How fast can you acclimate?

[trivan]

I know your suppose to QT a new fish, but i don't have the facilities to do so at this point.

If your only suppose to keep a fish in a opened bag for no more then 20-30 minutes can you do a very fast acclimation if the salinity is really low? I got home today with a fish and the saltily was about 1.018. I keep my tank at 1.025. It would be very hard to drip enough tank water to raise the salinity without pouring most of the store water out. Is that what your suppose to do?

Thanks.

 

[Jkedra]

hmmm I see what you mean, im in the same situation and cant have a QT.....What I do is acclimate my fish and coral in 5 gallon buckets for about an hour and a half to 2 full hours.....(drip process)

 

[tommy1618]

put him in a pail,bucket and drip it till water salinity is the same as tank. if what u have ur fish in is 1/3, make sure u drip it full. might be different solutions but this is what i do, success rate 100

 

[Arati]

thank you blue zoo!

Tools Needed:
Our care package provides you with most of the items you will need:

• Drip Line
• Acclimation steps
• Sterile Styrofoam Container
• additional salt water
• Scissors / knife ? to open bags

There are two basic methods for acclimation: Float Method & Drip Method. The Drip Method is considered the best for sensitive animals and that is why we recommend this exclusively. We are committed to the health of your animal and have included the tools you will need to do this. Because we have separate holding systems fish, invertebrates & corals need to be acclimated separately. Please be present during acclimation to avoid spillage.
Drip Method: (for fish and corals)

• Turn off aquarium lights and keep them off for a few hours after introduction of your new animals. Also dim lights in room.
• Open all boxes to ensure that all animals have arrived safely, bags are intact and you have received a complete order (do not do this in bright light).
• Separate fish, inverts and corals into their own groups. Do not acclimate any of these 3 groups together (same body of water) because they likely do not share the same water parameters. If you don?t have enough styros, do one group at a time in the order they are listed above.
• Float as many bags as will comfortably fit in your aquarium for 15-20 min. This will bring the temperature of the water in the bag to what the tank is. Do not open bags.
• The Styrofoam box ?styro? sent inside the cardboard box makes a great sterile acclimation container and never gets confused as a cleaning bucket. If a bucket is used it must be sterile (no soaps or other chemicals). New 3-5 gallon buckets are fine, just rinse them and mark them for aquarium use only.
• Remove first group of animals and place them into the styro. Cut open the tops of each bag and empty water gently into styro. You may need to prop up one side in the beginning to allow water to submerge the animal(s). Repeat process for all. The level of the water should not be more than half way up the styro- if it is, split up the acclimation into multiple styros.
• If possible, it is a good idea to cover the top with something so that fish don?t jump out and to reduce light.
• Prepare your drip line by sticking the suction cup on the top or front of the aquarium so that one end is submerged (in the aquarium water). Tie two loose knots somewhere in the middle of the tubing. This will control the amount of flow by tightening/loosening.
• Begin a siphon by sucking on the end you will be placing into one of the styros. Start by having the knots tighter, then loosen to achieve desired flow (2-4 drops per second). You want the water volume in the styro to double in 30-60 minuets. Remember it is better to fill slowly than to fill too fast.
• Keep an eye on things so that nothing spills onto floor and you can adjust flow if needed
• Once water volume doubles, discard half the water from the styro and then repeat process. If you plug the end of the tube and put it into tank with the other end, it should keep its siphon. For the next round- make sure it?s secure.
• Repeat this process two to three times.
• Net one fish at a time to prevent scratches or wounds, place gently get into tank.
• Corals & Anemones- gently place into tank (following placement tips listed below and on our website product page). We recommend using sterile rubber gloves because some are allergic to the toxins they can release plus it ensures clean hands and prevents you from being stung by certain corals and inverts.
• Congrats- that?s it. Wait a few hours or next day before feeding

 

[Jkedra]

+1 all the above lol

 

[tommy1618]

2 hours is crazy i think.

 

[tommy1618]

lol
i think the longest ive acclimated was 30 minutes
the more sensitive i guess i would. remember one thing, alot of people just let em float, till temp is same, then open up and release. seems to work on hardy fish fine

 

[Jkedra]

Yeah I acclimated all my stuff for about 2 hours...staying safe

 

[trivan]

The problem with a long acclimation is the buildup of ammonia in the bag. I have read over and over no more then 1/2 hour in an opened bag.

 

[Arati]

thats only a problem if the fish has been in the bag for more then 24 hours. like when they are trans shipped. or if you order fish online and dont get to pick them up until after work..

the method i posted is copied from blue zoo aquatics and is the method they recommend for fish they have shipped over night.

 

[Jkedra]

I dont drip acclimate from the bag...I pour the water with the livestock included into a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I made an acclimator out of a specimen container some tube and an old house tube from an old canister filter. It siphons out the water from the tank into the container and lets the bag water drain out the bottom of the container into a bucket below. I usually do this in conjunction with a water change so I do 5th gallons then add new water and the fish.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

I float for 20 minutes or so then drip for an hour, my death rate is 0. I keep the fish floating though so there is no temperature change in that hour. Unless there is a small heater to keep the water same temp as the tank putting fish in a bucket defeats the purpose of temperature acclimation because it is going to lower in that time.