Acclimating shipped fish

[ReeferMadne55]

I ordered from LiveAquaria for the first time. The fish are arriving in a few hours. I have been doing research on best acclimation methods for shipped fish. Some people are saying to drip acclimate to match salinity, others are saying just temp acclimate then straight into tank to avoid ammonia issues from the shipping water. I read that once the bag is opened and exposed to air the ammonia becomes dangerous.
What is better?
Would you argue that ammonia or salinity is more of an issue for these poor fish that have been shipped cross country?

 

[BradB]

There is no consensus on what is better, although I'd generally say ammonia and temperature kill more fish than salinity. Fish generally tolerate salinity changes well.

I like to measure. I float bags to temperature acclimate, measure temperature after opening the bags, then measure salinity. I will keep the open bags in the tank if the water is not within a degree of the tank. Then I drip acclimate, a little slower if the salinity is very different. And I observe the fish, any reaction to the new water and I go slower. If a fish shows distress before starting to drip acclimate, it is a jugement call whether to go faster or slower.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Fish that have traveled more than 8 hrs in a bag get this treatment from me:

Open bag and check temp, pH, salinity. I then match a 5g bucket (since I usually have small fish) to the bag. Take fish out and put into bucket. Now do your normal acclimation to qt parameters as long as not too far off.
I have done the drip acclimation required by some companies, but always dose the bag with Prime first!

 

[wphan]

I usually do temp and then plop them in. It’s better to plop them into a hospital tank just in case.

 

[ReeferMadne55]

So I called LiveAquaria and they told me to just drip the fish and said ammonia wouldn't be an issue unless I added an airstone. I will try this method as my salinity is at 1.025 and the fish come at 1.018. I want them to honor the warranty as well just in case, so far all fish arrived alive.

 

[Waters]

If salinity is way off, I drip but add Prime like @DeniseAndy suggested. Otherwise I temp acclimate and drop in.

 

[BradB]

I also think it matters how the fish has been treated. Live Aquaria (not divers den) has a relatively fast ocean to customer trip. Fish may be better off going faster to an ocean like environment.

A good lfs may quarantine fish for a month, in low salinity and with copper. The fish has adapted to that environment, so slower quarantine is probably helpful.

A bad lfs is similar. Fish may live in high or low salinity and high Nitrates. If they have been there a long time, they may not acclimate as quickly.