How long can I leave a fish in their store bag

I just conditioned their water and don’t have 24 hours to wait. I will be gone for like 2 days don’t have the time to let them back in. I don’t know if I should put them in another container, but they are in an old store bag with their old water sitting in the tank. How long can I leave my fish in the bag?

 

I just conditioned their water and don’t have 24 hours to wait. I will be gone for like 2 days don’t have the time to let them back in. I don’t know if I should put them in another container, but they are in an old store bag with their old water sitting in the tank. How long can I leave my fish in the bag?

If you added conditioner to the water there is no need to wait 24 hours to use it. The water conditioner should instantly make it safe to use. I would get them out of the store bag as soon as I could.

 

That’s a rather odd question, why can’t you add them to the tank? If the temperature is the same and the pH/hardness isn’t too different then add them in.

In the average situation I’d not want fish left in the bag for more than a couple hours. If there is pure O2 and Prime in the bag (such as when being shipped) then they should be ok for up to 3 days if bagged properly. The least amount of time is always best.

 

Thanks!

 

You'll get a lot of advice on this one -
I'd never leave a new fish in a bag longer than it takes to bring bag water to temp.
(75 /80 deg.)
If you need advice on acclimating a new fish ask. Lottsa opinions on that too.
Sounds like you & the newbie are stuck between a rock & a hard place.