Acclimating Your New Fish

[Ethos]

I float, but when I order for Live Aquaria I'm going to use drip.

I read this? (This is just a side note)
Are they serious?

A tiny amount of the diluted shipping water will escape into the aquarium. Don't be alarmed; this will have no adverse affect on the tank inhabitants.

I read that here:
Acclimation Procedures

 

[jimbooo]

well thanks for that link. i voted "other" but will now use the drip method, very useful info there.

up until now i just float the bag for 10 mins then prick 5 or 6 holes in the bag (pin pricks, not gaping holes) and let the water equalise my osmosis for another 20 mins or so then split the bag open and allow the fish to find their own way out.

massive drawback to that is that the LFS water goes into my tank.

 

[CFC]

Is this for FW or SW? If freshwater remember that depending on the parameters of the water at where the fish was shipped from it can take much longer than 1 hour to acclimatise a new fish, i have personally had fish which have taken 5 hours to acclimatise, though this has been with brackish fish that were sold in freshwater being acclimatised to strongly brackish water.

I usually use the drip method as my fish tend to come from shops many miles from my home and are usually of the more sensative variety.

 

[mellowserra]

I haven't used drip yet, I open the bag and float it for about 20 minutes, then I add a little tank water every few minutes until the bag is full. Then I empty 3/4 of the bag and do it again. I reapeat the procedure for a total of 3 times, then I net the fish into the tank. This whole process usually takes me more than an hour.

 

[Bloo]

I float for 5 mins and then start the drip method
Voted drip

 

[rdd1952]

I generally spend about a hour acclimating new fish, depending on the pH of the bag water and the pH of my tank water. I float them for about 10 minutes and then add 8 to 10 oz of tank water to the bag. I repeat this about every 10 minutes for about an hour.

Even with large changes in pH over that time period, I've never had a problem. When I bought my angels, the pH of the bag water was 6.0 or below while my tank pH was at 7.2. I spent 3 hours adding water (pouring most off back into tank when the bag filled) and floating to get the pH up to just 6.8 in the bag. They had no problems at all dispite a pH change of at least 1.2 in about 3 hours. I say at least because it took almost an hour of adding tank water to the bag water every 10 minutes before it showed anything other than the lowest reading on the chart so I'm sure it was lower than 6.0 at the start.

For those using the drip method, how do you keep the water from getting too cool? I tried it once but with the bucket (with the fish in it and he drip tube dripping water) sitting on the floor below the tank, the water temp was only about 72 degrees. I was sfraid that the water temp was going to be an issue more than the pH change would be.

 

[CFC]

Personally i dont worry about the water in the bucket cooling off, tropical fish can take far lower temperatures than most people realise, i routinely run my tanks at around 72-73f anyway.

 

[@ombomb]

I voted floating, but think I'll start on the drip process for more sensitive fish, especially when I go SW.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Floating, it doesn't bother me if lfs water goes into the tank. If there's any disease in it, it's likely to already be on the fish anyway, and it's too much hassle (and stress on the fish) to net them out and put them in the tank.

 

[qwikimpss]

I did float but started dripping and it works wonders...I've never had luck with neons before but I bought 12 in August, Dripped them for two hours in a bucket and have only lost three so far (which is good for me, they seem to be very sensitive for me). I have since started dripping any new fish.

 

[Inchworm]

I don't actually use a drip method, but what I do is similar. Floating is never a good idea because it exposes the fish already in the tank to goodness-knows-what, both from inside of the bag, and on the outside. Who knows who might have handled it, and what might have been on their hands, before it was shipped?

When I get fish from the lfs, however, and if they are going into a quarantine tank first, I do float them because then it's only the temperature that has to be adjusted.

When I receive fish in the mail, it's a different story. In that case, I first put them into a bucket where I check the temperature and pH.

Here's a picture of my C. caudimaculatus when they first came in:

Then I proceed to dip out 1/8 to 1/2 cup of water at a time, depending on how much shipping water they came in, and add it to the bucket. I usually add an airstone too, at this point.

There are several factors to consider when acclimating fish that have been bagged up for a day or more. One is that the water could have a low oxygen content and the airstone helps improves that condition. Another is the pH; too quick a change could cause them to go into shock. The third factor is the temperature. Speed is rarely important here, gradually warming or cooling them is more natural and safer for them.

When I have doubled the amount of water in the bucket, I start taking some out when I add more. Eventually the pH will equalize, but it could take 5 hours or even longer, depending on the difference. Then, if the temperature is more than a degree or so from that of the tank, I will add water more quickly to bring that up to near what I want it to be. Then I net them into the quarantine tank.

The process doesn't stop there, however. I watch them closely for the rest of the day and evening. They have probably been starved for a day or more before shipment to avoid the extra pollution of the water they would make by eliminating waste products. Although they are probably hungry, it's usually best to wait for a few hours and then feed them a light meal of flake or similar food. The next day they get all the goodies!

 

[Durbkat]

I voted for the float method all I do is float the bag for 20 minutes then I cut the bag open and take a cup and scoop some tank water in the bag then I wait 5 minutes then I get my net, scoop them out and let them swim out of the net. What is the drip method

 

[Vegan Peaches]

I've always used float, but I didn't realize LFS water was bad for your tank 0.o After floating for 20 minutes, I add water from my tank to the bag, wait a few minutes, do it again, then add the fish into the tank. I suppose I should rethink my fish introduction procedures.

 

[Ethos]

What I usually do is I put the bags in the tanks (never got fish in the mail), have them sit there for about 20 mins, then, put a net over a bucket, and dump the contents of the bag in the net, then quickly move the net into the tank. It just makes me feel like my tank stays cleaner, although In a way I guess it doesn't.

 

[metfan581]

DRIP MEATHOD