How Do You Acclimate New Fish?

[bizaliz3]

Its already been mentioned that when fish have been shipped, then a slow acclimation is not safe.

The reason for this is because as soon as you open that bag, the oxygen hitting the water causes an ammonia spike. I forget the scientific explanation, but the water is becomes extra toxic immediately after the bag is opened if it has been sealed for multiple days.

If the fish was shipped in a breather bag, then you can acclimate slower because oxygen was getting in the bag all along. But those bags can't be floated, so you have to put the bag water and fish into a container and do it that way.

if the fish was in the bag for a 15 minute drive, then drip acclimating is the way to go.

But Never ever let the fish store water in your tank for any reason.

And ideally, if you are concerned about the safety of your current fish, you should always QT any new fish for a few weeks to even a couple months.

 

[ystrout]

Its already been mentioned that when fish have been shipped, then a slow acclimation is not safe.

The reason for this is because as soon as you open that bag, the oxygen hitting the water causes an ammonia spike. I forget the scientific explanation, but the water is becomes extra toxic immediately after the bag is opened if it has been sealed for multiple days.

If the fish was shipped in a breather bag, then you can acclimate slower because oxygen was getting in the bag all along. But those bags can't be floated, so you have to put the bag water and fish into a container and do it that way.

if the fish was in the bag for a 15 minute drive, then drip acclimating is the way to go.

But Never ever let the fish store water in your tank for any reason.

And ideally, if you are concerned about the safety of your current fish, you should always QT any new fish for a few weeks to even a couple months.

I actually didn't know that about mailed fish.... That's interesting. I also have yet to buy fish online but there's a pearl danio shortage in San Diego so I may have to buy online in the future. So that's good to know! haha

 

[bizaliz3]

I actually didn't know that about mailed fish.... That's interesting. I also have yet to buy fish online but there's a pearl danio shortage in San Diego so I may have to buy online in the future. So that's good to know! haha

I didn't know this for many years either. But I am glad I know now!
And just to clarify, it is still important to acclimate to temperature. Which is why you still want to float the bag WHILE IT IS SEALED. But once you open it up, you want to get the fish into the tank immediately.

 

[AvalancheDave]

With all the detailed explanations of drop and plop I'm not sure how you could come up with that. Sorry, I can't help you beyond what has already been explained.

I think getting the fastest shipping is a great idea, but it doesn't have anything to do with the method of adding the fish to the tank once you receive them.

Shouldn't it just be named "drop" then? Or "plop?" Not both because there's only one dropping or plopping. Unless you drop the fish on the floor.

Paying extra for delivery by 8:30 or even 10:30 would reduce the time in the bag by several hours. Drop OR plop reduces it by 30-60 minutes.

Minnowette(?) previously expressed doubts about this method. I'm not just going to take the word of a few Youtube personalities. I want to see someone actually test pH with a logging meter while the bag is opened.

 

[alicia_lynn]

Shouldn't it just be named "drop" then? Or "plop?" Not both because there's only one dropping or plopping. Unless you drop the fish on the floor.

Paying extra for delivery by 8:30 or even 10:30 would reduce the time in the bag by several hours. Drop OR plop reduces it by 30-60 minutes.

Minnowette(?) previously expressed doubts about this method. I'm not just going to take the word of a few Youtube personalities. I want to see someone actually test pH with a logging meter while the bag is opened.

Testing the pH would certainly answer the question. Too often people are just passing around info they heard from someone else that hasn't necessarily been tested. It does not mean that its wrong, it just might be that there is a better/different way.

 

[bizaliz3]

Shouldn't it just be named "drop" then? Or "plop?" Not both because there's only one dropping or plopping. Unless you drop the fish on the floor.
.

I just call it that because others do. haha.
I think "float and drop" or "float and plop" makes more sense.
But as for this phrase:
Plop means "plop the sealed bag in the water and let if float for a while to match temperature"
Drop means "drop them into the tank"

Makes some sense, right?

 

[AvalancheDave]

Testing the pH would certainly answer the question. Too often people are just passing around info they heard from someone else that hasn't necessarily been tested. It does not mean that its wrong, it just might be that there is a better/different way.

It's known as the illusory truth effect and it's absolutely rampant in the aquarium hobby. One good example is that everyone believes air stones only oxygenate via surface agitation. It has been studied by scientists who devised various experiments and found that bubble transfer is in fact greater than surface transfer.

Aquarium Co-op tested this with a dissolved oxygen meter and found that it took a ridiculous amount of surface agitation to match a crappy air stone. Few people believed him because, years ago, someone arbitrarily decided oxygenation is all about surface agitation with no evidence whatsoever. And that became the truth.

 

[Gone]

Shouldn't it just be named "drop" then? Or "plop?" Not both because there's only one dropping or plopping. Unless you drop the fish on the floor.

Paying extra for delivery by 8:30 or even 10:30 would reduce the time in the bag by several hours. Drop OR plop reduces it by 30-60 minutes.

Minnowette(?) previously expressed doubts about this method. I'm not just going to take the word of a few Youtube personalities. I want to see someone actually test pH with a logging meter while the bag is opened.

Who's dropping fish on the floor? I'm trying to take you seriously. Help me out here! LOL

Actually, one of the people you're blowing off as just some YouTube personality is Rick Biro, who has been a prominent importer and breeder of African Cichlids for 40 years. He's one of the original importers of African Cichlids into the U.S. He still maintains breeding facilities in Malawi. That doesn't mean he has to be right about everything, like so many people on internet forums. LOL!

I think a serious discussion about this issue is a good thing. Although we can all agree that the least time shipping is the best for the fish, if you consider the actual theory it's not about how many hours the fish have been in the bag. It's about the buildup of ammonia in the shipping bag, the subsequent drop in pH and conversion of ammonia to less toxic ammonium, then the chemical reaction when you add tank water and the big shift in pH and reconversion of ammonium back to ammonia.

 

[Culprit]

Ok, I'll get into the scientific aspect of it (kind of)

Plop and drop is also done by Rachel O'leary, a big name youtuber who runs a fish buisness with tons of extremely delicate fish, a lot of them nano. She is a huge advocate of it.

Basically, in a non breather bag, when a fish is shipped, the fish uses up the O2 in the bag, raising the CO2 levels. This causes a pH drop in the water, because more CO2=lower pH. Still following me? Lower pH causes ammonia NH3 (very harmful to fish at low concentrations), to ammonium NH4, which is a non toxic salt, which is far less toxic. I'm talking way way way less toxic. It's basically like nitrate at this point, except even less toxic. An extra few hours that you buy with faster shiping ($$$) will only raise the ammonium very slightly, which isn't dangerous to the fish. However, the second you open that bag, oxygen rushes in, replacing the high CO2 levels, and the non toxic ammonium instantly converts to ammonia which is extremely toxic. It will be at very high levels, and could easily be fatal. This is why, you get the fish, float it (aka plop it in the tank) until the temperature matches, usually 10-15 minutes, cut open the bag and quickly drop it in the tank. No other acclimation needed.

Now, on short LFS trips, nothing like that is going to happen, not enough time. So drip acclimate, or just scoop some water. Research has actually shown that a 30 minute drip acclimation is pretty much useless. If you drip acclimate, it should be at least an hour, two hours is a lot better. All my fish have been fine with both the plop and drop method and just a simple scooping of water.

 

[AvalancheDave]

Ammonium less toxic than nitrate? I don't think so. I also don't think NH4+ is a salt.

A lot of those videos, including the one by kgtropicals, have people saying the goal is to get the fish out the bag ASAP. The kgtropicals video is just one gigantic appeal to authority.

It isn't oxygen rushing in that raises pH but CO2 in the headspace reaching equilibrium with atmospheric CO2 levels. In that case, why is it that people say to leave tap water out overnight before testing pH so the CO2 can gas off? If it's instantaneous, you shouldn't have to wait.

Last, I'm very interested in the research that drip acclimation is useless. Please provide a citation so I can read the paper!

 

[Culprit]

Ammonium would be less harmful then the normal amounts of nitrates found in people tanks (around 20 ppm) In the volumes it would be in in a shipping container.

I was not detailed enough in my terms. I will attempt to be more scientific. Yes, it is not oxygen rushing in, it is the fact that the fish had used up O2, raising the levels of CO2 in the bag, and when you open the bag to the atmosphere,the CO2 and oxygen levels quickly equalize both in and out of the bag (air). In the water, if you move it at all, aka pour into a container for drip acclimation, or slosh it around some, excess CO2 will quickly offgas from the water, causing non-toxic ammonium to convert to very toxic ammonia causing ammonia burns and other damage.

I did not say drip acclimation was useless, at all. I drip acclimate. What I said was

a 30 minute drip acclimation is pretty much useless. If you drip acclimate, it should be at least an hour, two hours is a lot better.

Here is an excellent article going into depth about why you should not drip acclimate shipped fish. This is from a breeding center near me, who has an excellent facility, and breeds and sells a lot of the clownfish in the US. They also breed countless other species, and are forerunners in the captive-bred realm.

 

[Avani]

Personally I only temperature acclimate since in my area almost everybody runs on the same water within a large radius.

I don't drip acclimate either since I've heard from numerous people that opening their bag and leaving them in the water is toxic, since the pH changes drastically once the bag is opened. So, I will temperature acclimate and then within seconds try to either use my hand or a net to carefully get them into the tank as fast as possible. A good rule of thumb is to never add water from the bag your fish is being brought home in. Your fish may be contaminated, but if they aren't and the water is, you're just releasing that into your entire system and it could wreck havoc on your tank.

Also, consider keeping the lights to your aquarium off for a couple days, and some people say to not feed your fish for a couple days also. Moving is stressful for fish, and you're not only moving them, but they're being put in an unfamiliar environment. Consider the traffic around the tank, too, since some fish may get stressed by people constantly walking by.

 

[AvalancheDave]

Ammonium would be less harmful then the normal amounts of nitrates found in people tanks (around 20 ppm) In the volumes it would be in in a shipping container.

Here is an excellent article going into depth about why you should not drip acclimate shipped fish. This is from a breeding center near me, who has an excellent facility, and breeds and sells a lot of the clownfish in the US. They also breed countless other species, and are forerunners in the captive-bred realm.

I didn't see any references in that article. I was promised actual research.

Ammonium toxicity isn't that well-studied but one study, Thurston (1981), has the 96-hr LC50 for rainbow trout fingerlings at 161 mg/L NH3-N and another, Westin (1974), nitrate at 1,355 mg/L nitrate-nitrogen (equal to 6,000 mg/L nitrate). So, not even close.

 

[Authmal]

I drop and plop.

In the past I always drip acclimated because it seemed to make sense. Then I studied some reports by fishkeepers I respected and they drop and plop because of the pH swings and ammonia reactions when you open a bag of fish. Here's a video of several prominent fish folks at a trade show talking about how they add fish to their aquariums.

Depends on how you acquire the fish. If they've been bagged for hours because they're shipped, plop and drop is good, as is putting some Prime or something else to counter the ammonia into a bucket with some of your tank water, and then dump them into that. That'll start the acclimation process, and treat the ammonia because it becomes rapidly toxic from the exposure to air which allows the pH to rise and allow the ammonia to be more toxic.

 

[Culprit]

Your misreading.

You said

I'm very interested in the research that drip acclimation is useless. Please provide a citation so I can read the paper!

I said

a 30 minute drip acclimation is pretty much useless. If you drip acclimate, it should be at least an hour, two hours is a lot better. All my fish have been fine with both the plop and drop method and just a simple scooping of water.

Which is not saying drip acclimation is useless at all! I use drip acclimation. But if your going to drip acclimate, drip acclimate for a long period of time.

Now your focusing on the small "fact" I said when I said

ammonium NH4, which is a non toxic salt, which is far less toxic. I'm talking way way way less toxic. It's basically like nitrate at this point, except even less toxic.

At this point, I replied, correcting my statement.

Ammonium would be less harmful then the normal amounts of nitrates found in people tanks (around 20 ppm) In the volumes it would be in in a shipping container.

This study... Is useless. I know how harmful ammonia is! That's the whole point of plop and drop. I want to see your study on ammonium aka NH4

Thurston (1981), has the 96-hr LC50 for rainbow trout fingerlings at 161 mg/L NH3-N and another, Westin (1974), nitrate at 1,355 mg/L nitrate-nitrogen (equal to 6,000 mg/L nitrate).

 

[AvalancheDave]

Research has actually shown that a 30 minute drip acclimation is pretty much useless.

Still looking for that research!

The Thurston (1981) study is of LC50 vs. total ammonia at various pH. I selected the lowest pH (6.51) data point (161 mg/L NH3-N).

 

[Lizzy23]

The way I've done it, recent people have told me is wrong.
People around here let them temperature acclimate for twenty minutes, then reach in and get the fish by hand and put them in the tank.
Others let them temp acclimate then put a fishnet over a bucket, pour water and fish in/through the net and them put the fish in.
Both of these make me worry for the fish's slime coat....
I've always let them temp acclimate for twenty minutes. Then add some of my tank water into the bag, let acclimate for another twenty, to allow the fish to help adjust to my tank parameters. Sometimes I do that again, sometimes after the second acclimate I pour the fish in. I've done it this way since I got my first tank ten years ago.
Now other people are telling me to NEVER add the shops water to your tank, in case of sickness..... but wouldn't the fish being added be contaminated anyway? So what's the point? My fish are never in the bag for more than an hour, so there isn't a whole lot of fish waste.
So now I'm curious to how the beautiful people on here adjust their new finned babies to their new homes.

it depends on how long they have been in the bag if they have been in there for hours then temp acclimate then put them in the tank right away..if it hasn't been that long then you can temp acclimate then add some tank water, then put them in. never add the pet store water you never know what's in there, and always quarantine fish before adding them to a main aquarium/pond. as for netting or grabbing in my opinion if its a smaller fish use a net is its a bigger fish use your hands either way there may be some damage to the slime coat but the fish should be fine after some time.

 

[david1978]

I float and dump everything in the tank. I too believe what ever is in the water the fish already has so netting them would just cause stress.

 

[Drav]

To acclimate to temperature I just float the fish bag for about 15 -45 min, and as long as the ph and hardness of the water from my tank is about the same as the store water I release them, you should really quarantine the fish for a few weeks as well to prevent disease spreading to all your other fish. If the hardness or ph is different Id drip a little bit of water from your aquarium into the bag over the course of 6 or so hours. The reason for not letting any store water into the tank is to prevent the spread of disease and store water often has a lot of ammonia in it, it could cause an ammonia spike in your tank. To release the fish you could pour them out onto a fish net then release them that way, it should be a bit easier on their slime coats.

 

[AJE]

I float then drip, then float again then net scoop, you can never be too careful

 

[Bry]

Wow so many replies! I didn't realize this was such an opinionated subject.
My fish are seldomly in the bag for longer than 20-30 minutes. Absolute max of an hour.
My local shop and I are on the same water system, but I have live plants and driftwood in two of my tanks, the other two have live plants and live rocks. So there is/may a bit of difference in my water than the shop's.
The only issue with disease I've had was the Blue Rams I had, they died of Columnaris (spelling?) after a couple weeks. Which I was told happens sometimes. I wasn't aware how sensitive one of my dream fish were. And it was after I had decided to take apart and redo my tank, while I used the same filter and media I don't know if it being a kind of "new" tank had anything to do with that. Other than that sicknesses haven't really been an issue for me, in any of my tanks.

 

[Bryangar]

All I do is float the bag for maybe 15 mins then net them and drop them. No need to overthink it if it’s works for a ton of other fish keepers.

 

[aussieJJDude]

Every time I tried to drip acclimatise the fish has aways been more stressed than a plop and drop - which usually act pretty normal after a 10 minutes or so, and tend to feed after an hour - so I match temp and then release. Sometimes if temp is pretty much the same, I release straight away. Never have had issues doing it within the last 10-15 years, but the couple of times I do a drip or add water to the bag, fish act poorly or even die soon after.

IMO, no need to acclimatise to pH, since they can do it themselves - the fish. Even then, it takes a little longer than a few minutes for the fish to actually adjust to to water parameters, so no point in further stressing out the fish.

 

[JamieXPXP]

ive always plop and drop or float and drop whenever I get new fish, done that since I was a kid with no casualties or issues. ive never done the drip as I feel it takes too long for me

 

[Mike]

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

 

[kallililly1973]

Floating bag method for me. I cut the bag open put a drop of prime in and add some water every 10 minutes for 30-40 minutes then pour the bag out over a bucket with a net on top to catch the fish and to not get any fish store water in my tanks and have always had good results

 

[pagoda]

Floating bag......the only downside I have noted on occasions is when the fish inside the bag refuses to wait for the appropriate water mixings and temperature balances....they get bored of waiting and leap out of the bag as soon as my back is turned, then make stupid faces at me "neh neh neh I sneaked in when you weren't watching me"

 

[Cheesecake]

I use the bag method and I slowly add cups of water.
It's the best of both worlds IMHO.

 

[AcuarioAmazonico]

I won’t lie - I chuck them in. My LfS is literally down the road and has exact same ph as my water. I throw them in and have never lost one.
Shrimp or snails get gradual exposure but all fish are straight into the tank (lights off and after a feed).

 

[Amazoniantanklvr]

Before I knew what I was doing I did the same thing as AcuarioAmazonico but I'd float the bag first. I never lost one. Now I do the bag method. float the bag for ~15 min the open the top and pour a little in every 5 min or so. Then when the bag is 3/4 full I empty out half of the water and do the same thing again. Then I pour all of the water with the fish into the tank.

 

[NC122606]

Depends on how I get the fish,

If they have been shipped to me or if they have been in the bag for a while I will just float them and plop them right in.
If I get them from my LFS then I will do the cup and bucket method because the ammonia is not that bad.

 

[FinalFins]

For me it depends on the fish and how I get it- anything slightly expensive is floating bag method, any thing really expensive drip of floating bad.

From LFS I just pop them in after temp acclimation and same for shipping.

 

[AJE]

It depends, I drip and float, depending on what I'm acclimating. Sometimes it isn't even necessary to acclimate

 

[StarGirl]

I plop and drop fish. I think my Lfs is the same water. I have only lost Rummies doing this. However the RCS I just got I dripped for almost 2 hours.

Wow that similar threads on the side is screwing me up today!

 

[bogmummy]

I clip the back to the back of the tank and float it, but leave it open so I can gradually add water with a syringe.

 

[MacZ]

Let them temperature acclimate floating, but then I put them in a bucket for the cup-method, and finally pour them in a net and release them in the tank.

 

[david1978]

I float and dump. No adding water. I dump even the water in. So far no issues. To me there is nothing in the water that isn't already in the fish.

 

[Amazoniantanklvr]

My LFS used ro water and I don't so I have to acclimate them properly.

 

[goldface]

I cut the bag open, pour the fish into the net, and plop it in the tank. Quick and easy and takes only 4 secs of my life.

 

[FinalFins]

My LFS used ro water and I don't so I have to acclimate them properly.

You saying you use RO too?

 

[Amazoniantanklvr]

You saying you use RO too?

My LFS uses ro water. I don't.

 

[A201]

Modified Plop & Drop. I buy locally.
My tank water had better be purer than the LFS, or I'm doing something wrong. Lol.
I make sure the display tank is a little warmer than the water in the fish bag.
Discard the bag water. Put the new fish in a big net & hang the net into the water outflow.
I allow the fish to stay in the net for approx. 30 min. This gives the tank mates & newcomer a chance to check each other out before releasing.

 

[SeaMonkey06]

It depends on what I'm acclimating.

I usually use the bucket method (adding water every 10 minutes or so for about half an hour, then scooping them in), but sometimes I'll just go with the float the bag for about 30 minutes and add water to make life a bit easier.

 

[Joshaeus]

I usually use the bucket and cup method. I also add a drop or two of prime to neutralize any ammonia in the shipping/pet store water.

 

[Cody]

I plop and drop fish. I think my Lfs is the same water. I have only lost Rummies doing this. However the RCS I just got I dripped for almost 2 hours.

Wow that similar threads on the side is screwing me up today!

This seems to be something being more widely accepted and recommended. a couple YouTube channels I follow swear by this.

 

[StarGirl]

This seems to be something being more widely accepted and recommended. a couple YouTube channels I follow swear by this.

I think a lot of us older fish keepers have been doing this for a long time. Its not a new thing. It was just poo pahed for awhile. lol

 

[Cody]

L

I think a lot of us older fish keepers have been doing this for a long time. Its not a new thing. It was just poo pahed for awhile. lol

Yeah just keep have to keep it a secret until someone online says its cool and then it’s okay to admit to it LOL

 

[mattgirl]

Float the bag to match the temp and then dump them in water and all. The last fish I got were some mollies. I did the whole add water to the bag thing and within a few days I had lost most of the mollies. Now I am back to the way I've always done it.

 

[StarGirl]

L

Yeah just keep have to keep it a secret until someone online says its cool and then it’s okay to admit to it LOL

Nope we usually admit it....lol

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Floating bag method for me in most cases, unless it's a shrimp or a sensitive species like a puffer, then I drip acclimate.