Longfin Bristlenose Plecos

[kdterech]

Hi, I purchased two 1-1.25” Longfin Bristlenose Plecos online and will be receiving them this upcoming week via 2 day USPS Priority. What acclimation method should I be using when adding them to my tank? I do not know to plop and drop after floating bags for 20 minutes so that the temperatures equalize...or to drip acclimate. My understanding is that drip acclimation may cause extreme stress and/or death due to prolonged exposure to high ammonia and pH shifts. I just need some solid advice due to my personal lack of experience. Thanks so much for any help!!!

 

[m.j.gomez]

Hello, I understand about wanting to get fish out of nasty bag water but if fish not acclimatized correctly you will shock, cause serious injury or kill. I will empty bag to just below half, attach bag to top of tank in water using potato chip bag clip(any clip will work) & add a little water from tank every 15min. This way fish can slowly adapt to chemistry of tank. I personally acclimate for 1.5-2hrs. Hope this helps!

 

[King Fisher]

As soon as you open that bag up you increase the ammonia drastically. It's why people leave the bag tied off and float the bag to temp acclimate and when they open the bag it's to immediately remove the fish to the tank.

There's a lot of discussion on whether a one time pH swing does harm to a fish or if it's constant pH swings that actually do the harm. I've personally seen fish taken from 7.0 pH and placed immediately in 8.2 pH without any affect. I've also seen drip acclimation without harm.

One thing I know that is harmful is opening the bag and leaving the fish in it. If you wanted to test this, open the bag and immediately test the water. Leave it open and float it for one hour then test it again.

 

[m.j.gomez]

As soon as you open that bag up you increase the ammonia drastically. It's why people leave the bag tied off and float the bag to temp acclimate and when they open the bag it's to immediately remove the fish to the tank.

There's a lot of discussion on whether a one time pH swing does harm to a fish or if it's constant pH swings that actually do the harm. I've personally seen fish taken from 7.0 pH and placed immediately in 8.2 pH without any affect. I've also seen drip acclimation without harm.

One thing I know that is harmful is opening the bag and leaving the fish in it. If you wanted to test this, open the bag and immediately test the water. Leave it open and float it for one hour then test it again.

I stand corrected, @KingFisher has 12yrs experience(10 more than I do), if this has worked for him then you & I should follow his advice!!!!! Thanks KF for stepping in.

 

[m.j.gomez]

Hello, I understand about wanting to get fish out of nasty bag water but if fish not acclimatized correctly you will shock, cause serious injury or kill. I will empty bag to just below half, attach bag to top of tank in water using potato chip bag clip(any clip will work) & add a little water from tank every 15min. This way fish can slowly adapt to chemistry of tank. I personally acclimate for 1.5-2hrs. Hope this helps!

Hello, @KingFisher do you think method I use would work if I added 2 drops prime conditioner immediately after opening bag?????

 

[King Fisher]

I appreciate the praise m.j. but I promise you my take on this is not shared by everyone. Lol. You seem to be pretty well versed in fish keeping so if you are doing something that works then keep doing it.

I used to acclimate similar to your method until a few years ago when the ammonia issue was brought to my attention. There's actually a pretty big consensus that ammonia levels do in fact rise dramatically in a short amount of time when the bag is opened and exposed to air. I would think if you are removing half of the old bag water and replacing it with fresh water as you go then it would be diluting the bad stuff to an extent. I wouldn't spend over an hour drip acclimating IMO. Probably more around 45 minutes and adding new water every 15 minutes.

Using Prime is something I'd definitely do if you drip acclimate. If you want to experiment someday......float a closed bag to temp acclimate then remove the fish and drop him into your quarantine tank. I think you'll find that no harm really occurs. I'd be more cautious with this method if you are dealing with very sensitive fish.

 

[m.j.gomez]

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I will definitely refine technique.
I also believe experienced people are more reliable than the things learned on internet!!!!!