How Do You Acclimate New Fish?

[ghostdawg]

I cut the bag open, pour the fish into the net, and plop it in the tank.

Do you float the bag before adding the fish?

 

[Rcslade124]

Float bag to temp acclimate then pour into a strainer and dip strainer in water and let them swim off. Especially when I order online. The fish has been in the water for days low oxygen and lower pH. Once oxygen gets added to the bag pH rises and ammonia becomes more toxic.

 

[AvalancheDave]

Float bag to temp acclimate then pour into a strainer and dip strainer in water and let them swim off. Especially when I order online. The fish has been in the water for days low oxygen and lower pH. Once oxygen gets added to the bag pH rises and ammonia becomes more toxic.

Oxygen doesn't really affect pH.

 

[Fishtine]

Funny, I just ran across this video a couple days ago and it made me rethink my slow water additions method:

 

[Rcslade124]

Oxygen doesn't really affect pH.

When a bag is sealed and the oxygen slowly depletes the carbon dioxide builds and lowers pH.

 

[jinjerJOSH22]

I float em then chuck em in.
I discard the water, I don’t need it, the tanks usually have water in them

 

[AvalancheDave]

When a bag is sealed and the oxygen slowly depletes the carbon dioxide builds and lowers pH.

That's more correct.

 

[AvalancheDave]

Funny, I just ran across this video a couple days ago and it made me rethink my slow water additions method:

It's trendy. It's on Youtube. Is it correct? I have my doubts.

One study used NaOH to absorb CO2 and dramatically increased the survival rate of fish in transport. That's like opening the bag not just at the destination but during the whole trip.

 

[Mandy627]

When I get a new gardnerI killI pair I usually take them out right away because they are usually in such foul water. Otherwise I do drip method or float bag. Depends on the fish and how much you spent I say.

 

[Sanderguy777]

I float the bag for about 15 min, then dump the water through a net and put the fish in the tank.
I think the drip method would be my second choice, but all the water around my area is about the same, so this works well for me.

 

[goldface]

Do you float the bag before adding the fish?

If I feel there is a large difference in temp, but normally no.

 

[Fishtine]

It's trendy. It's on Youtube. Is it correct? I have my doubts.

To be fair, that video is five years old and he exclusively interviewed people who had been professionals in the industry for years already at that time! I personally was surprised because the newer, trendier suggestion is drip acclimating, from what I usually see.

 

[AvalancheDave]

To be fair, that video is five years old and he exclusively interviewed people who had been professionals in the industry for years already at that time! I personally was surprised because the newer, trendier suggestion is drip acclimating, from what I usually see.

Drop or plop is the newer, trendier, "woke" method.

 

[86 ssinit]

For me it’s how long the fish has been in the bag. Within an hour I temp match the bag and slowly spill the bag amount of water in. If 3-4hrs I take longer adding water anything over I temp match bag than open and spill fish into bucket than remove from first bucket right away and add to tank water bucket. Let sit for 5-10min than add to QT tank .

 

[goldface]

Drop or plop is the newer, trendier, "woke" method.

You actually have that backwards. I didn't even know what drip acclimating meant when I started fishkeeping again back in late 2015. Maybe you think it's new because it's starting to make a comeback, because it simply works.

 

[Sanderguy777]

I've never lost a fish with the plop and drop method, but...

If the ammonia is high in the shipping bag, will it really hurt the fish to sit in the bag for another hour? Is the ammonia going to become more toxic?

Will the drip acclimation dilute the ammonia fast enough if they are sitting in the bag they shipped in?

(Under no circumstances do I add lfs water to my tank. I don't want anything they may have floating in their water!

 

[goldface]

I've never lost a fish with the plop and drop method, but...

If the ammonia is high in the shipping bag, will it really hurt the fish to sit in the bag for another hour? Is the ammonia going to become more toxic?

Will the drip acclimation dilute the ammonia fast enough if they are sitting in the bag they shipped in?

(Under no circumstances do I add lfs water to my tank. I don't want anything they may have floating in their water!

Some people get too fancy and technical about it, and do a very slow drip acclimation that lasts 2 hrs or more, which seems counterintuitive to me. Wouldn't you want your fish out of the dirty water as quickly as reasonably possible and not stressed out in a tiny space? When I hear about someone doing this, they seemingly lose half their fish (especially shrimp) within hrs or the next day, then ask if they didn't drip long enough. Either I have confirmation bias, or I'm really seeing a pattern. I'm definitely biased to the plop and drop method.

 

[AvalancheDave]

You actually have that backwards. I didn't even know what drip acclimating meant when I started fishkeeping again back in late 2015. Maybe you think it's new because it's starting to make a comeback, because it simply works.

When I got my first fish as an adult around 2000, drip acclimating was the only method. I thought it might be unnecessary and killed my first fish (an Oscar so not a delicate species). I drip acclimated fish after that and never lost one.

It's only in recent years that I've noticed people proselytizing for drop or plop.

If the ammonia is high in the shipping bag, will it really hurt the fish to sit in the bag for another hour? Is the ammonia going to become more toxic?

Will the drip acclimation dilute the ammonia fast enough if they are sitting in the bag they shipped in?

(Under no circumstances do I add lfs water to my tank. I don't want anything they may have floating in their water!

The argument is that CO2 has lowered the pH to the point where ammonia isn't toxic and opening the bag results in a rapid increase in pH.

Trying to avoid adding outside water to your tank isn't a guarantee since bacteria and other pathogens live on and inside fish.

CO2 can lower pH which decreases the toxicity of ammonia but is itself toxic to fish so you have to choose the lesser of two evils. In the studies on fish transport, they decided that CO2 was more dangerous and added pH buffers to prevent pH from declining. As mentioned before, one study actually used NaOH to absorb CO2 so there would be no protective effect the entire time...and fish survival increased.

If the shipper adds pH buffer, ammonia binder, or clinoptilotite or uses a breather bag there will be no benefit to plop or drop.

The drop or plop method also assumes that pH will increase rapidly but to this day no one has shown this. I doubt CO2 diffuses out of the water instantly. Air-water CO2 equilibrium is complicated and CO2 levels in the ocean lag years or decades behind atmospheric CO2 levels so this is not an assumption I would make.

I don't have a CO2 meter ($2,700) but I have several dissolved oxygen probes. Recently, I've been supersaturating one tank with oxygen and I'm surprised how long it lasts. In 24 hours it will go from ~330% to ~220%. Of course, oxygen and CO2 are different gases but the coefficient of diffusion of CO2 in water is 1.89 x 10-5 cm2/s while oxygen's is 2.42 x 10-5 cm2/s--not vastly different. But we'll just assume CO2 diffuses instantly while oxygen takes days...

Ammonia does not instantly harm fish at these levels. When ammonia levels in the water are higher than that in the blood, ammonia can no longer diffuse across the gills or is too energetically costly to pump out as ammonium and blood ammonia levels begin to rise. This takes time and probably much longer than any drip acclimation.

 

[Sanderguy777]

When I got my first fish as an adult around 2000, drip acclimating was the only method. I thought it might be unnecessary and killed my first fish (an Oscar so not a delicate species). I drip acclimated fish after that and never lost one.

It's only in recent years that I've noticed people proselytizing for drop or plop.



The argument is that CO2 has lowered the pH to the point where ammonia isn't toxic and opening the bag results in a rapid increase in pH.

Trying to avoid adding outside water to your tank isn't a guarantee since bacteria and other pathogens live on and inside fish.

CO2 can lower pH which decreases the toxicity of ammonia but is itself toxic to fish so you have to choose the lesser of two evils. In the studies on fish transport, they decided that CO2 was more dangerous and added pH buffers to prevent pH from declining. As mentioned before, one study actually used NaOH to absorb CO2 so there would be no protective effect the entire time...and fish survival increased.

If the shipper adds pH buffer, ammonia binder, or clinoptilotite or uses a breather bag there will be no benefit to plop or drop.

The drop or plop method also assumes that pH will increase rapidly but to this day no one has shown this. I doubt CO2 diffuses out of the water instantly. Air-water CO2 equilibrium is complicated and CO2 levels in the ocean lag years or decades behind atmospheric CO2 levels so this is not an assumption I would make.

I don't have a CO2 meter ($2,700) but I have several dissolved oxygen probes. Recently, I've been supersaturating one tank with oxygen and I'm surprised how long it lasts. In 24 hours it will go from ~330% to ~220%. Of course, oxygen and CO2 are different gases but the coefficient of diffusion of CO2 in water is 1.89 x 10-5 cm2/s while oxygen's is 2.42 x 10-5 cm2/s--not vastly different. But we'll just assume CO2 diffuses instantly while oxygen takes days...

Ammonia does not instantly harm fish at these levels. When ammonia levels in the water are higher than that in the blood, ammonia can no longer diffuse across the gills or is too energetically costly to pump out as ammonium and blood ammonia levels begin to rise. This takes time and probably much longer than any drip acclimation.

So are you saying drip acclimation is best? (Sounds like it)
And if so, how long should it go for?

 

[Sprinkle]

Drip acclimating my new fish or shrimp is a way better method, and fish will not get osmotic shock.

 

[aoiumi]

You see, the best way to test this would be a large study, where you have fish, in bags, all the same fish, all the same amounts, all the same time, in the bags, and then some you drop and plop, some you drip. see how it turns out. If one has more alive than dead, you could refine it from there.

 

[jake37]

Depends on the fish. For hardy fish I float the bag after opening it; then put in 20% aquarium water; then another 20% aquarium water; then some bit later release. Takes around 30 minutes. For fragile fishes I put them in a bucket with their water and do a drip for an hour or two. For mail-order fish - I float with the bag closed; then I open the bag and release them - for all cases I pour the water through a net into a bucket and put the fish in the tank - and flush their water. Never put the water the fish arrived in (local or mail) into the tank.

 

[Tez]

I use the floating bag method but after 10mins I had some of my own water in with them and leave them another 15mins before I add the fish.

 

[MissPanda]

I float the bag and something similar to drip acclimate. I take a syringe of water and put in there every 5 minutes for a period of time and then put them in the tank. I like to make the transition easy for them. Although I've never shipped in through the mail, so I would consider plopping them in if they were in foul water for so long.

 

[KinderScout]

All fish and shrimp are bought locally (we have three local fish stores and one 15 miles up the motorway) and home within 20 mins. Get home, fill bucket with water the right temp - put in bag and leave in a dark room whilst we do the weekly water change. Float the bag in the tank with lights off - poke a short length of airline through the plastic at the top end and tape it. Then use a big 100ml syringe to bubble some air through the bag water, then add 50ml tank water and take 50ml out. Watch telly. Drink wine. Repeat every five minutes for half an hour. Then do 100ml a couple of times. then just add 200ml or so - open the bag and net the fish/shrimp out and into the tank. Bit of a faff I know but we don't buy fish very often.

 

[WifeHatesAquatics]

I float the bag for 15 minutes.

Then in a separate quarantine tank I put half of my tank water in and half of the bag water in.
add the fish into it, the remaining bag water with prime.

& every so often I add about a quarter cup of the tanks water and once its been about a half hour, I transfer the fish into the tank.

 

[Sanderguy777]

According to a fish supplier I just was looking at...

Maybe not the end all authority, but they seem to think it works...

 

[NBettas83]

I'd say it depends on how sensitive the animal is. I would float the bag for most fish but I hear things like shrimp are super sensitive. So the drip method would probably be best for more sensitive animals.

 

[ahouseofscales]

I use floating bag and drip acclimation. It usually depends on the species and where I get the fish from. If I get them from a store close to me I will use the floating bag method, adding and replacing water every 15 minutes for an hour. If they come from a different area I will typically use drip acclimation in a covered 5 gallon bucket and I will leave them to acclimate for about an hour. If they are a more sensitive species I will always use drip acclimation, but if they are a hardier species I will use the floating bag. I have had great success with both.

 

[Anthony1976]

Wondering how you acclimate new fish arrivals....

Cup/Bucket Method - put bag contents in a clean bucket, add water at periodic intervals to get fish acclimated.

Drip Method - Use a drip loop to slowly drip acclimate the fish over a period of time while in a bucket.

Floating Bag Method - what a lot of chain stores tell you to do.... float the bag in the top of the tank for awhile until the temperature is the same, hopefully slowly adding tank water to the bag too over the acclimation time period..

Other Methods - what exactly do you do to acclimate new arrivals? How is it better or how does it differ from the other listed methods?

If interested, here is the Fishlore article on acclimating: Acclimating Fish to Your Aquarium

Thanks!
Mike

A combination of floating bag and drip method for me. I just empty 3/4 of the bag water from the fish shop in the drain then then float it and then add water every 5 minutes from the aquarium for around half an hour then tip all the water over a net then release the fish in the tank

 

[Croakii]

Plop and drop for me

 

[Troy0714]

Wondering how you acclimate new fish arrivals....

Cup/Bucket Method - put bag contents in a clean bucket, add water at periodic intervals to get fish acclimated.

Drip Method - Use a drip loop to slowly drip acclimate the fish over a period of time while in a bucket.

Floating Bag Method - what a lot of chain stores tell you to do.... float the bag in the top of the tank for awhile until the temperature is the same, hopefully slowly adding tank water to the bag too over the acclimation time period..

Other Methods - what exactly do you do to acclimate new arrivals? How is it better or how does it differ from the other listed methods?

If interested, here is the Fishlore article on acclimating: Acclimating Fish to Your Aquarium

Thanks!
Mike

Well heres the thing i voted for floating bag method, but it all depends on the fish im getting, if it is a strong fish that is not very sensitive i will just float it, but if it is a sensitive fish that needs a little more TLC, i will drip acclimate it just to be sure it is ok.

 

[BettasAreSuperior]

I use the floating bag method and the drip method. I float the bag for 30 min and drip acclimate for 1 hour. I make sure my fish are very acclimated!

 

[Dennis57]

I let the bag float for say 15 minutes, then add 1 cup of tank water, let bag float like 10-15 minutes then bingo, fish(s) and water all go into tank. I have been doing this for over 40 years and never lost a fish.
Quarantine tank??? Please I rather have that set up for just another tank.

Yes I know, what happens if a fish get ick? Sick?

Maybe I am just born lucky, ( although I never hit Lotto ) because I have never had to deal with ick.
I do have a 7 year old Angel fish now that I was told he has stomach Cancer.
But hes still hanging out with all his friends in the 125.

 

[goldface]

Drip acclimation? Nahhh. I plop and drop.

 

[Sanderguy777]

I let the bag float for say 15 minutes, then add 1 cup of tank water, let bag float like 10-15 minutes then bingo, fish(s) and water all go into tank. I have been doing this for over 40 years and never lost a fish.
Quarantine tank??? Please I rather have that set up for just another tank.

Yes I know, what happens if a fish get ick? Sick?

Maybe I am just born lucky, ( although I never hit Lotto ) because I have never had to deal with ick.
I do have a 7 year old Angel fish now that I was told he has stomach Cancer.
But hes still hanging out with all his friends in the 125.

I do the same thing, minus adding the store water. Ick isn't a big deal to me, but I dont want snails, etc that the store does have.
Ick lives in ALL fish/water, to my knowledge, but I try to look at fish in store tanks and avoid tanks that have Ick.

 

[kallililly1973]

I float for 30 minutes adding a turkey baster worth of water to the bag evey 10 minutes then dump the bag into a net over a bucket and let em free. Had great luck with this method.