In many aquarists lives there comes a time when they have to get rid of an animal that has outgrown its custom aquarium or has become too aggressive for its tank-mates. Most often the animal is a fish, but it is not uncommon to hear of people who need to get rid of a plant or algae as well.

It is important to understand that the plants and animals in your aquarium probably did not come from the ecosystem you live in or near. If released or discarded in your local lakes, rivers or oceans, a foreign plant or animal species can become extremely destructive. Aquarium plants can compete with and overgrow indigenous plants and eliminate the indigenous population, which may have been a staple food source for a local animal. This can also lead to a change in water chemistry, which may affect fish or other animals that live in that body of water. Foreign plants can also completely clog bodies of water and eliminate habitats for animals to live in.

Introducing a non-native fish to a body of water can be devastating as well. If it is a predatory species, it may be large enough to eat an indigenous fish that may have previously been at the top of the food chain in that particular habitat. It also may be too large to be eaten by any other indigenous predators. With no natural predators in its new home, the foreign fish may eat most or all of the native species.

If you need to remove a living organism from your aquarium, please do so responsibly. Try contacting your local fish store. They may be interested in taking in unwanted plants and animals. If they cannot, try posting your plant or animal on public forums, such as aquarium related forums or “Craig’s list”. If you need further advice or assistance with this type of aquarium service, feel free to call Diamond Aquatics at 973-356-4434.

Many aquarium hobbyists are unaware of how their aquatic pets get to their favorite retail stores. Aquatic animals have to endure a tremendous amount of stress before they reach your custom aquarium and, because of this, must be introduced to your aquarium very carefully in order to ensure survival.

It obviously begins when the fish is caught; but there are a few stops the animals must make before they get to your local fish store (LFS). The catching process, although done as professionally as possible, will cause stress on an animal because it is being removed from its natural environment and probably assumes it is going to be eaten. I’m sure this thought would upset even the toughest of animals. It is then bagged and brought to a collection station. A collection station is a facility owned and operated by a company that exports aquatic animals from where they are collected to places all over the world. At this point the animals may be acclimated into a holding system, which will keep them alive until they are sold.

Next, a wholesale operation will purchase the animals from the collection station. Once a wholesaler has placed an order, the collection station will place all of the animals to be shipped in bags with water and oxygen. These bags will then be placed in a styrofoam box with ice or heat packs (depending on the weather) and brought to the airport for shipping. The cargo flight is usually a long one since the fish are usually moving from one continent to another. This means the animals can be in bags for over 12 hours before they reach their destination.

While in the bags, the water is unfiltered and becomes low in oxygen and high in ammonia. Once the wholesaler has received the animals, they must be acclimated into another holding system. A wholesaler’s job is then to sell the animals to retail stores, such as your favorite LFS. For marine animals, the majority of which enter the US through California, this may involve another 12hr. flight to reach the east coast of the US. Finally, the LFS will acclimate the animals into their display takes for sale to the general public.

To summarize the process, an animal is:

1. collected – Stressful!

2. bagged – Stressful!

3. acclimated to a holding system

4. bagged and shipped to a wholesaler (which may take 12hrs or more) – Stressful!

5. acclimated to another holding system

6. bagged (AGAIN) and shipped to a retail sore (which, also, may take over 12 hrs.) – Stressful!

7. acclimated (AGAIN!!) to the retail sales tanks

8. and, finally bagged one last time to be brought home by a hobbyist – Stressful!

Hopefully, this information will encourage the hobbyists to take the time to properly acclimate the animal slowly and gently into their aquarium. If you have any questions regarding proper aquarium acclimation procedures please call Diamond Aquatics at 973-356-4434. We will be happy to show you how to ensure your animal has the best chance of survival in it’s new home, and can provide an affordable aquarium maintenance package to ensure your tank is always healthy.

The aquarium design industry occasionally comes under fire from environmentalists who think that the aquarium hobby is destructive to aquatic ecosystems. Aquarium hobbyists will strongly argue that it is their goal to help preserve the species they keep, in the interest of preserving the ecosystem and the species that exist in it. However, a large portion of responsibility falls on the people who catch the animals (know as collectors) in their natural environments and export them to retail stores for sale to the general public. A collector must follow rules set forth by the governments of the countries where the animals are collected. CITES (pronounced ‘sightees’) permits are issued for most ornamental marine animals. These permits limit the amount of each species to be collected from each region. If collectors use these permits properly, then the regulated species should have time to rebuild its population before the next round of permits are issued.

Aquarium hobbyists need to be responsible as well. It is important to realize that animals don’t come from an infinite source. If one dies in an aquarium and is replaced, it represents another animal removed from its natural environment. If hobbyists educate themselves about each animal they own, and engage in a proper aquarium maintenance routine, they can do a better job of keeping those animals healthy and alive. This will reduce the need to replace the animals in the home or office aquarium and, in turn, reduce the amount of animals removed from their natural habitats.

Building the proper aquarium, and consistent aquarium service is crucial in keeping aquatic animals alive. The animals come from such diverse environments that it would be impossible to set up one aquarium that would be suitable for all fish. The system must be tailored to the needs of the species to be kept within.

We are here to help. Contact Diamond Aquatics today at 973-356-4434, for more information or to schedule an aquarium maintenance appointment.