acclimation questions
- Thread starter herbklee
- Start date
1. I float the bag for 15 minutes for temp.
2. I have a small bucket that I place the bag into so I can open the bag without it spilling. I place that bucket on a chair which is lower than the tank.
3. I get an airline tubing with a small knob to control and slow the flow to a very slow drip. That goes from the tank to the bag.
4. I get another tubing with the exact flow speed from the bag to a 5g bucket on the floor.
5. I let that run for a couple hours. Did I mention it's a very slow drip.
I do it like this because I used to pour out the bag of water when it filled and the fish would get stressed out. This way it just goes for a while and I even throw food into the bag while acclimating to see if he will eat. Stores run their salinity very low to save money.
2. I have a small bucket that I place the bag into so I can open the bag without it spilling. I place that bucket on a chair which is lower than the tank.
3. I get an airline tubing with a small knob to control and slow the flow to a very slow drip. That goes from the tank to the bag.
4. I get another tubing with the exact flow speed from the bag to a 5g bucket on the floor.
5. I let that run for a couple hours. Did I mention it's a very slow drip.
I do it like this because I used to pour out the bag of water when it filled and the fish would get stressed out. This way it just goes for a while and I even throw food into the bag while acclimating to see if he will eat. Stores run their salinity very low to save money.
1. Lower the lights or turn off.
2. Drain some water out of the bag.
3. Roll up the excess bag to create a float
4. Put a small mag float in the bag so the bag doesn't move around in the tank
5. Use a clean cup to pour small amounts of water in the bag every 5-10 minutes for 30-45 min.
6. Take the fish out by net or hand and place it in the aquarium. Try not to get the water from the bag into your tank.
7. Slowly ramp the light up next day.
2. Drain some water out of the bag.
3. Roll up the excess bag to create a float
4. Put a small mag float in the bag so the bag doesn't move around in the tank
5. Use a clean cup to pour small amounts of water in the bag every 5-10 minutes for 30-45 min.
6. Take the fish out by net or hand and place it in the aquarium. Try not to get the water from the bag into your tank.
7. Slowly ramp the light up next day.
I do a quicker acclimation over 15-30min with hospital iv tubing because fish arent as sensitive to salinity & temp as coral, especially if they have been in sealed bags with poop and food for more than a few hours. Its a race to remove the fish with 1/2gallon into a half gallon bucket, which is in a 5 gallon bucket. I let 2.5 gallons overflow from the small bucket twice. I float tap water in a large ziplock bag for the feshwater dip, and examine the new guy with a headlight and magnifyig glass before QT'ing.
+1 you gotta get the fish out ASAP but I was advise that fish are more sensitive to temp so a good 20 mins float and goes to FW dip. Do you treat the tap water?? I always use RO water or treat tap water with prime.
Mike I FW dip for 5-10 mins but watch the fish closely for stress which determines how long I dip them for. You will be surprise on what falls off the fish
Mike I FW dip for 5-10 mins but watch the fish closely for stress which determines how long I dip them for. You will be surprise on what falls off the fish
Imo temp & salinity get slowly acclimated at the same time with my medium-fast drip method. No cookbook "acclimation" recipe from me because imo a fish isnt acclimated until hes comfortable, eating, bold, gaining weight, which takes days to months.
3 min freshwater dip for weak fish, up to 10 min for big guys. If he looks weak but is coming straight from the wholesale brothel i might do 1-2min then back into a new bucket of tank water for 5 min & repeat 2-5x til stuff stops falling off. I hate to prophyactically treat for anything but FW is usually pretty harmless for healthy gills and kidneys. Ive seen LFS with tangs in FW displays for hours-days. If hes really weak / long transit, then no FW dip, straight to QT rehab. I used to use RO, but saw no difference with tap water.
I usually hand transfer between bags, buckets or tanks. Gets me close to my guys, then i go eye to eye with my new associate and say "im gonna make you an offer you cant refuse...im going to do this for you (keep you alive)...someday im going to need a favor from you (wack another fish)", then i slap his cheeks twice, he knows... I pwn him.
3 min freshwater dip for weak fish, up to 10 min for big guys. If he looks weak but is coming straight from the wholesale brothel i might do 1-2min then back into a new bucket of tank water for 5 min & repeat 2-5x til stuff stops falling off. I hate to prophyactically treat for anything but FW is usually pretty harmless for healthy gills and kidneys. Ive seen LFS with tangs in FW displays for hours-days. If hes really weak / long transit, then no FW dip, straight to QT rehab. I used to use RO, but saw no difference with tap water.
I usually hand transfer between bags, buckets or tanks. Gets me close to my guys, then i go eye to eye with my new associate and say "im gonna make you an offer you cant refuse...im going to do this for you (keep you alive)...someday im going to need a favor from you (wack another fish)", then i slap his cheeks twice, he knows... I pwn him.
