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While you, the customer, have the advantage when buying fish of selecting only healthy and feeding individuals, as importers we have to accept what we are given. So although any fish you buy should be settled and happy you still have the problem of acclimatising your new fish into your tank, and once there you have to encourage them to feed. With many species of fish getting them to feed is simply a matter of feeding the existing fish and the new addition quickly gets the message, these are not the fish we are talking about as they will rarely cause problems. The fish I am talking about can be a little trickier.

Before introducing any new fish it is essential that the water quality is perfect, and that means zero ammonia, nitrite and (ideally) nitrate, if your nitrate is above 10-15ppm then large water changes are necessary, because although most fish will tolerate nitrate up to 60-80ppm it is easier to settle them into conditions closely matching those in nature. If controlling nitrate seems a constant battle I would recommend investigating ways of combating it before adding more fish. When looking at water quality it is also essential to check the alkalinity level, a test which is familiar to reef keepers but are often over looked by many fish keepers. The alkalinity level affects the ability of corals to take up trace elements from the water and there is evidence to suggest that it may also be important in the osmoregularity processes of fish, in addition aiming for a level of about 2.8 milliequivilents will help stabilise the pH.

When we started importing fish they were always released into small bare dark tanks and left overnight to settle. But experience has shown that all fish settled better when put into small tanks which were dimly lit (i.e. a 60w bulb left on in the room), and with lots of hiding places made from rock and plastic plant. We noticed that once the fish started swimming (most fish when released after being in a bag for up to 48 hours lie on the tank base and "pant" for about 30 minutes before starting to swim about), most would hide for anything from a day to a couple of weeks before venturing out. If during this time the fish can retreat somewhere it feels safe then its stress levels will be reduced, its slime coating will recover and it will be less likely to suffer from any disease and need medication. It is likely that as most fish we keep originate from reef environments the introduction of hiding places is a more natural environment than a bare tank which would simulate open water, think how many dealers tanks you have seen when the fish huddle in the corner of a bare brightly lit tank.

When introducing a new fish it helps if it is compatible with the existing fish, I know that this sounds obvious, but it is amazing the number of people that do not check before they buy. Equally it is no good putting "social" or shoaling fish with solitary fish. While most of us do not have the space for shoals of fish you can usually mix different types of shoaling fish together, and this does seem to help the fish settle in. In fact if one fish is already feeding it often encourages the others to start.

If the fish is allowed to settle in naturally then the need for medication is greatly reduced. It must be remembered that any medication will stress the fish, and the last thing a newly introduced fish needs is more stress.

We have got half way through the article without mentioning feeding, but if you do not get the rest right then your fish are never going to feed, and although it is very satisfying to see a newly introduced fish feed it is not essential that it feeds straight away. The rest of this article will look at some of the methods used to encourage fish to feed. When reading most books they usually warn you to stay clear of angels (at least to start with) and especially butterflies, stating that even if you do get them to feed they will not last long. Not only do you have to get your fish to feed you need them to eat the right foods. It is no good getting a butterfly with a metabolism that has evolved over thousands of years to cope with polyps, or sponges or whatever to eat only artimia, as it will not get all the essential vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc. This is a common problem, many people will say I got my so-and-so to eat but he just faded away. What they mean is that they got the water conditions, layout and tank companions correct but failed to provide the correct diet. So before buying your fish find out what it eats in the wild and how will you provide that in captivity.

A good first fish to keep when trying the "difficult" fish is the copperband butterfly (Chelmon rostratus), these are a favourite with reef keepers because they are excellent eaters of aptasia. We found that once the fish was settled the introduction of a rock covered with aptasia was all that was needed for the fish to start feeding. Most aquatic shops will have a few aptasia lucking around if you look, and in most cases would be happy to let you have them, if possible try this in a separate quarantine tank so that your main show tank is not infected with these pests. As the copperband has a long snout for digging out hidden food once it is feeding on aptasia try adding some frozen brine shrimp. This can be done in two ways if there are other fish in the tank then the food can be added directly to the water and the sight of other fish feeding will encourage the new fish to feed, alternatively try "hiding" it in the rock so that the fish has to pick it out. Once the fish is feeding on artimia it is important to vary the diet as much as possible so that it obtains a balanced diet and does not get fixed on one type of food. It is also a good idea to regularly use a vitamin supplement to ensure a complete diet.

Once you progress to some of the more difficult fish such as regal angels (Pygoplites diacanthus) you need to adopt different techniques. The regal angel in particular needs some sponge in its diet if it is to survive. Unfortunately sponges are not the easiest invertebrates to keep, being filter feeders, however people are starting to have success with them by feeding live plankton (which can be easily cultured), so you grow the plankton to feed the sponge which in turn feeds the fish. This will only work if the fish can be encouraged to eat a variety of food otherwise you are constantly buying new sponges, which will work out very expensive. In our display tank we rotate the sponges every week to give them a chance to recover. If you can keep the sponges then it is worth trying one of the most difficult and beautiful fish the moorish idol (Zanclus canescens), if you are going to attempt these fish a large tank is essential as they do better in shoals, although the one in our display tank is very happy on his own fighting with the yellow tangs to be first to the food. The main reason for the failure of this species is incorrect diet in particular lack of sponges. As this fish can take a very long time to settle in may be necessary to add fructose to the water (fructose is a plant sugar similar to glucose and sucrose and is available in the pure form from most health food shops). A few grains of fructose per litre are added to the aquarium every day, the exact dose varies but you must be careful so that the balance of the tank is not upset. The fructose is absorbed by the fish and acts as an energy boost rather like "energy drinks", it is not a long term solution but it is a way of keeping very difficult fish healthy until they start to eat. It is also essential if you are going to use this method that you do not leave it until the fish is so skinny and weak that it is almost dead, start from day one and stop when the fish starts to feed normally.

In conclusion, do not be put off trying to keep the so called difficult fish, but do your homework first, provide the correct conditions, layout and companions before adding your fish. Then it is essential to provide the correct food, after that all you need is patience.