Acclimating fish
- Thread starter mpgrant77
- Start date
The "true and factual/ proper" acclimation process as far a salinity goes is to raise specific gravity no more than .001 per 24hrs
The reason for this is that Marine fish drink water.....and actually a lot of it (depending of course on the level of salt in the water they are in) The saltier the water the more a fish will drink and the more they urinate.
This is one of the big reasons that distributors often run a lower salinity, so that the fish will urinate less during shipping.....less pollution in such a small volume of water.....makes sense.
LFS's do it for...?..well who knows why, most think it's going to help with parasites.....ich being the #1 offending parasite trying to be controlled ....but to do that you have to be below a Sg of 1.015, which 90+% of them do not do.....so again....who knows why....maybe it's easier to acclimate from a low Sg to a low Sg and then let you buy the fish and take the "risks"....
...anyway, back on task here....raising the salt "too fast" on a fish is hard on their kidneys and liver, not to mention their gills while trying to all of a sudden process excess salt.....this in turn weakens the immune system, and stresses a fish....in a time that stress reduction is of the utmost important.....however, so is leaving them in any environment that is not "natural to them" so that their stress level can be reduced as fast as possible.
So in my opinion, if your not going to do it "the right" way, then get the fish where he's going ASAP, the quicker you do that the quicker he can "relax" and get accustomed to his new home.
....this is all of course just ....Theory....
mpgrant77
New member
So basically you would want to set up a quarantine tank that you would adjust the salanity to match the water of the fish you brought home. Then over the course of possibly days or better a couple weeks slowly raise the salinity until it matched your aquarium.
--or-- do a quick welcome party and throw him in the deep end and see if he can swim. Got it.
--or-- do a quick welcome party and throw him in the deep end and see if he can swim. Got it.
Schplitter
New member
Agreed! I say all stores should keep their fish at 1.024 period. There is no good reason for this deception and for us to take the risk of killing innocent animals. It's our responsibility as hobbyists to let them know we hate this practice and will not accept it. I do so every time I go into a store.
btweymouth1s
Member
I acclimate my fish for 45 mins to an hour tops....I put the fish in a large bowl, fill up a cup of water with tank water, dump in a little bit every 5-10 minutes until the water is gone from the cup. Then I scoop the little guy up and throw him in the tank...so far so good, every fish but one that I have bought in the last 18 months has lived...the one that didn't came from hypo LFS
You should consider making yourself a drip line. Makes life way easier....
Pife
Active member
This for sure.
mpgrant77
New member
Well we will see if the tips paid off. I purchased a Scopas Tang last night. The fish has been at the store a couple weeks and was eating. Checked the salinity from the lfs and did the bucket and drip line for about 40 mins. (Basically doubled the water) Then netted him into the aquarium. :fish1:Seems shy right now but looked fine. Hopefully he makes it.
smoothdog
Active member
This is a big plus. I like to get fish that have been in the store for a bit if possible, and they should always be eating.
I know this is :deadhorse1: but for new fish acclimation from hypo, a dedicated QT is key. Test the water in the bag (don't just ask the store worker) and match salinity in the QT, then float to adjust temp and put the fish in right away, no drip needed if salinity matches. You can then top off evaporated water with mixed salt water as needed to slowly bring salinity up. Kills 3 birds with one stone:
-Slowly raises salinity the way it should be.
-Gives time to observe the fish for disease and treat of needed.
-Allows you to fatten it up some before putting it in the tank and making it compete for food.
When fish are bagged for extended periods, I think there is a misconception that the ph swing is what kills fish, when in reality, when the ph swings back up after opening the bag, the non-toxic ionized ammonia becomes un-ionized as the ph quickly rises back up when oxygen is introduced and becomes toxic, causing damage to the fish. A slow drip on a fish that has been shipped long distance and has suppressed ph will only extend the exposure to the toxic ammonia and be detrimental to the fish.
Here is a good write up on the subject:
https://extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/AS/AS-462-W.pdf
mpgrant77
New member
Me too. It pains me greatly when a fish dies. Bad for the fish Bad for the hobby.
I was however pleased when I tested the lfs store water when I got home and found the salinity at 1.024.
So I do things slightly different. I float the bag for 20 minutes. Then drain out what I will require to drip that fish from my tank and place in a bucket. I elevate that bucket above the tank. I drip from bucket into the bag. This elevates any tempreture issues as even if he bucket water drops it won't be an issue since the bag is floating.
Pife
Active member
How do you keep a bag floating after opening? I would be especially concerned with putting copper in my tank by the bag water spilling into my tank.
Tigé21v
Active member
I do something kind of similar, a little more ghetto. I have a 2 liter and 3 liter soda bottle that I rinsed out, and peeled the labels off. I threw away the caps, cut off the bottoms, and poked a hole on opposite sides of the bottom of the bottle and fed a piece of stiff wire through each hole . I float the bag for a half hour, then grab whichever soda bottle better fits the bag. I attach the bottle to the side by bending the wires over the edge of the sump. . I make sure the wire holes are above the water line, but the majority of the bottle is submerged. Open the bag, dump out some of the transport water, roll down the top a couple of times. Place the bag in the bottle. Drip from the tank into the bag. Use a turkey baster to remove water as the bag fills. Usually drip for about a half hour or so. Negates any possible temperature issues, since the bag is suspended in the tank water in the sump the entire time.
