The Life Aquarist (2026)

13/06/2026

08/06/2026

28/05/2026

When moving fish the goal is to reduce stress. When fish are stressed and producing cortisol it can lower life expectancies, alert predators in the tank that there are stressed fish, and it can take two weeks for that cortisol to dissipate.
Main fish stressors:
1. Mismatched water quality. Even the slightest change in pH can cause blood, gill, and eye issues. Salinity needs to be within 2ppt. And temp within 2F.
2. Gills being exposed to air. We see this one on Instagram ALL THE TIME and we need to change our practices. Recent studies show that even one second that the gills are outside the water causes the delicate lamellae to COLLAPSE meaning for the rest of that fish’s life its gills will be less efficient. It’s usually possible to move fish without letting their gills touch the air. This is the best practice that anyone in fish husbandry should practice.
3. Vibrations case a lot of stress. If you can use foam pads, refrain from using cordless air pumps hooked to your transport containers, etc to reduce vibrations, your fish will be less stressed.
4. Fish welfare includes natural hides and environment. Putting fish into a place with no place to hide or feel safe will spike that cortisol. I recommend putting fish into a little howdy container in the exhibit if there are already fish in there to let them calm down before they join the already very comfortable exhibit fish. Or adding a ton of tank furniture that you can slowly remove to your likening while the fish figure out their new environment.

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