Acclimation

[sharkfever]

Hello,
Id like to ask you guys a question regarding acclimation of newly aquired fish.
My supplier gets fish from holland and generally the fish stay in the bags for a max of 5 hrs. I usually take the fish straight away, they dont go in the suppliers tank.
Well my question is, ive ordered a coral cat shark around 30 cm in lenght, and im worried that during its journey it fouls the water and NH3 will rise to toxic levels, (obviously the pH will go down too). By adding my tank water by the drip method, i think it will cause more damage since in alkaline conditions NH3 is very toxic.
So i should just acclimate temperature only and put the shark in, no mixing of water? or?
i quite confused, since i came across both sides on the net.
any ideas,
your help is greatly appriciated.
Thanks,
David

 

[florida joe]

Here is an option you may want to consider, your talking about a fish about a foot in length I believe. So you should have a good amount of shipping water. I would replace ¼ of the shipping water every ½ hr with my DT water I would do this for a few hrs if the fish shows no sign of stress

 

[sharkfever]

Thanks for your reply, would it help to add, something that removes ammonia like seachem prime? if ammonia is present.
David

 

[florida joe]

You can add a very little it does not remove it though. It makes it non toxic

 

[sharkfever]

Thanks
so the best way is to acclimitise it slowly, by drip, even if ammonia is pesent? am i right?
sry im asking all these questions, but i don't want to loose such a fish due to bad acclimation.

 

[florida joe]

Another method is the Floating Method which of the two. Floating method or drip is up to you
1.Turn off aquarium lights.
2.Dim the lights in the room where the shipping box will be opened. Never open the box in bright light - severe stress or trauma may result from sudden exposure to bright light.
3.Float the sealed bag in the aquarium for 15 minutes. Never open the shipping bag at this time. This step allows the water in the shipping bag to adjust slowly to the temperature in the aquarium, while maintaining a high level of dissolved oxygen.
4.After floating the sealed shipping bag for 15 minutes, cut open the bag just under the metal clip and roll the top edge of the bag down one inch to create an air pocket within the lip of the bag. This will enable the bag to float on the surface of the water. For heavy pieces of live coral that will submerge the shipping bag, place the bag containing the coral in a plastic bowl or specimen container.
5.Add 1/2 cup of aquarium water to the shipping bag
6.Repeat step 5 every four minutes until the shipping bag is full.
7.Lift the shipping bag from the aquarium and discard half the water from the bag
8.Float the shipping bag in the aquarium again and proceed to add 1/2 cup of aquarium water to the shipping bag every four minutes until the bag is full.
9.Net aquatic life from the shipping bag and release into the aquarium.
10.Remove the filled shipping bag from the aquarium and discard the water. Never release shipping water directly into the aquarium.

 

[sharkfever]

Thanks alot for the info,
So if ammonia is present in the bag when the fish arrives, i wont be risking its health by adding water from my tank?

 

[florida joe]

If you are very concerned about ammonia add a neutralizing produce also as you add your tank water you are diluting any ammonia concentration. Hopefully you will not have any

 

[sharkfever]

Thanks for the info. mate