What is the best way to acclimate a fish? I'm curious to hear what people have to say. I am being told 30 minutes of drip or manual dosage and that's it. LFS tells me 2 hours drip.
Propper fish acclimation
- Thread starter HkySk8r187
- Start date
Drips will work, several ways of doing this, here's what I have used with good success... Coming from the LFS to QT, first
turn the lights off on the quarantine tank. Place the bag with fish in your quarantine tank and immediately open the bag, roll the top down a bit and make sure it cannot tip or spill.
Do not allow the bag to float sealed with the rubber band still on. After opening the bag, immediately drop an airstone connected to a small pump in the bag; I have done this for years, it has an amazing calming effect on the fish. A struggling, heavily breathing fish will completely relax with addition of an airstone, in fact I have a small inexpensive pump dedicated for this purpose... the airstone is connected to a 10 inch piece of stiff tubing which keeps the stone at the bottom of the bag, then linked to the pump with about 24 inches of flexible tubing. After about 10 minutes you can add a small cup of water from the QT into the bag, no more than 10 percent of the bag volume at first, repeating every 10 minutes or so for an hour. As time goes by you can add larger amounts. Eventually the water in the bag is double or more the original volume. Carefully pull the bag out and pinch the top while you drain almost all the water out of the bag. (Caution; always drain the bag over a bucket or suitable container, NOT a sink or toilet) This draining will stress the fish a little, but it reduces the risk of free floating pathogens. Finally, dip the bag to add a little water from the new tank and gently slide the fish into the its new domain.
Larger specimens like Lionfish may require a more sturdy mixing container, a small insulated cooler or styro box will work if the bag is too big to float.
turn the lights off on the quarantine tank. Place the bag with fish in your quarantine tank and immediately open the bag, roll the top down a bit and make sure it cannot tip or spill.
Do not allow the bag to float sealed with the rubber band still on. After opening the bag, immediately drop an airstone connected to a small pump in the bag; I have done this for years, it has an amazing calming effect on the fish. A struggling, heavily breathing fish will completely relax with addition of an airstone, in fact I have a small inexpensive pump dedicated for this purpose... the airstone is connected to a 10 inch piece of stiff tubing which keeps the stone at the bottom of the bag, then linked to the pump with about 24 inches of flexible tubing. After about 10 minutes you can add a small cup of water from the QT into the bag, no more than 10 percent of the bag volume at first, repeating every 10 minutes or so for an hour. As time goes by you can add larger amounts. Eventually the water in the bag is double or more the original volume. Carefully pull the bag out and pinch the top while you drain almost all the water out of the bag. (Caution; always drain the bag over a bucket or suitable container, NOT a sink or toilet) This draining will stress the fish a little, but it reduces the risk of free floating pathogens. Finally, dip the bag to add a little water from the new tank and gently slide the fish into the its new domain.
Larger specimens like Lionfish may require a more sturdy mixing container, a small insulated cooler or styro box will work if the bag is too big to float.
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When I buy my fish from an LFS I specifically ask for another bag of water for acclimation. I take the fish and empty the bag of water into a 5gallon bucket, then determine weather or not the fish will have enough room (water volume) to swim in if I put its bag in there. I usually have enough water since I ask for it. This way the fish can swim in a half gallon of water its use too... I then put a line of water from my tank into the bucket, dripping 1-2drips every few seconds and I wait till the bucket is more than halfway full. If a delicate fish I'd leave it in there more. I stop becuase taking 5gallons out of my 29gallon is a big dent. After an hour or so the fish will be use to the temp and water levels in my tank and I slowly put some water back into the main tank, and move the fish.
Pisces Pro Acclimator
I have never QT'd a fish but I think I'm going to set up a 20gallon tank for my current fish before I add them into my new 65gallon tank. I want to make sure each one is healthy and eating properly. I will also medicate them for common diseases they can carry with them. I'd recomend putting each fish you get into a QT beucase I'v seen too many posts where someone threw a fish into their display tank and now everything has Ich or their fish wont eat. This way you can tell if its healthy, it gets use to eatting prepared food and it will be use to the tank enviroment.
Pisces Pro Acclimator
I have never QT'd a fish but I think I'm going to set up a 20gallon tank for my current fish before I add them into my new 65gallon tank. I want to make sure each one is healthy and eating properly. I will also medicate them for common diseases they can carry with them. I'd recomend putting each fish you get into a QT beucase I'v seen too many posts where someone threw a fish into their display tank and now everything has Ich or their fish wont eat. This way you can tell if its healthy, it gets use to eatting prepared food and it will be use to the tank enviroment.
wastememphis said:
Isn't it a bad idea to introduce any water from the LFS into your display tank? Especially if you have invertebrates? I was always told that the LFS water that they keep their fish in would probably have copper or other meds in it that could wipe out a reef tank.
i have always heard that too. but i do know a couple of the lfs i go to also qt fish in a dedicated medication tank. that way they dont kill of any of the inverts in their system that piped all together. but just to be sure i still do not use bag water in my tank.
Its always possible that theres going to be a problem. But some in some cases its unavoidable... like if you bought a sponge, they can't touch the air so some water would have to go with it. The LFS I go to everything is connected so if they used copper meds in one tank then the snails in the next tank would have a problem... so would their SPS tank. They all look fine. I think they remove the fish if they think its having a problem.