellent first choice for beginners.

The bad news is that a 2-gallon tank is actually a lot more challenging to maintain than a larger size. But, since guppies are so hardy, you have a good shot at success. Guppies are a much better choice than goldfish, which many people get first.

The bacteria just needs a chance to get established in your new tank. The cycle works like this: Fish create the waste product ammonia, which is toxic to them. Bacteria in the tank change that ammonia to nitrite, also toxic. Other bacteria break down the nitrite into nitrate, which is not toxic to fish.

Right now you can put them into a small, well-rinsed bowl with the water in the bag. You can use a dechlorinator to treat additional water and to get the chlorine out of your tank immediately. After dechlorinating the water in the tank, you can add the guppies.

Now here's the key: You should have a couple gallons of dechlorinated water ready and waiting (I just used old milk jugs without caps when I had a small tank) and do frequent partial water changes. The ammonia and nitrite will spike in a new tank, so a little fresh water will keep the fishes happy. I would replace a couple of cups of water a day over the period of a week or so. The suggestion above to feed your fish sparingly at first is good, too. Less waste = less ammonia,

If you have any friends with aquariums, you could ask for some of their gravel, which should have the beneficial bacteria on it.

Live plants also help with the biological cycle. Get some of those. An amazon sword or a parrot feather plant are good choices. The snail can eat those, too.

Good luck and have fun with your fishes. Guppies are livebearers, which makes then incredibly fun to watch. If you have both males and females you should have lots of babies soon.
posted by Ostara at 4:51 PM on December 30, 2007 [2 favorites]

Fish and snail are in their tiny tank and doing well. Thanks everyone!
posted by chihiro at 11:30 PM on December 30, 2007

Ostara has good advice. Let me add a bit:

1. Never believe pet shop salespeople. Never. Unless it's a tiny independent shop and you know them well.

2. The "cycle" in a tank is the ammonia cycle that Ostara talks about. It won't actually happen in the tank until you add the fish - "cycling" with nothing but water is a waste of time. The cycle will happen now that you've added the fish, and will happen AGAIN any time you add more fish - so if you do, only add 1-2 every month or two so it has time to cycle.

And a couple of tips:

1. Do the partial water changes, not too much. That should minimize the cycle.

2. Don't even think of adding more fish for a month or two. 4 guppies and maybe a small catfish or two is about all I would put in a 2-gallon tank anyway.

3. Feeding: You'd be amazed how little they need. I'd say about 1/8th teaspoon every two days for your four guppies. Seriously. If there's any food left an hour after you put it in, it was too much.

4. Your filter will get grimy and brown. Avoid the temptation to clean it! That grime is the beneficial bacteria. Don't clean the filter at all for at least a month, and after that you should rinse it off gently at the most. Wait until the tank is good and stable before you remove and replace a filter media, because you're taking away tons of bacteria.

5. You probably don't need a tank heater for guppies, but I'd make sure you don't have the tank near a drafty window. This time of year they can get chilled if you're not careful.

Is this one of those "Eclipse" or similar tanks with a built-in filter? If so, they're pretty good setups and have a decent chance of being stable even though 2-gallon tanks are hard to keep. If you're very conservative about adding fish and feeding, you'll be fine.
posted by mmoncur at 2:35 AM on January 1, 2008