How do you acclimate fish that have been shipped to you?
- Thread starter Patio
- Start date
Patio
Supporting Member
It is a pre qt fish.
I am wondering if there is anything extra to worry about with a fish in a bag overnight vs a fish I pick up from the LFS. I was planning on following Live Aquaria acclimation process.
Acclimation Procedure for Aquatic Life: Welcoming Home New Arrivals
You've invested valuable time and money researching the habitat requirements of the fish and corals you wish to house. Naturally, you want to protect this investment by executing a proper acclimation process once the specimens arrive at your door.
www.liveaquaria.com
Bolicks
Guest
Some people inject Seachem prime to the bag to neutralize ammonia built up during shipping, prior to opening the bag and introducing fresh oxygen. However, don't do this if the water has copper meds in it, as the ammonia reducers warn not to do this (supposedly breaks the copper med compound into a more toxic form).
rygh
Guest
I usually just treat them the same.
Low light.
Float bag 15 minutes, to get temperature correct.
Slowly add small scoops of water, and removing small scoops of old water.
Should take 2 hours.
Then QT as normal.
Since I use bucket tank transfer method for QT, I usually try to never touch them with a net for 24 hours.
That means some leftover ammonia from original shipping water is in the bucket, but small enough I think it is worth it.
I prefer float method over drip, but that is personal preference. There are subtle pros/cons to each, but I really don't see any serious difference.
Low light.
Float bag 15 minutes, to get temperature correct.
Slowly add small scoops of water, and removing small scoops of old water.
Should take 2 hours.
Then QT as normal.
Since I use bucket tank transfer method for QT, I usually try to never touch them with a net for 24 hours.
That means some leftover ammonia from original shipping water is in the bucket, but small enough I think it is worth it.
I prefer float method over drip, but that is personal preference. There are subtle pros/cons to each, but I really don't see any serious difference.
Patio
Supporting Member
I was more worried than I needed to be... Went with the normal process (same as rygh mentions above) that I always do for LFS purchased fish. The lights had not turned on yet so no adjustment there.
White Tail Kole was grazing off the rock work within seconds of releasing from the bag, a pleasant surprise. Hopefully things continue to go well.
Ocean Devotion LA did the quarantining. I would purchase from them again with confidence.
White Tail Kole was grazing off the rock work within seconds of releasing from the bag, a pleasant surprise. Hopefully things continue to go well.
Ocean Devotion LA did the quarantining. I would purchase from them again with confidence.
phatduckk
Supporting Member
I’ve purchased a lot of fish from Adam at ocean devotion. I second the recommendation.
I’m glad it turned out well!
Reading between the lines I think you were asking about what you hear online about ammonia buildup and low pH in shipped fish bags, with the ammonia becoming suddenly more dangerous when the pH rises from your room air and drip acclimation. My understanding is that this is mostly applicable to fish traveling more than overnight delivery and/or very small water volumes, like from a wholesaler/collector. For quality retail outfits that send overnight and give enough water it generally isn’t a problem, just acclimate temp and salinity and you’re done. If you are worried you can add a tiny bit of Prime at first.