Getting New Fish This Evening

[coldcazzie]

Ok, this evening my sister is very kindly bringing me 3 L183s up from London that have been purchased from Vicki and Kev. Now, I don't know exactly what the water params are down there, but I know the water is much harder than the water here in Yorkshire (KH = 3, GH = 5/6).

Obviously the fish are going to be in quarantine until at least the new year (no offence to vickiandkev, but I dont want to kill my Christmas presents!) - is it worth adding some bicarb/epsom salts etc to artificially harden the water in the QT, and then slowly over the next 6 weeks replace it with fresh tap water so that the hardness is very slowly reduced?

Or should I just do the drip method I usually use, but over the course of several hours instead of the couple of hours that I usually would? Even buying fish from the fish shop down the road I still usually acclimatise over about 1-2 hours, so I'd have to really drag it out to account for the KH/GH differential. Tricky, bearing in mind my sister won't arrive at my house until 9pm, and I don't particularly relish the idea of staying up half the night to tip half a jug of water down the sink every hour.

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[Tolak]

I'd do a drip acclimation, aiming to double the water volume every hour for at least 3 if not 4 hours. This gives plenty of time for the difference in hardness to be negligible. This takes into account the difference in osmotic pressure between the softer water, and the water content of the fish, which will be harder. The biggest concern is the waste production of the fish, which in going from harder to softer water will be a concern, but not if done slowly. I always like to acclimate new fish to my tap water, in the event large water changes are needed.

In cases like these I really appreciate the couch in the family room outside the fishroom, and a one hour kitchen timer that is loud & annoying.

 

[coldcazzie]

In cases like these I really appreciate the couch in the family room outside the fishroom, and a one hour kitchen timer that is loud & annoying.

So just a long slow acclimation process? I guess I'm staying up late tonight then!

 

[Tolak]

That's what I've always done. It's worked with fish coming in from harder water a few hours drive south of me, as well as softer water with Rio Negro imports. I started using the kitchen timer when I fell asleep for 3 hours instead of 1. The fish were fine, I had a pretty little creek running across the floor to the floor drain. Mopping will help keep you awake, just isn't fun.