how to acclimate

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ektorgt

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
70
Location
San antonio TX
how should i acclimate fish bought through the internet....
is it safe to buy fish from the internet?
 
its safe to buy fish over the net..
acclimation is very important and if not done right it could kill the fish.
Ph and salinity (s/g) are very important.
Going slow is the most important part of acclimation.
I like to float the bag for 15-30 mins then I pour them into a bowl and check the salinity level of the LFS water, then I check my tank. If they are the same that is great. I use a drip line and then drip water from the tank into the bowl for an hour then release. I like to have a drip every 2-3 seconds, some times slower if the salinity is way off of my tank, you want a real slow acclimation if its way off.
if the water from the LFS is lower or higher then my tank I drip for an hour then check the salinity and if its the same I drip for an additional 30 min then release, if its still not the same pour off water from the bowl and drip for another hour. It can take several hours to acclimate a fish properly if the salinity is 3-4 points off.
One LFS keeps his SG at 1.018 and my reef is at 1.025 so it usually takes me 2-3 hours to acclimate these fish. I prefer 3 but if the drip is too fast it goes faster.
Some people float the bags and pour a shot glass of water into the bag every 15 min and then toss the fish in after an hour of this, IMO that is not the best way to acclimate fish. It may work on the hardy fish but not them all and If I just paid 20 for a fish and 35 for shipping I am going to do every thing I can to make sure that fish lives.
Just remember slow is better...
 
Slower is better like saeham358 said, but it can IMO also lead to further stress on the fish. I think that if you can match temperature and SG, at the very least a 1/2 hour acclimation (using the shot glass method) then toss the fish in and leave your lights off the rest of the day.

Again like seaham358 said, depending on the type of fish you buy acclimation will change, of course if you buy a Tang or an Angel they are very susceptible to disease and would need a longer acclimation than say a Damsel. :wink:
 
Jermz79 said:
Slower is better like saeham358 said, but it can IMO also lead to further stress on the fish. I think that if you can match temperature and SG, at the very least a 1/2 hour acclimation (using the shot glass method) then toss the fish in and leave your lights off the rest of the day.

no saltwater species should be acclimated that quickly
 
Ummm.. Hara
i havent lost any fish to that type of acclimation in fact they are all doig good...and I have a cb that is doing great?
 
Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes it depends on the hardiness of the fish. But, to be safe and to lower stress from quick changes in water chemistry, a slower acclimation method is suggested.
 
and if i have a cycled tank but i havent added any fish, would there be a problem if i added 3 or 4 fish at the same time? because shipping for just 1 fish would make it really expensive...
 
Really, you should QT the fish before adding them to your system. This saves you headaches if you have to remove them due to illness. Also, it gives you time to space out the additions. If you do have to add 3-4 fish, I would check the water parameters daily and do water changes accordingly just to be safe.
 
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