Question/ Poll...How do you acclimate from low salinity to high salinity question

[Cancun]

Hi! Okay here goes....say your DT or QT is 1.024 to 1.025...and you buy a fish and the LFS salinity is 1.017 to 1.020. I heard that you shouldn't raise the salinity more than a half point to a point per day. I was also told you could put the fish in a bucket and drip it with a fast drip over a few hours until it matches your tank salinity...and then put the fish in.

The reason I am asking is that I have no luck dripping a fish from low salinity to my salinity over a few hours....the poor critter lives 3 to 4 days...and thats it....I am talking when buying from a LFS not online...I never buy on line. I like to see the fish in person and make sure its eating.

What do you all do? Thanks in advance!

 

[mpgrant77]

Here is my opinion for what it is worth. First I try not to purchase out of hypo tanks. I try to purchase out of display tanks and large coral tanks if possible. I have gotten to know the owners of two of my favorite stores pretty well, which helps in getting better information about my purchases. I do not drip my fish any longer than 30mins no matter what. Keeping a fish in a small dish or bucket of water adds stress. ph levels drop quickly due to build up of Co2 and ammonia levels rise quickly both making the water toxic quickly. I have found it better to get the fish into the tank as quickly as possible. Now having said that if I had a QT tank. I would match the water in the QT tank to the store/bag water. Get the fish into the tank quickly and then slowly adjust the water over time to match the display tank. Then just out of one into the other when ready. Long acclimation times have always resulted in high death rates for me. Since I shortened my acclimation time I have had much greater success.

 

[curtcherry]

If you are talking about going straight into a DT with a large swing in salinity, I think you are going to have a hard time getting fish to survive. If they do survive it will be stressful. If you are using a QT, then match the salinity. Float the bag for 30 minutes then put the fish in the QT. Then you can control the raising of the salinity. I no longer drip acclimate. I do the latter of what I just described. Fish seem a lot better. The last one I did was eating the same day.