acclimation?

[dragonfli]

i posted an ich thread a bit ago and i have figured that it must be that i just "toss" them in much quicker than i should. id love a good recipe for acclimating my newbies. i ve read the "general" ways but would love any new tricks or what people have found out of the ordinary that worked well.
thanks (ill be more patient now)

 

[dragonfli]

ok ive done some reading and i think ive got the new fish acclimation down, but what about taking them outta the QT? what is the best way to swap them back?

 

[mudplayerx]

This is just a tip, not a technique.
If you get livestock shipped to you in the mail, make sure you test the bag for ammonia. If there is ammonia present, test the ph of the bag and the tank. If the tank water has higher ph than the bag, do not drip acclimate under any circumstances. This will more than likely lead to ammonia poisoning.
Another tip that sort of relates to acclimation is never go to your fish store to make purchases because a new shipment has arrived. Wait at least 48 hours after the lfs puts the fish into their tanks until you buy. Most lfs's don't have guarantees on marine livestock, and those first 48 hours are critical to whether the fish survives the shipping or not.

 

[dragonfli]

MAN If you know how to get stuff shipped to me out here i will love and cherish you forever. the LFS wont sell LR, or coral because it is illegal to sell it out here. but if i could get it from the mainland im good to go. eventhough expenses on shipping might be bad im ready and willing.
actually i might start a post on that......thanks for the idea

 

[trainfever]

How I acclimate is with the ordinary drip method but with a twist. I set a chair in front of my tank and place a 5 gal bucket on it. I place the newly acquired livestock into the bucket and start the drip from the tank into the bucket. I use one of those plastic connectors for airline tubing because it slows down the drip. After the bucket is half full, I start another drip going from the bucket back into my sump. With this setup, I can acclimate my fish for hours. Just be sure to keep an eye on it in case one drip is faster than the other.

 

[dragonfli]

interesting i think i am going to use that.
any one thing the good old floating the bag in the water trick still works, or is that old news my friend always does that but i dont know enough to tell him otherwise. he will float the bag with the fish in it in the tank for a few hours and pour a little bit of water into the bag every half hour or so. let me know so that we can both do what is healthies for our newbies.

 

[mssteg]

I've been hearing that one shouldn't mix the water from a LFS bag that you transport fish home in, into your tank water. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is it a big deal?

 

[andretti]

No you should NOT. After you are done acclimating the fish, pour all of the water out before placing the fish into your tank.

:happyfish

 

[gfk]

i usually float the bag for 30 mins, put some of my tank water in it while its floating, let it sit for 30 mins more.
dump the water in the bag through my fish net into the toilet (making sure not to miss the net ) then go put the fish in the tank

 

[dragonfli]

pouring the water from your bag into the tank is like adding straight ammonia into your tank after trying all day and night to lower the levels. that is a very easy way to ruin lots of hard work......because ive been there and done that. so learn from others. i wish i had.
thanks for letting me know that the floating bag trick is still in use i always liked that one. thanks guys.

 

[trainfever]

I don't worry about the water in the bag. The LFS is only two minutes from my house. So the fish are only in the bag for ten minutes at the most. Not much time for ammonia to build up. Alsi, my LFS does not feed the fish because they are not in the store long enough. Besides, I always do a water test on my water and the water in the bag just to be on the safe side.

 

[pelena]

Originally posted by trainfever
I don't worry about the water in the bag. The LFS is only two minutes from my house.
even if everything is quick, shouldn't the fish go into a QT or something for awhile just to make sure it doesn't bring any diseases with it? does your LFS treat the water they use, if so...copper? Hope you don't have inverts.

 

[dragonfli]

do you not acclimate the fish? if you do, then they should be in that water for about 2 hours then you should take them out, and put them in the tank. but to each his own, some fish actually live just plopping them in, but they are wayyyyy more suseptable to ich. because of the change in water.
IMO it isnt worth it to use the chemicals in my test kit to test that water. is there that much of a drought in phily that it is worth your chemicals and the bacteria (that doesnt show on a chemical test kit) for just a few extra cups of contaminated water?:thinking:
my fish are worth it to me. i hope this can help. acclimating them is a hassle but when you plop in a new guy and he contaminates your tank and your expensive fish get ich, then acclimating becomes worth it. I have seen many and heard many a sad story about this. In the long run it becomes worth it.

 

[dragonfli]

hey trainfever i remembered that you told me a bit about acclimating. so now i know that you acclimate, how does your LFS water end up in the tank?