mr.fishy

Hey I figured I would share my acclimation process with the forum to help people with their new fish.

It's pretty much the floating bag method but a little better. Insted of using the bag I use the plastic fish holding containers that the store puts your fish in after they catch it. This works best with smaller fish since big fish probably wouldn't fit well in the container.

This way your fish has more room than a bag and it can get more air than being in the bag. Especially if your fish is being acclimated for and hour or more.

As soon as I get home I pour the fish and it's water in the platic holding container then put it in the tank and it hooks onto the side of the tank. It may float up a little bit depending on how much water is in it.

This way your fish is surrounded by your tanks water and will get use to the temperature of your tank. Then over the next hour I add a little bit of tank water every 5 to 10 minutes using a little cup. This is nice because you don't have to keep opening and closing a bag just pour it right in the container.

After about an hour you take out the container and get the fish out with your net or pour out the water and fish into the net over a bucket which is what I do. Then I drop the fish in my tank and it's ready to go. Make sure not to dump the store water in your tank.

Here is the plastic fish holder i use for acclimation. I was not able to find the container in stores so I ordered it online.

Check it out---> http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=15485

Borisbbadd

Great tip mr.fishy,

thanks for sharing..............

mosin360

Nice tip, I'll be sure to get one.

Shadowbeam

Thats a fantastic tip ^^ esp since i always find it so tough fiddling about with those bags!

Lucy

Great tip!
I hate floating the bags. I leave the bag open so the fish can get air and use a clothes pin to attach it to the side of the tank.
I'm always afraid a fish with get cause in a crease or a corner.
I'll definatly try this tip next time I get a new fish.

peacemaker92

Nice tip! I wish I could get one too but too bad they don't ship overseas. My LFS here uses small buckets instead of these stuff.

That's what I do too, thanks to my mom's idea. I hate floating the bags too and sometimes when I acclimate by putting cups of water inside the bag, it would fall off because the clothes pin can't hold the weight and opps, there goes my floating bag into the water

aquarist48

Hello MrFishy. Thanks for sharing the tip! I've been using my, what I call a critter keeper, for acclimation for sometime now. I agree on how great it is compared to the plastic bags. I also use my critter keeper to catch my fish (if not a bucket, another thread ) I think using them is a lot less stressful on the fish. It's always a good idea to compare pH and temperature before adding the new fish to your tank.
Thanks again!
Ken

ynaggo

Looks nice but they don't have those containers here where I am, so I use the drip method.

MizRamzi

I still use the drip method even with having those containers available. But the containers I use are the little critter containers, ones with the lids. I can walk away without the fear of the fish jumping out. Then as it's dripping I'll remove small amounts of water. In the end I wind up with nothing buy my tank water. No netting required this way, less stress on the fish.

The drip method is: Take a long enough piece of flexible air line tubing, tie a knot in it, and siphon into what ever container your acclimating your fish in. The tighter the knot, the slower the drip

Elvishswimmer

Me, being the naive beginner buyer, went a bought a kinda expensive gravel vac. I didn't realize that all the cheaper ones were sold out, it was just there, so I got it!

The Gravel vac is just like a normal one, except it has a stopcock (looks kinda like in this picture, minus it isn't on a glass chemistry funnel XD http://cynmar.com/images/items/zoom/11520078.jpg)
The stopcock is on the end with of the tubing.
I have no idea what brand it is though! It has the letters UT on it in fancy script, but that is all I can find :P

I think this makes it ideal for doing the drip method! Instead of getting a tube and tying a knot it in, I can just adjust the stopcock to the appropriate drip rate!

So the thing proves its use after all. Also its handy with water changes so that I don't have to restart the siphon a few times

mr.fishy

Glad to help. I first started this when I was acclimating my neons since I heard they are more sensitive. They all acclimated well.