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Bringing the saltwater fish home

Once you get the saltwater fish home you should set the bag in the destination tank, thus allowing the temperature to equalize. After about a half hour or so, add a 1/4 cup of tank water to the bag. Repeat this process once every 15 minutes for an hour, removing any water if the bag gets too full. Any water you remove from the bag should be disposed of. It will most likely contain parasites and other bad things.

 

After you have the fish acclimated to your tank's water chemistry, there are a couple of things you can do. You can place the fish directly into the main saltwater tank and hope for the best, you can give the fish a freshwater dip and then place it into the tank, or you could place the fish into a quarantine tank.
The best scenario is to give the saltwater fish a freshwater dip and place it into a quarantine tank. Keep the fish in the quarantine tank for 2 weeks and watch for signs of disease. If the fish gets sick, you can medicate the quarantine tank without affecting the chemistry of the main tank. If you are going to quarantine the fish, you should acclimate the fish to the quarantine tank's chemistry, not the main tank.

If you don't use a quarantine tank, then it is a very good idea to give the fish a freshwater bath before placing it into your main saltwater tank. The freshwater bath will cause any parasites attached onto the saltwater fish to let go and remain in the freshwater (to die a lonely death).

Otherwise, parasites left to their own will reproduce very rapidly in captivity and usually infect all the fish in the tank.
To give a marine fish a freshwater dip, prepare a container of dechlorinated freshwater with a similar chemistry of the destination tank. That is, make sure the pH and temperature are as close as possible to the destination tank (this is critical!) . Remove the fish from the bag and place the fish into the container for 3 to 5 minutes. Watch the fish closely for signs of stress. If the saltwater  fish stops moving or begins to float, remove it immediately and place it in the destination tank (either the main or quarantine tank).

In placing the saltwater fish into the freshwater bath, never pour the saltwater fish into the container. Use a Tupperware container or a net to capture the saltwater fish and place it into the dip. The store water should never be introduced to the freshwater bath, or any of your tanks. This water usually contains all sorts of nasty diseases and organisms.
If you put the saltwater fish into the main tank and it comes down with an illness, it should be removed to a quarantine tank immediately. Do not risk spreading the illness to the other fish in the tank (although it may already be too late).

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