Re: drip method

[Bob Raible <laetacara@yahoo.com>]

The label on bottles of NovAqua state that it promotes slime coat
formation and it buffers freshwater pH. The label doesn't state it's
actual contents, but I would assume that it contains salt (slime coat)
and carbonates (pH buffer). I would welcome comment from anyone who can
state unequivocally what's in the product. In any case I refrain from
using the product in my softwater SA tanks since I don't think my fish
would find these compounds beneficial. OTOH I have no reservations
about using Amquel when transportng fish. FWIW.

--- William Vannerson <William_Vannerson@ama-assn.org> wrote:
> >>>THe guy who came up with this is the guy that invented Amquel and
> Ammo-lock. He spoke at one of our meetings and he is extremely
> knowledgeable about chemistry. I remember his initials were JFK ...
> <<<
> 
> His name is John Kuhns.  Below is an excerpt from an old Kordon web
> page that I don't believe exists anymore.  There was a big discussion
> on this topic on the Killie Talk list a few months ago.  Check the
> archives (via www.aka.org) if you want to see the long discussion.
> 
> 
> ==============================================================
> Those of you who have known John Kuhns since his invention of the
> product NovAqua (marketed by Kordon) have known of his now famous
> "squirt and dump" method of introducing new fishes into tanks.
> "Famous" because the method has now been written about in The
> Complete Fishkeeper. This book, written by Joseph S. Levine is
> subtitled: "everything aquarium fishes need to stay alive, healthy
> and happy" is well written and belongs in every aquarist's library,
> and is the first book that aquarium shops should sell to new
> aquarists.
> 
> The excerpt that tells about the "squirt and dump" method is
> reproduced here:
> 
> Adding Fish to the Tank
> 
> Traditional wisdom has it that you must float fish bags in your tank
> for thirty minutes, mix bag water with tank water, and then tip the
> bag over and allow the fishes to swim out on their own. I prefer,
> however, a radical departure from this technique that has been
> successfully championed by FISHNET member and aquacultural chemist
> John Kuhns. John's "dose and dump technique," which aims to get the
> fish out of the bag and into the tank as soon as possible, seems
> preferableany time there are not dramatic temperature differences
> between bag and tank water. The method is simple: Add a little quirt
> of NovAqua water conditioner to the bag, add the appropriate dose to
> thee tank, remove the fishes from the bag, and dump them into the
> tank.
> 
> This advice will dissturb many old hands at the hobby, but there is
> sound reasoning behind it, and it has worked well for John and
> numerous retailers and hobbyists who have followed his advice. Why?
> While in their shipping bags in small volumes of water, fish are
> constantly excreting both ammonia (which can build up to harmful
> levels) and carbon dioxide (which lowers the pH). As soon as you open
> the bag at home, the CO2 begins to leave the water, and the pH rises,
> initiating a chain reaction that makes any ammonia in the bag more
> toxic, So as long as conditions in your tak are suitable, the faster
> the fish get out of the bag and into the water, the better."
> 
> In it Levine correctly reports the reasoning behind the method. He
> also reports that many old-timers may find the practice questionable,
> but to paraphrase Stephen Jay Gould: the progress of aquarium keeping
> is impeded less by "factual lacks" than by "conceptual locks".
> 
> At the EECHO Systems' hatchery the method is employed regularly.
> However, there has been an improvement. Instead of just using a
> squirt of NovAqua in the bag and the tank, a squirt of AmQuel is also
> used. The addition of the AmQuel aids, of course, in the reduction of
> ammonia that has built-up in the bag and in handling the spike of
> ammonia that often results when new fishes are added to the tank.
> 
> The actual method used is as follows (retailers are strongly
> encouraged to follow this method to reduce the stress on newly
> arrived fishes):
> 
> (1) Set the boxes of newly arrived fishes on the floor in front of
> the tanks into which the fishes are to be placed.
> 
> (2) Open all boxes and inspect them for punctured and deflated bags;
> if any are found these must be dealt with first (a sort of triage).
> 
> (3) Fishes from bags with no water in them must be placed into their
> new tanks as soon as possible (even fishes which appear to be on
> death's door will often revive). Since there is no water in the bags
> simply squirt the NovAqua and AmQuel into the new tank and place the
> fishes into the treated tank.
> 


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