First fish shipment Questions

Schulks · Jan 16, 2025

I ordered some fish from Dr.reef and they are arriving in the next hour or so.

Is this plan a good idea?

I wanted to do some aquascaping before adding the new fish so I just setup a 20 gallon holding tank.
I used media that has been in my sump for the tidal 55. The rock has been in my sump for a long time as well.
Dr.Reef says their salinity is 1.021-1.023 so I have the holding tank at 1.022.
I am going to float them and then drop them into this tank.

I am going to do my aquascaping and let the display settle for a few hours.
Then I will use the holding tank later today to do Dr.Reefs acclimation procedure.
I will lower the water level to just a few gallons and then add 50% more from my display.
Wait 15 minutes and then remove 50% and add 50% from the display again.
Wait 15 minutes and then catch and release into the display.

Does this sound like a good plan or is there another way I should do this?

claydogg84 · Jan 16, 2025

I don't see why it wouldn't work, but it seems excessive. You're also going to stress the fish out trying to net them out of that tank, so make sure you drain the water down before going in with the net.

TastesLikeChicken · Jan 16, 2025

Why don’t you just set the SG in the tank to the final desired number and slowly drip acclimate the fish to it.

Kooma · Jan 16, 2025

I was always told the big things are salinity and temp, so the 50% change between display and holding tank I am not sure is needed. if you match the two tanks, acclimation shouldn't be too hard to scoop and dump. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

I always float my bags and perform a scoop out, scoop in method. I use a quarter cup measuring cup and take out a scoop of water from the bag, toss it, and add a scoop of tank water to the bag. I usually do this every 5 or so minutes, and continue until the bag matches my tanks salinity. I havent had any issues with coral, nems, or fish using this method. Be sure to dump the bag into a net over a empty bucket and toss the water thats in the bag.

I also like to fly a little on the wild side and add dip to the coral bags before I do the final transfer to the display. I wouldnt suggest it, but again, havent had issues :)

Schulks · Jan 16, 2025

claydogg84 said:
I don't see why it wouldn't work, but it seems excessive. You're also going to stress the fish out trying to net them out of that tank, so make sure you drain the water down before going in with the net.

Dr.Reef will ship a couple extra fish so I needed a holding tank for the extras anyway. I am trying to avoid stress by getting them out of the shipping bags asap and into good water.

I wish I had time to do the aquascaping before now but I've been sick and then busy with work..

For catching them I have a big net and I'll take everything out so they won't have a chance! lol

Schulks · Jan 16, 2025

Kooma said:
I was always told the big things are salinity and temp, so the 50% change between display and holding tank I am not sure is needed. if you match the two tanks, acclimation shouldn't be too hard to scoop and dump. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

I always float my bags and perform a scoop out, scoop in method. I use a quarter cup measuring cup and take out a scoop of water from the bag, toss it, and add a scoop of tank water to the bag. I usually do this every 5 or so minutes, and continue until the bag matches my tanks salinity. I havent had any issues with coral, nems, or fish using this method. Be sure to dump the bag into a net over a empty bucket and toss the water thats in the bag.

I also like to fly a little on the wild side and add dip to the coral bags before I do the final transfer to the display. I wouldnt suggest it, but again, havent had issues :)

The 50% water changes are for raising their salinity to the display.

Maybe I am just making this more complicated than it should be. I'll just rush the aquascaping right now and do the acclimation procedure from Dr.Reef when they arrive and drop them into the display.

Kooma · Jan 16, 2025

Schulks said:
The 50% water changes are for raising their salinity to the display.

Maybe I am just making this more complicated than it should be. I'll just rush the aquascaping right now and do the acclimation procedure from Dr.Reef when they arrive and drop them into the display.

Be mindful that rearranging can start a small cycle. if the display has been up and running for a while, is cycled and stable, i dont see why you couldnt, unless you have fish in the display you want to keep from getting a possible illness.