Originally Posted by ncacura
clown fish are really hardy, if it's your first fish he should be fine. it might be ick, but it could be other stuff, give him a couple days and he should be ok. he could've just been stressed from the initial shock of the new tank. check your levels make sure everything is cool.....also always try and float your fish for 15 minutes before you dump um in, so they can properly acclimate to the temperature. you can use the drip method of acclimation, but i honestly think that is more stressful to the fish, but just my opinion. usually if your levels are fine you can just float the fish and then dump him in.....
but what if your levels are higher than the levels the fish are accustomed to, such as you keeping your tank at 1.025 sg, and the lfs keeping it at 1.017? Or the pH in the bag being low because the fish has been sucking the oxygen out of the water, and the pH in your tank at normal levels? by telling someone just to dump it in could cause the fish more stress than acclimating and easily kill it. I don't agree with drip acclimation, but i also think dumping the fish in is not a good idea.