How long to let the fish stay in the bag?

[sweetheart]

I just bought 2 damsel fish to help out with the cycling process. 1 is the 3 stripe damsel, and I'm not sure what the other one is called but its front body is blue and the tail is yellow. Well my question is, is how long do I need to let them set in the bag in the tank, to get used to the water temp?

 

[yearofthenick]

like 30 mins... for some fish it needs to be very different though... some fish are easily stressed and you need to turn the lights off, float for like 1-2 hours with holes poked in the bag, then keep the lights off the rest of the day when you release them into the tank

 

[sweetheart]

So 30 min?

 

[wangotango]

I don't mean to be a downer, but if they're still in the bag take them back. You don't need to use them to cycle a tank and they're mean little SOBs once they get established.
If you want to keep them; float them for 10mins or so with the lights off, let a little tank water in, wait a few minutes, let some more water in, wait a few more minutes, and repeat for 30mins or so.
-Justin

 

[gohabsgo]

since demsel are agressive and you put them first,they are going to be bossy for litle peacefull fish but if going with more agressive tank i think it is going to be o.k. good luck!! (just hope you wont have to catch them later because they are fast litle b

ogger!!!

 

[rort]

I made the mistake when starting my tank of having damsels help in the production of bacteria. Someone gave me the advice " to never put a fish or invert in ur tank that u don't intend to keep. Live rock is honestly the best aid in bacteria production!!
Took me an hour to get my damsel out when introducing my new fish...

 

[sweetheart]

Oh sorry, I let them out after 30 min with the light on yesterday. Sorry

 

[cedarreef]

thats just fine! I still have my damsels from a while back... I have 2 yellowtail damsels n they r very peaceful! They are fine with my unicorn tang, snails, and lawnmower blenny. They are very healthy n never chase or nip at anything. I would get rid of the 3 stripe tho. They are the devil incarnate!!! I had 2 of them before n they killed 3 yellowtail damsels, 1 yellow damsel, and then themselves...one won, but was too wounded n then got sick n died. crazy fish!

 

[keebler]

I prefer to drip acclimate my fish, much better imo. I don't endorse cycling with damsels for 2 reasons. 1. they are mean little guys and 2. why harm an animal in the process when it is just as cheap and easy to cycle it other ways such as ghost feeding? For the record I would float with the lights off for 15-30 minutes. And then drip slowly for an hour, then a bit faster for another hour, and then pretty fast for another hour. Have a batch of water ready to replace the old batch.