Acclimating Clean Up Crew

[AliensAreDemons]

So I got a chocolate chip starfish, 2 blue hermits, and some snails coming in the mail tomorrow and wanted to know the best method so far this guys opinion has made the most sense to me


"This is key.
What happens during prolonged shipping time is ammonia builds up as ammonium. The PH also drops in the water. Once exposed to the air, the PH rises and ammonium is turned into toxic ammonia.
Snails, hermits, and crabs are mostly intertidal creatures so rapid PH and salinity changes don't effect them.
In other words, float them for 15 minutes still sealed, open the bag and get them in the tank as quickly as possible. I have well over 200 creatures, probably 300, and have only had 2 deaths, both of which were DOA, a scarlet hermit and a banded trochus snail. I knew they were dead as soon as they were in the water because my nassarius snails went to work on the immediately. "

--- Opinions? They would be in the bags for 24 hours before I receive them so the ammonia spike makes sense to me.

 

[pegasus]

It's not hard to acclimate snails. What I do if they're in water, is temp acclimate for 15-20 minutes, and start a slow drip acclimation. If they're in little-to-no water, temp acclimate and dump them in the tank. Try not to get the shipping water in the tank. Hermits need a bit of acclimation time, and sea stars need even more. You could probably get by with a 1 hour acclimation period, but I treat all sea stars the same and give a minimum of 2 hours... normally closer to 3 hours. You can use a piece of airline tubing with a knot in it to control the flow, but I use a gang valve to control the flow rate. 4-6 drops per second, and pour off half the water when the water level in the acclimation container doubles. You'll want to have extra saltwater ready to replace what's being used from the tank for acclimation. I normally overfill my sump with a gallon or two of saltwater. Once the acclimation period is over, and all water has been replaced with tank water, everything is ready to go into the tank. For safety's sake, I never pour the acclimation water back into the tank. I usually scoop everything out with my (clean) hands, and release into the tank. Some people advise not exposing stars to air, but I've never had an issue with removing it from the bowl and putting them in the tank using my hands. Just don't stand there and admire it in your hand for 5 minutes! LOL!!!

PS: Use a (very) clean glass or plastic bowl/container to acclimate in. Do not use styrofoam.