Acclimatising Bettas

[JustKia]

As some of you have probably read I recently purchased 5 bettas via aquabid. These are going to be leaving Thailand and arriving in Germany on 14/15th November. They will then be sent on to me (in England) on next day, before noon, delivery.
That's a fair bit of travelling for these guys n' gals.

Up until now almost all of my fish have been purchased fairly locally and (I think) all within the same water supply area (Severn Trent), so I've aclimatised them the "quick" way.
Float the bag for 5 mins, add cup of tank water, wait 5 mins, repeat 3 times and let 'em go!

I'm in two minds about what is best for these new fish after travelling.
Is it better to get them out of the bags asap - do a quick alimatise and get them out or is it better to leave them in the bags even longer and do a slow slow aclimatise?
If opting for the slow slow way what's going to be the best setup to do this?
Obviously I can't stick them all in one tub and slowly drip tank water in, as there is 3 boys.

So, what's going to be my best options?

 

[Gill]

For the Ones I have bought in the past.
I take them out of the Bags - They may have very Little water, Some came with only enough to cover them.
And put them into those plastic pint glasses. I use a Turkey Baster and Slowly add water that way, as they are from such different waters.

 

[Curiosity101]

For the Ones I have bought in the past.
I take them out of the Bags - They may have very Little water, Some came with only enough to cover them.
And put them into those plastic pint glasses. I use a Turkey Baster and Slowly add water that way, as they are from such different waters.

^^ Sounds like a very good plan to me, although you may want to cover the glasses to stop anyone from escaping.

You could also drip aclimatise into the cups if you wanted.

 

[JustKia]

I'll have a look for some plastic pint glasses in tesco later - I expect they'll probably have them in the party supply section, what with Christmas fast approaching. I've got some plastic mesh to cover them with

I don't want escapees, not do I want them to be kitty dinner!

Then set up a syphon using airline tubing...
Do I need to clamp it to reduce the flow or does the siphon go pretty slow through airline?
How slow/fast should I aim for the dripping to be? A drip per second? 10 drips per minute?

Also is 2 weeks QT long enough?

I've divided up my 33Gal. Ultimately that will be for my 6 males. I'm leaving my 3 current boys in their temp home, so that I can use the 33Gal to QT the 3 boys and 2 girls.
Then take current girls out of their tank, water change, jiffle it around (got some caves, new plants, etc to add) put the "new" girls in then add back the "old" girls.
Water change the QT tank and add the "old" boys into their new homes.
Talk about musical chairs tanks

 

[Curiosity101]

I don't know what speed you'd be aiming for, but you can either clamp the tube, or tie a knot in it to impede the flow.

 

[Tolak]

A plastic gang valve is good for adjusting the flow. I've tried metal, they work the first time, try using them at a later date; rusted shut. Tying a knot or clamping works as well. If you use a 5 gang valve you could drip all 5 without putting them together, or having air lines running everywhere.

When drip acclimating fish I double the water volume every hour, for 3 hours. This gives your fish 87.5% tank water after 3 hours, pretty close to your tank's conditions. If the fish seem distressed slow the drip, if they look happy, you can speed it up a bit. I will also add a bit of Prime to the shipping water upon opening, this neutralizes any ammonia. If they are shipped in a tiny bit of water, as individual fish often are, I will cut the prime with a little tank water, and use a portion of this in the bag.

Shipped fish are stressed fish, stress reduces the immune response. Knowing this I will usually med the tank they are going into with a half dose of acriflavin, this gets dripped into the bag. They get fasted for the first day, day 2 they get brine shrimp with a little metro sprinkled on it. They get fed this every other day for at least the first week. On day 3 they get a large water change, and get dosed with half a dose of copper sulfate pentahydrate. These three things keep a variety of thing at bay while the fish settle in.

I've gotten fish from the Amazon, shipped via a transshipper, which were in transit for quite some time, as well as being accustomed to water nearly the opposite of mine. In cases such as these it ends up being closer to a 5 hour acclimation, real fun if they come in on a late flight.

 

[JustKia]

Not too sure where to get said meds/additives:
Prime? I have API ammo-lock will that surfice?
Acriflavin, metro (metronidazole?), copper sulphate pentahydrate - will I need to order these or should I find them in a good LFS? Also is that what I would ask for or are they marketed under brand names?

Sorry for all the questions, but I've realised that it's going to be quite an ordeal for the fish, so I'd like to do what I can to minimise the stress and help them acclimitise as easy as possible.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi JustKia

There are two schools of thought when it comes to acclimatizing fish. The first is the more traditional, go slow method that Tolak described. The second is faster, with the main objective to get them out of the polluted and oxygen depleted water as soon as possible.

I go with a cautious but fast approach to it. Before I do anything else I get them out of the bags and into clean containers that I cover with a plate or pot lid. Since the corys I get shipped need oxygen, I immediately add an airstone to get the water aerated, but you won't have to worry about this with bettas. Next I test the shipping water for pH. If it's within a degree of the the water they will be going into, I try to get them moved over within 1/2 hour to an hour of their arrival. A little water added every 15 minutes or so will get it close enough and will help equalize the temperature if there is a difference. If the difference is greater, I like to add bigger portions of water, but never take the hours and hours that I used to.

Another thing to keep in mind is that they have been traveling in darkness. It's less stressful for them if you gradually get them used to brighter light. I also wait until late in the evening, or even until the next day, to feed them. I add no medication as a rule, but take care to keep their water clean and observe them carefully over the first few weeks.