quick tip for acclimating fish or inverts.

living_waters · 01/14/2014, 05:32 PM

I'm sure most hobbyist know this but this is the new to the hobby section so here goes. I read and here alot about fish/inverts dying during acclimation from the temperature swings even though they acclimated for hours,well next time you acclimate put the fish/invert in your sump and use airline tubing from the display to your floating bag and either tie a knot or use a cutoff valve,this way the bag is still always floating in your tank and there is no temperature swings vs acclimating outside your tank then worrying about matching temperatures...

ca1ore · 01/14/2014, 05:36 PM

QT all fish. Adjust salinity of QT to bag. Float for 15 mins to equalize temperature. Plop fish into QT tank ....... No acclimation problems, ever ...... Treat or observe for at least 8 weeks, preferably 12 ..... No disease problems in DT ..... Simple (but requires patience).

immortl · 01/14/2014, 05:53 PM

I'm with ca1ore. Match temp and match salinity fairly closely. I only have a small tank, 29g biocube, and have had only basic fish (oscellaris, helfrichi, gold assessor) along with arrow crab, peppermint shrimp, fire shrimp, and an assortment of snails and corals. They've all done very well with the match temp, mix a little tank water in the bag over 15-20 min, and then place in QT (QT all the things, even rocks, that was a lesson learned the hard way). I'm sure there are other species and such that are more sensitive to changes, but in trying to evaluate what I read, I also think there is some amount of OCD to some recommendations (1-3 hr drip acclimations come to mind, but those may well be necessary for species I have not yet dealt with).

snorvich · 01/14/2014, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ca1ore

QT all fish. Adjust salinity of QT to bag. Float for 15 mins to equalize temperature. Plop fish into QT tank ....... No acclimation problems, ever ...... Treat or observe for at least 8 weeks, preferably 12 ..... No disease problems in DT ..... Simple (but requires patience).

Exactly. It turns out you can always find out the SG of the shipping water (sadly many ship at a fairly low SG, trying, I suppose to save on salt). No hassles, 15 minutes of temperature and into quarantine.

01/14/2014, 05:32 PM	#1
living_waters Moved On Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: coral springs fl Posts: 424	quick tip for acclimating fish or inverts. I'm sure most hobbyist know this but this is the new to the hobby section so here goes. I read and here alot about fish/inverts dying during acclimation from the temperature swings even though they acclimated for hours,well next time you acclimate put the fish/invert in your sump and use airline tubing from the display to your floating bag and either tie a knot or use a cutoff valve,this way the bag is still always floating in your tank and there is no temperature swings vs acclimating outside your tank then worrying about matching temperatures...

01/14/2014, 05:36 PM	#2
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	QT all fish. Adjust salinity of QT to bag. Float for 15 mins to equalize temperature. Plop fish into QT tank ....... No acclimation problems, ever ...... Treat or observe for at least 8 weeks, preferably 12 ..... No disease problems in DT ..... Simple (but requires patience). __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

01/14/2014, 05:53 PM	#3
immortl Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 114	I'm with ca1ore. Match temp and match salinity fairly closely. I only have a small tank, 29g biocube, and have had only basic fish (oscellaris, helfrichi, gold assessor) along with arrow crab, peppermint shrimp, fire shrimp, and an assortment of snails and corals. They've all done very well with the match temp, mix a little tank water in the bag over 15-20 min, and then place in QT (QT all the things, even rocks, that was a lesson learned the hard way). I'm sure there are other species and such that are more sensitive to changes, but in trying to evaluate what I read, I also think there is some amount of OCD to some recommendations (1-3 hr drip acclimations come to mind, but those may well be necessary for species I have not yet dealt with).