Acclimation question

[rgentry123]

I have a shipment of sensitive fish coming in from LA today(leopard wrasses, copperband, etc.) and im trying to determine the best acclimation method. I've always used the drip method but I feel like now I'm hearing that I should just temp acclimate for 30 mins then release them directly to the tank due to ammonia build up in the bag over the shipping period. Should i use the drip method or just temp acclimate and release? thanks!

 

[humaguy]

The fish must go into a qt...I would drip, unless the fish arrive and the water in their bags is very cold...if it is , I would add some tank water in to try and get the temp up...but, this should not be done too quickly...

 

[sbeason]

I do not think throwing them in after a 30 min temp acclimation would be a good way to do this. Yes, you need to do a temp acclimation, then proceed with drip acclimation. It really doesn't matter if you are doing this for qt or for your display. I would never just throw them in after a temp acclimation. JMHO.

-Steve

 

[snorvich]

You need to equalize SG of receiving water to bag water. Going down is not a problem if the difference is small, going up is more of an issue. As mentioned above, you should quarantine (possibly except the leopard wrasse)

 

[TeHGuy]

I have found a fast drip to work well ( a small stream from an airline with a knot in it vs a slow drip) I have never had much luck with acclimations until this.

 

[rgentry123]

ok, thanks everyone. Leopards are going directly into DT but copperband is going to QT. I just wanted to confirm what the best option was because I felt like had recently heard of people shying away from the drip because of the buildup of ammonia over the shipping period. I'll just stick with tried and true. Thanks again for the quick responses.

 

[rgentry123]

another question - i've never used prazi in my DT to treat for internal worms for wrasses but wanted to this time - my concern is that i have a TON of bristleworms in my tank that would be killed as well, would the death of all the bristleworms potentially be enough to spike my ammonia or even worse crash my tank? thanks.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I think a "drip" acclimation is good practice, but some people make it take too long. It needs to take an hour at the longest. I say "drip" because depending on how much water the fish is shipped in, I find I actually use a drip rate just when it starts to become a steady stream. I think people hear "drip" acclimation and think "drip.... drip.... drip...." and that is way too slow. If an acclimation is too slow, temperature and pH will equalize with the air faster than the water coming in, and the entire procedure is pointless.

Also, my goal is to double the water the fish came in over 30 minutes, then remove half the water, then double the water again over another 30 minutes.

 

[rgentry123]

ok, good information to know. Thanks. I have always typically done a pretty slow acclimation over about 2 hours, i'll be changing that practice this time around hopefully with good results :beer:

 

[Triton_Z]

I agree extended slow acclimation drips of more than an hour are not a good idea for most shipped fish. The pH shock and increased toxicity of ammonia at higher pH can cause your fish some trouble.

The floating method provided by LiveAquaria as described in their packaging is recommended for most fish and I have found successful. A fast stream like Lobster suggests is a good and convenient practice for water transfer instead of cups.

Temperature acclimation is the easy part. It's the shift in pH and salinity that end up causing trouble. The last time I acclimated a shipped fish, I took the time to get some pH and salinity readings as I was curious how far the pH would drop. The pH in the bag was 7.5 after the initial opening and salinity was around 1.026.

Here's a long thread about flukes and Prazi-Pro use to help with your second question. Don't remember the effects on bristleworms, but negative effects on feather dusters are mentioned on the bottle. I have read of people using this compound in their reef tanks, but I've only used it in a QT setting so far, so cannot directly comment.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1260067

Hope your new fish do well.

 

[jmadison]

I think a "drip" acclimation is good practice, but some people make it take too long. It needs to take an hour at the longest. I say "drip" because depending on how much water the fish is shipped in, I find I actually use a drip rate just when it starts to become a steady stream. I think people hear "drip" acclimation and think "drip.... drip.... drip...." and that is way too slow. If an acclimation is too slow, temperature and pH will equalize with the air faster than the water coming in, and the entire procedure is pointless.

Also, my goal is to double the water the fish came in over 30 minutes, then remove half the water, then double the water again over another 30 minutes.

^^^^ This


And as for Prazipro, I would refrain from using in DT if possible. It harms most inverts, shrimp and worms.

 

[rgentry123]

well unfortunately one of my leopards was DOA. hopefully the other does well. on the plus side though the copperband seems active and healthy so fingers crossed