acclimating fish

[jon carman]

When introducing a new fish into a tank it is common to float the bag in the water for a while, then every few minutes dip the bag and get water from tank and do that for a while then release the fish.

This can work fine, but in my experience it is not the best way to do it. When you float the bag, especially if the tank is warmer than the bag water, you increase the fish respiration and activity thus possibly creating ammonia in the bag. also there could already be small amounts present already depending on the length of time the fish has been bagged which leads me to my next point.

When you dip the bag and add tank water, there is not a good way to keep it constant. I have found consistency to be key when introducing an already stressed fish into a tank.

So my recommendation is to not float the bag at all, rather put the fish in a bucket, get an airline with a dripper on it and siphon it to let the fish acclimate slowly and consistently over several hours.

Once this is complete, rearrange the rocks and turn the lights off and release. I recommend leaving the lights off at least 12 hours. I also think it helps to introduce at least 3 fish if your tank already has dominant fish.

If you follow these steps you should lose less fish from the stress of moving a fish and the aggression from existing fish in the tank.

I hope this helps.

[Jess Puff]

Jon,

Thank you so much for writing this out on the forum. I think it will help out many that are new to the hobby.

PS - I didn't do this the other day because I didn't have a clean bucket but have since purchased one.

Question though: When you put the fish into the bucket, do you fill it up halfway with the original water? And then let the dripper fill up the rest or does it even matter? Just let it drip for a couple of hours and it should do the trick? Sorry for the dumb questions, just don't want to screw it up.

[jon carman]

I do it based on how much water I originally have. You might have to use something smaller than a bucket such as a pitcher or a gallon of milk with the top cut out. Then I let it drip until it has at least 3-4 times the original amount of water. So you may be looking at more than 2 hours. If I get rushed I let it drip as long as possible, minimum 50% more than original amount, then I take the dripper out and let it loose for a minute or so.

Also in a perfect world you would have some form of air running in the bucket as well. I do that when I acclimate large fish or a big bag of small fish. But I have the means to easily do this others may not.
But it isn't a must. I have accidentally left fish in buckets for a couple days without any deaths.

The main objective is to reduce stress on fish so it had a better chance to fend off aggressors and fight disease.

[Jess Puff]

This information is so important! Thank you for sharing. I have never thought about the ammonia issue in the bag because all I have ever been told is float the bag, float the bag, float the bag. Great information!

[rsizle]

jon: I'm curious what you would recommend for air in the bucket? I'm quite sure that my system won't be as elaborate as yours, but I can see how something would be good. Also, how much bubbling do you use?

[bnoel210]

Were can I get a dripper?

[rsizle]

this article suggests just tying knots in the air line

www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/97

I think I'll try that next time.

[davidtcb1]

Yeah, that's all you need to do is just tie a knot or two in the air line and start a siphon. The more knots, the less drip, etc.

Jon, is still out of town I think, but just an air pump with a regular air stone connected will be sufficient to oxygenate the water during acclimation. Either a AC powered or battery powered one will work.

[glenoweth]

good write up, thanks for the info.

[mruble]

Use an airline valve - single or multiple gang ( I have siphoned from one tank into several different buckets at the same time) with a piece of airline tubing. I always run an airline with a airstone that is cranked up so the water in the bucket moves around - just to ensure that the temperature of the water in the bucket stays consistent.