Acclimation

[Tyler718]

I'm in the process of setting up my first SW tank and just dropped in the shrimp to start my cycle. From all the reading I have done so far I understand, but I am only confused about one thing though.

What is the best way to acclimate fish when adding them to a tank? Every source of info I have read tells you a different way to do it. So some clarification will help alot.

Thanks in advance,
Dave

 

[ben72227]

well - this is another one of those things that everyone has an opinion about.

you can do a couple of things.

first - to introduce the fish to the aquarium from the pet store, add some of your water into the bag with the fish and the water from the lfs. this is to equalize temperature. then do some freshwater dips if needed - don't want to infect your tank with anything. you may also need to check to see if there will be a dramatic light change - for example, going from halides to a single flourescent strip can mess with a fish's head pretty bad.

 

[Jman]

I float the bag in my quarantine tank. Add a little water from the tank every minute or so. Once I've doubled the amount of water I let some out into a bucket and add a bit more water every minute or so. After about 15 mins I take the bag and cut a small hole in the corner and drain the water into the bucket. When there is practically no water left in the bag I pour the fish into the quarantine tank. This way there is almost no LFS water in the bag to go into the tank. I try no to shock the fish with temp or chemistry changes.

Almost everyone will have a different way of doing it. Some livestock BTW cannot hit the air so make sure to research the animals first.

 

[Tyler718]

Thanks for the replies!! To me it seems that all the things I've been reading are the same with only a few variations thrown in. That is what make it so difficult to decide which way is right.

Dave

 

[Max]

Well depends on the critter. I've been thinking about my introduction practice a lot here as of late, "thanks Corax or I think that it was you anyway". Slower seems to work much, much better than faster. I always used the 1/4 cup ever 15 mins style until here as of late. I started following some advise was given to me on another board," for inverts ", and applied to my latest fish purchases and they seem to be doing much better. Just trickel in a few ml's of water into your fish bag every 10 mins until your bag starts getting full. Then empty out around 1/2 of the water and do it again. I've been adding a thrid round but, I'm not sure if it really helps anything but my nerves lol. It has removed a lot of stress from my new fishes and I haven't had an out break of ich,"even with a tang", since I started doing it.
hth
chris

 

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by maxilaria
Well depends on the critter. I've been thinking about my introduction practice a lot here as of late, "thanks Corax or I think that it was you anyway". Slower seems to work much, much better than faster. I always used the 1/4 cup ever 15 mins style until here as of late. I started following some advise was given to me on another board," for inverts ", and applied to my latest fish purchases and they seem to be doing much better. Just trickel in a few ml's of water into your fish bag every 10 mins until your bag starts getting full. Then empty out around 1/2 of the water and do it again. I've been adding a thrid round but, I'm not sure if it really helps anything but my nerves lol. It has removed a lot of stress from my new fishes and I haven't had an out break of ich,"even with a tang", since I started doing it.
hth
chris

Thanks maxilaria! This is the way I am planning on doing it, but I just wanted to make sure that it was the right way.

Dave