Should I drip acclimate?

I ordered a honey gourami, 6 Indian glass fish, and 6 kuhli loaches online. I know all of these fish prefer acidic water, especially the loaches. Except my water is quite hard. I’m on a well that’s surrounded by limestone. Every week or two I have to scrape calcium deposits/buildup off the sides of the tanks and heaters. I don’t have a pH test kit as of right now, but I’m just gonna go ahead and guess that the pH level is likely high.
I’ve read mixed opinions on how to acclimate fish to a higher pH. I believe so long as the pH remains stable then it’s generally okay? I don’t want to start messing with the levels using chemicals. I have small pieces of driftwood, some live plants, and a bit of leaf litter in my tanks. That’s about it.
Anyway, from what I know these fish are all tank raised, and are likely being kept in water that is neutral/on the hard side.
When they arrive, would I be able to just float the bags, let some of my tank water in every once in awhile, then release the fish? Or should I use drip acclimation just to be safe? I’m not so worried about the gourami, as I’ve kept a honey before and they are pretty darn hardy. Glass fish I’m not so sure. Kuhli loaches I’m the most worried as I’ve read differing opinions as to how hardy they are with that sort of stuff. I’ve never kept them before.
Thanks!

 

I would definitely drip acclimate and I would get an api freshwater master kit ASAP if you need to scrape calcium deposits off your tank it might be too high

 

I would definitely drip acclimate and I would get an api freshwater master kit ASAP if you need to scrape calcium deposits off your tank it might be too high

Okay. Is there an easy or sure fire method for drip acclimation? I’ve never actually done it before.
It’s probably on the high side yeah. I haven’t noticed any negative effects in my other fish or plants though surprisingly, so I’m assuming it’s not at dangerous levels or anything. My 2 bettas are super healthy, plants are growing fast, and of course the snails love it lol (they actually eat some of the calcium off the glass).
But yeah. I can do the drip method just to be safe.

 

For drip acclimating you just need a bucket that can hold enough of the water the fish came in so it can be fully covered. I like to ask for a bag of the water the fish was in so I have extra. Then pour the fish in the bucket and get a tube to siphon water out of it tie a knot in the tubing so only drops come out and leave it like that till the amount of water doubles then net the fish and add it in to the tank
here’s a video I used to learn this and it worked for many fish

Time- (3:45-6:15 is when she shows it)

 

Believe there's an article on how to do this on this very forum. If I'm wrong a google search may work too. Bottom line is you need to configure airline with a knot to tighten/loosen and manage water flown but I admit I'm not an expert. I tend to do batch acclimation by slowly adding target water to original water using small tupperware. Drip would be better and intend to smarten myself into the future.

I would definitely drip acclimate and I would get an api freshwater master kit ASAP if you need to scrape calcium deposits off your tank it might be too high

I very much agree with this and a water hardness test kit as well given your circumstances. Together will probably cost you 40-45 bucks which isn't much to some but a major cost to others based on circumstances but very well worth it and much needed.

Cheers and best of luck!

 

I bought a drip acclimator for $11 on Amazon - one of the best, cheap aquarium purchases I've made. It's such a simple product, but makes it so much easier to do.

 

Thanks for the responses. I found a good video on acclimation tips. The person also addressed how the ammonia can shoot up once you open the fish bag after transporting, so it’s best to dose some ammonia detoxifier (I have Prime) directly into the bag immediately after opening. The fish I ordered will be in transit for 3-4 days so I’ll be sure to follow that as I don’t want to shock them. There was another tip where you can put a net over a bucket, pour the fish directly into the net, then add to the aquarium straight after, if you want to avoid the ammonia issue. I’ll pass on that though as the store’s parameters are probably quite different from mine.
I also ordered a master test kit, it’ll be here in about a week. Curious to see how high my pH actually is.

 

Before you go through all the trouble you might want to just ask them what their water parameters are.

 

Before you go through all the trouble you might want to just ask them what their water parameters are.

True. I think they’re quite busy all the time so I’m not sure if they’d be able to answer that. Could try though.

 

True. I think they’re quite busy all the time so I’m not sure if they’d be able to answer that. Could try though.

I just say to ask because it’s generally safer to get fish out of the bag asap as opposed to leaving them in there for longer if they’re shipped over multiple days. Of course, it’d be the safer choice to drip if the source water is insanely different, so it is really important to know the water they were in beforehand.

 

They should be able to at least tell you what there ph is, you as a costomer should deserve at least that.

 

Hi all!
I hopefully will be getting new fish in the next month or two. I will be getting honey gouramis, wcmm, cory catfish, possibly RCS (Would they work in an overfiltered, heavily planted 29g with these fish?) and a bn pleco. Do I need to drip acclimate any of those? If so, how do I do that (video?)? Thanks!

 

You can if you want it can't hurt, unless you order them online. I just temp acclimate and add some tank water to the bag after its the same temp.

 

Ok. I forgot to add that the tank kept between 72-75.

 

Are these being shipped or purchased locally. If shipped it depends on how long they are in shipping and how they are shipped as ammonia can build up and when exposed to air (when you open the bag) can cause issues (i.e, you should set the unopened bag in the tank; then open and pour into a net and release). Some shippers either put ammonia absorbing sponges in the bags; ship in very large bags (lots of water); or ship over night (not much time in transit). If purchased locally there is a good chance the water will be similar to yours and drip acc less important but if the shop uses ro water or similar then drip acc is more important.
--
On the plus none of the fishes you are purchasing are particularly fragile so a drip acc is less important.

Hi all!
I hopefully will be getting new fish in the next month or two. I will be getting honey gouramis, wcmm, cory catfish, possibly RCS (Would they work in an overfiltered, heavily planted 29g with these fish?) and a bn pleco. Do I need to drip acclimate any of those? If so, how do I do that (video?)? Thanks!

 

If RCS means red cherry shrimp I would drip acclimate them.

 

I don't drip acclimate but I also don't have any overly expensive fish. I temp acclimate in the bag and then spend about 30 minutes pouring in a bit of tank water every five minutes or so. Has worked fine so far for amano shrimp, platy, bolivian ram, and tetras.

 

I don't think anyone has answered your question about keeping shrimp with these fish. Since you said it's heavily planted most of them probably would, probably enough to sustain a colony, but they'd likely spend much of their time hiding so you wouldn't see them.

I'm not trying to discourage you from keeping shrimp, but to really enjoy them I recommend keeping them without fish, or maybe with very small fish, like celestial pearl danios or kubotai rasboras.

 

The shrimp are gonna be snacks for the fish!

 

Are these being shipped or purchased locally. If shipped it depends on how long they are in shipping and how they are shipped as ammonia can build up and when exposed to air (when you open the bag) can cause issues (i.e, you should set the unopened bag in the tank; then open and pour into a net and release). Some shippers either put ammonia absorbing sponges in the bags; ship in very large bags (lots of water); or ship over night (not much time in transit). If purchased locally there is a good chance the water will be similar to yours and drip acc less important but if the shop uses ro water or similar then drip acc is more important.
--
On the plus none of the fishes you are purchasing are particularly fragile so a drip acc is less important.

Getting them from a store.

If RCS means red cherry shrimp I would drip acclimate them.

It does. Will do.
I think I'll drip the shrimp and float the fish.

I don't think anyone has answered your question about keeping shrimp with these fish. Since you said it's heavily planted most of them probably would, probably enough to sustain a colony, but they'd likely spend much of their time hiding so you wouldn't see them.

I'm not trying to discourage you from keeping shrimp, but to really enjoy them I recommend keeping them without fish, or maybe with very small fish, like celestial pearl danios or kubotai rasboras.

I'm fine with them hiding.

The shrimp are gonna be snacks for the fish!

Ok.