whats the preferred fish acclimation?

[almcloud]

I've been doing the "bag floating + water exchange" acclimation but when I wanted to buy some fish online they were saying that they won't warranty their live stock unless you use their method: cut a small whole at the corner of the bag (big enough for the fish to fit thru) then dispose of most of the water, then drop the fish in the tank with a little drop of bag water. They were saying that's the best way they've been using and it's less stressful for the fish than to float them then catching them with the net (because net is hurting the fish).
What do the majority prefer here?
Thanks!

 

[almcloud]

Any suggestions at all?

 

[corinne118s]

I don't get it how is that acclimating them?

 

[savage]

I float the bag and add about 1/2 cup tank water every five minutes until I've doubled the water in the bag. Then I net them into the tank. I havent lost a fish doing it.

Most folks recommend the drip method, from what I've read though.

I know netting some species can be dangerous too. Like pictus cats. Those I did the hole in the bag after the floating method and just left hardly any water in the bag and they kind of slid out.

 

[KaylNeko]

Some people are of the opinion that some of the online sellers demand the "plop and drop"--ie, no acclimatization, just dumping them in there--for refund purposes. They don't wanna have to, and most folks either drip acclimate or do the float the bag and add a quarter cup every fifteen minutes. *shrug* See if they demand that for fish like discus or marine life, too--those guys, from everything I've read, NEED drip acclimatization to survive the transfer.


Unless what they're telling you is to float it, do the add a quarter cup water every fifteen minutes until you're ready to put them in the tank, then to the drain and dump. That would be different, and I can understand that one.

 

[Matt68005]

Maybe they are sending you crappy fish in the first place. One time i got fish and was very careful to pour them into a bowl, slowly add tankwater every 15 minutes for an hour and a half, then introduced them into the tank. And just recently my wife was home, and just floated the bags for 15 minutes and dumped em in there. Oddly enough, only one of the fish from my "slow" acclimation is still alive, while the ones my wife just dumped in there are all perfectly fine and healthy. I guess it dosent really make much differance.

 

[siva]

Which site is this you are looking to order from? And how would they possibly know how you acclimated the fish?

 

[Hholly]

I usually do the float and add water method. But for very sensitive fish I drip acclimate.

 

[jcolon]

I usually do the float and add water method. But for very sensitive fish I drip acclimate.

+1 with Drip Acclimation for sensitive fish like Rummynose Tetras.

 

[Penncentralfan]

Go ahead and do the float and add method and if something goes wrong, just tell the seller that you did the method. How would they know?

 

[P_Wrenn_12]

I float the bag and add about 1/2 cup tank water every five minutes until I've doubled the water in the bag. Then I net them into the tank. I havent lost a fish doing it.

Most folks recommend the drip method, from what I've read though.

I know netting some species can be dangerous too. Like pictus cats. Those I did the hole in the bag after the floating method and just left hardly any water in the bag and they kind of slid out.

I've done this for years and have had no problems.

 

[almcloud]

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions!

 

[almcloud]

Which site is this you are looking to order from? And how would they possibly know how you acclimated the fish?

Live Tropical Fish - Live Delivery Warranty for Tropical Fish from AquariumFish.net.

 

[stan23]

Wow. That site has some very interesting thoughts about acclimation, water changes, gravel, etc. Not always in-line with what I've learned from this forum.

 

[aqua_chem]

I've actually heard a little bit about plop and drop. The guy I spoke to about it was a bit daft, but I was able to reconstruct his argument as such:

When a fish spends an extended amount of time in a bag, two components build up in the bag: ammonia and co2. The co2 drives down the pH, largely detoxifying the ammonia. When the bag is first opened, the influx of oxygen and outflux of co2 cause the pH to rapidly climb, making the ammonia rapidly convert to the much more toxic ammonium. This rapid increase toxins shocks the fish, possibly leading to its death. The fact that the levels rise so much faster that in a normal tank environment means that the fish's normal regulatory functions can't react in time to save the fish.

Sounds kind of like a leftover from days before breather bags to me. Bunk, imo.

 

[sammybelle]

Newbie question here: exactly what is the "drip" method of acclimation?

 

[Hholly]

Newbie question here: exactly what is the "drip" method of acclimation?

Have a look on YouTube for it. There are many videos of it.

 

[jcolon]

Newbie question here: exactly what is the "drip" method of acclimation?

Basically it's slowly dripping your tank water into the bag the fish is in, or better yet, pour the bag contents in a small bucket, then drip. Lots of YouTube videos.
Really good method for sensitive fish.

 

[bs6749]

It depends on the size of the fish, how long the fish has been in the bag, etc.

What I do most of the time....float the bag to let the temps between the bag and tank approach one another, then remove the fish from the bag with my bare hand and place it into the tank.

If the fish have been in the bag for a relatively short amount of time, then water exchange is okay and so is drip acclimation. If the fish have been in the bag for 4 hours or more, I'd float the bags and then do the bare handed removal.

The reason for not adding tank water to the bag when the fish has been in there for an extended period is because of the risk in sudden pH changes, which can burn the fins of some fish like discus, angelfish, etc. Netting is also rough on a fish's scales/sides compared to a wetted bare hand. Plop and drop can result in much less stress on a fish than other acclimation methods.

 

[George9]

I used to do the the float way, but I've found that I like the drip acclimating better. I just acclimated some rummynose tetras and a gbr by floating for 20 minutes and then doing the drip acclimation for 2 hours.