Shawnie

I wanted to do this thread for anyone whose buying new fish ...some things ive learned along the way that really do matter and sometimes we dont think about


1. When you bring home your new fish in their bags, test the bag of water before emptying it out into a container or a tank....test it for pH, ammonia, and nitrites to see where the fish came from

2. compare your tank to those tests to see where your fish are going

3. depending on steps 1 & 2 depends on the acclimation process ....if the readings are both close to eachother, remove 1/2 cup of water from the bag and add a 1/2 cup of water from your tank to the bag...do this every 15 mins and give it at least an hour

4.. if the ph is way off, do the same as #3 but take 1 1/2 to acclimate

5. if the ammonia/nitrite is high in their bag, (and hopefully you have 0 in your tanks) take 1/4 cup of water out of the bag and add 1/2 cup back in the bag ..do this every 20-25 mins and take at least 1 1/2 -2 hours to acclimate...

leaving the bag open during all this is a must for oxygen...adding to a container to do this is ok if you think there is zero chance of any soap residue or any other chemicals that might alter any test results listed above....

a stable ph is key to all fish keeping and although some have specific requirements, a ph shock is a huge cause of death among healthy fish..as well as old tank syndrome (fish get use to some forms ammonia and a healthy tank throws them in shock because they are so stressed from such ammonia )

this has worked for me for many years and it also seems to be needed lately with allot of members loosing fish for no reasons...its something ive thought might help

matt6765

ok thank for posing this

bolivianbaby

Great pointers, Shawnie! The difference of poor conditions (a lot of LFS) to great conditions (hopefully our tanks) can definitely shock our little finned friends

harpua2002

Drip acclimation can be a big help as well. For anyone that doesn't know how to do this, it involves placing your new fish and its bag water into a container (like Shawnie said, make sure no soap has ever been used). Take a piece of airline tubing and run it from your tank to the container. I use my Mag Float to fasten mine to the display tank; a veggie clip would also work. Start a siphon out of your tank, and you can tie a knot in the tubing to regulate the flow... loosen or tighten as needed to control the speed of the drops. I usually use about a drop per second. Let it drip for an hour or so. Then, place the fish into the display.

alicem

Great post, Shawnie!
Often we get so impatient/excited to add our new fish and we don't take the time to acclimate them correctly,
let alone check the LFS water in the bag.

It is especially helpful that you listed water amounts, along with a time line to follow, that relates to the water comparisons.

I've used the drip acclimation that harpua2002 describes and it works very well.
Remember to remove some bucket water, a time or two, during the process.

alicem

Beth1965

Shawnie:
I kept reading that fish would acclimate to the pH in tanks (from one environment to the next) so I really haven't been paying any attention to the pH. Also, I never paid much attention to how 'open' the bag was while I waited for acclimation. Man, was that stupid. I will for sure use a separate container so they are getting enough oxygen during the acclimation process.
Any tips on where I should be with pH (other than what I will find when i do a search on this site)?
Thank you so much for this thread.
Beth

TedsTank

Amen Shawnie...it's nice to see periodic reminders to us...and such priceless info for those getting into this fishy stuff!!

cerianthus

All great advice. DO remove water every few minutes from the container. Depending on the duration of trip home, am sure some amoonia will build up thus removing will definitely benefit the new comer. Used to use IV line. Worked the best. Depending on the quality of the tubing, you can even hold the tubing under the hood and it wont kink.

Best would be making U-tube using 3/16 rigid tubing. One that we used on undergravel filter. Hold the tubing at a point of bend over candle ligh, not too close, and as it softens gently pull and bend then into cold water to stiffen. Do for one more angle then you got yourself a long lasting U-tube for acclimating. Depending on the lentgh of rigid tubing, you can control amt of water to be drained from main tank. ALways can add small piece of tubing and/or rigid tubing to increase, if desired/needed. Please dont drain the tank. I've seen it happen as when one walked away from acclimation process cuz of phone call. Same thing with Python.

Can have bucket with hole on the side, inside the cat litter pan so water filling in the bucket can drain into litter pan thus no need for physical removal of water from bucket.

harpua2002

Neat idea cerianthus!

We generally don't remove any bag water during drip acclimation... only because we have many LFSs within easy driving distance so the trip isn't far. However, this is sound advice for sure!

cerianthus

A must for s/w including coral and inverts. I assure you, lower mortality rate, especially after shipping.

Short rip or not , removing water will def help.

I would prefer to check before bagging to ensure that they were properly maintained. One way to keep lfs on their toes. I actually took my own test kit and test it myself until I got to know the staff and or experienced. By looking at the fish, can judge wether to buy or not even though went against my better judgement when unknown fish were avail (hitch hikers).
Nowdays, most lfs may keep one or few Centralized system, so it is actually easier to test..

Lucy

Great reminder Shawnie, may I also add that any new inhabitants should be quarantined for at least 2 weeks before adding it to your existing stock.

harpua2002

Good point... we should start removing bag water, although we've been fortunate and haven't had any fatalities. Our LFSs here are truly the best of the best, we find out about them from the reef club and are consistently impressed when we go check them out. It's been much more fun fish/coral shopping in this area than anywhere else I've ever lived.

gmen4life

yeah my lfs sells fish like burger king sells burgers they are just meAT TO THEM!!!!they dont know much about the fish even i get mad at how they net my fish

aquarist48

Thanks Shawnie! Great tips.

I would like to add something concerning pH levels. It's been my experience and from lots of information I've read over the years that you can take a fish from a low pH to a high ph without a great deal of concern but the fish should still be acclimated.

If you move a fish from a high pH to a low pH without acclimation the fish probably will not survive the shock.

There are also acclimation kits you can buy, example below:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=16100

Also you can use air line tubing, tie a knot in it to adjust the water flow and it works just as well. The kit has the little hook that hangs on the tank which I really like.

Ken

Slug

I disagree to some degree about leaving the bag open. At least for fish that have been shipped in, coming home from the LFS might be different but still good advice to know. But fish on a long journey have it tougher.

I use the plop and drop method as well as dripping. I get my fish out of bags ASAP. As long as conditions in your bucket/tank are good its better then the bags. The reasoning is this:

CO2 is being constantly built up in these bags, as well as ammonia while the fish are in them. The CO2 concentration raises pH inside the bag. Once the bag is opened, CO2 rushes out and the pH drops significantly and the ammonia turns more toxic. Of course this isn't snap your fingers instant dead fish obviously...but if you open the bag and float it that way for 30mins with the fish inside it could possibly have ill effects. Floating the bags closed to warm them up also increase the amount of oxygen the fish inside need, but with the CO2 and Ammonia....could be bad. But the bags can breathe right? Sure to some degree...if they arn't submerged in water.

Adding water to the bags can also increase the pH, which increases the toxicity of the ammonia.

And again, this is more a risk with fish being shipped in the your LFS fish bagged less then 30mins ago, but its good knowledge to have. Just be careful is all i'm saying.

gmen4life

i have never had them shipped i guess there is more involved then

ray_sj

For shipped fish, I usually make a tiny hole in the bag and add a drop or two of AmQuel to neutralize any ammonia buildup. This way, you can take your time in acclimating them without worrying as much about the toxicity.

Ken, on your comment on the pH.. Is there rule of thumb for safe pH acclimation time? Such as pH should not change more than X per hour?

Slug

That works too! I've heard of people using AmQuel

gmen4life

ill have to rembr that

aquarist48

Hello ray...for a true acclimation...the pH in the bag or the bucket that you have the new fish in, should be the same as the tank prior to adding the fish. The acclimation has to be done slowly. As far as a time line I don't think one can be set...just depends on if you're using the drip method or pouring water into the bag a little at a time. I think most do it with in an hour. Below is a link concerning "acclimation" that may be a big help to some:
http://www.fishlore.com/acclimating-tropicalfish.htm

Too, keep in mind that the difference between 7.1 and 7.2 is something like 10,000 times difference. (I don't recall the actual amount).

ray_sj

Thanks, Ken. I was just curious if I should be taking more time to acclimate. It usually takes me 1-2 hours by drip method, and that's worked well for me so far.. My tap water has a pH of 8.0, so it's often quite different from the shipping water.

gmen4life

one thing i try and do is make lfs hold them for a week or 2 so i can watch them

harpua2002

I thought it was the other way around... CO2 buildup would drop pH, then CO2 gassing off would raise it. Regardless, if I had fish shipped to me I would agree with the plop and drop method for sure. I've read many accounts of discus keepers that do just that with no ill effects- I'll add you to the list of those folks.

aquarist48

Ray what you're doing sounds fine As long as the pH is the same or higher than what the fish came in and the temps should be the same acclimating for 1 to 2 hours.
Ken

Shawnie

bumping for some great information from all our members! with allot of new fish purchases, this thread really helps