azianreefer
New member
Can you guys share your methods in acclimating new fish to your tank? I am trying to get an idea of what's the best methods to use as I know everyone has their own.
How to acclimate fish
- Thread starter azianreefer
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Tastee
Member
If you are concerned about how best to familiarise them with the other fish then I can't help, but I can let you know I physically acclimate my fish. All my current inhabitants went in 1 or 2 at a time in a fairly short space of time - as I finished one I started the next. All were juveniles. So I didn't have many territorial issues to deal with. My tank is now 18 months old with the newest fish around 12 months, and I want to introduce one or two more so I may find out more about the familiarisation issue soon!
I run a separate QT and when I get a new fish I match the QT salinity to the LFS salinity (or a little less). I drip acclimate them into the QT for around 30 mins. My LFSs stick to around 1.020 or a little below for nearly all stock. Often they keep Clownfish pairs with Nems, in which case they are at closer to 1.026.
I let it or them them sit for a few days and if healthy start raising salinity by adding SW to my QT's ATO until my QT salinity matches my DT. As I typically start from 1.020 this takes around 7-8 days. It is easy to calculate what weight of salt I need to add to raise the QT salinity to the desired level. I then let them sit for a few more days and if I see no disease or other issues, put them in the DT using ~ a 20 min drip acclimation to match any other parameters that may vary. Generally the entire process takes ~13 days.
When I introduced my fish I typically bought a fish on a Sun, started the process, put then in the DT the Sat week following. I then changed some water in the QT, cleaned the tank and sponge etc, replaced with RODI to get back to 1.020. The next day (Sun) I bought the next specimen and repeated the process.
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I run a separate QT and when I get a new fish I match the QT salinity to the LFS salinity (or a little less). I drip acclimate them into the QT for around 30 mins. My LFSs stick to around 1.020 or a little below for nearly all stock. Often they keep Clownfish pairs with Nems, in which case they are at closer to 1.026.
I let it or them them sit for a few days and if healthy start raising salinity by adding SW to my QT's ATO until my QT salinity matches my DT. As I typically start from 1.020 this takes around 7-8 days. It is easy to calculate what weight of salt I need to add to raise the QT salinity to the desired level. I then let them sit for a few more days and if I see no disease or other issues, put them in the DT using ~ a 20 min drip acclimation to match any other parameters that may vary. Generally the entire process takes ~13 days.
When I introduced my fish I typically bought a fish on a Sun, started the process, put then in the DT the Sat week following. I then changed some water in the QT, cleaned the tank and sponge etc, replaced with RODI to get back to 1.020. The next day (Sun) I bought the next specimen and repeated the process.
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MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
i always place new arrivals in to QT, my general procedure is as follows:
float the bags for 15 - 20 mins to warm them up to tank temp.
sample the water in the bag with an insulin syringe to get the salinity.
adjust the QT water to match the bag water.
dump the fish out of the bag in to a colander (dumping the bag water down the drain)
fish goes in to QT, and we start that protocol (whatever that may be)
raise the salinity over the course of the next few days to week to match my DT.
i would advise against drip acclimation.
when they're done with QT and ready to go in the big pool, i really like using acclimation boxes for hours to sometimes days, depending on how the new arrival seems to be fairing.i'll place some fake plastic plants or pvc elbows in the acclimation bix to give them somewhere to hide, and let them adjust to the sights, sounds, and new friends they have.
float the bags for 15 - 20 mins to warm them up to tank temp.
sample the water in the bag with an insulin syringe to get the salinity.
adjust the QT water to match the bag water.
dump the fish out of the bag in to a colander (dumping the bag water down the drain)
fish goes in to QT, and we start that protocol (whatever that may be)
raise the salinity over the course of the next few days to week to match my DT.
i would advise against drip acclimation.
when they're done with QT and ready to go in the big pool, i really like using acclimation boxes for hours to sometimes days, depending on how the new arrival seems to be fairing.i'll place some fake plastic plants or pvc elbows in the acclimation bix to give them somewhere to hide, and let them adjust to the sights, sounds, and new friends they have.
lespaul339
Reefer
I second this. This is exactly what I do as well. It's better for the fish than doing drip acclimation. Get them out of that shipping water asap and their chances of survival are better. The shipping water is full of ammonia.
Cancun
Member
+1 to this! Let me add....I don't buy fish online, when I buy from my LFS I only buy fish in their coral tanks so their salinity is 1.025. Make sure you ALWAYS check the salinity beforehand. Then I do a drip acclimation for 45 min. Buying online will be a different acclimation process. Also most online sources and LFS have many tanks that run copper and low salinity so keep that in mind.
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ThRoewer
New member
Most fish can usually handle salinity swings quite well, especially from higher to lower salinity.
Going up in salinity is usually a bit more stressful and should be done slower, especially when coming up from salinities below 1.016.
I've put fish straight from 1.026 into hyposalinity treatment at 1.010 to 1.009 and they didn't look the least bothered by that.
Temperature is a far more critical parameter and the feelgood range for tropical fish can be quite narrow.
Going up in salinity is usually a bit more stressful and should be done slower, especially when coming up from salinities below 1.016.
I've put fish straight from 1.026 into hyposalinity treatment at 1.010 to 1.009 and they didn't look the least bothered by that.
Temperature is a far more critical parameter and the feelgood range for tropical fish can be quite narrow.
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