How to Acclimate Saltwaterfish

[thereefhotspot]

Check out our new YouTube video on how to acclimate your saltwater fish! (Click the link not the picture)

Visit our website: https://www.thereefhotspot.com/

How do you guys acclimate your fish?

What do you think of the video?

Like and subscribe for more!
#saltwaterfish #reeftank #coral #acclimation #generalreeftankdiscussion #youtube ##reefhotspot #coraltank #fish #dripacclimate

 

[Doctorgori]

I float to equalize temps, check salinity and exchange the bag water over a few minutes depending on salinity difference

 

[thereefhotspot]

I float to equalize temps, check salinity and exchange the bag water over a few minutes depending on salinity difference

Hi there! That can also be a great way to do it! The only thing to be aware of is that some places run copper and other types of medications to keep their fish disease free but that can be harmful to invertebrates such as coral and shrimp. Thats the reason why we always try to recommend a drip acclimation whenever possible.

- Gavin

 

[Jeffcb]

Check out our new YouTube video on how to acclimate your saltwater fish! (Click the link not the picture)

Visit our website: https://www.thereefhotspot.com/

How do you guys acclimate your fish?

What do you think of the video?

Like and subscribe for more!
#saltwaterfish #reeftank #coral #acclimation #generalreeftankdiscussion #youtube ##reefhotspot #coraltank #fish #dripacclimate

Nice vid. And yes very important not to add lfs water to your tank.

 

[thereefhotspot]

Nice vid. And yes very important not to add lfs water to your tank.

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment! Make sure to subscribe if you want to see more! I'll have a short little video coming out in the next 2-3 weeks.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

You'll get 3 different answers from 3 different people imoe. Lol
D

 

[Gtinnel]

Nice video.
I personally float the bag for temp and then add prime to the bag (if there is no copper in the bagged water) and add some water from my tank into the bag every 5 minutes or so. I empty half of the water from the bag when it starts to get close to full. I've never understood how a drip acclimation into a bucket on the floor isn't an issue with temp differences.

If the bagged water does have copper in it then I just float the bag for temp and then dip the fish out and directly into my qt. One big advantage of qt is that I make the tank salinity match that of the store before I get the fish.

 

[thereefhotspot]

You'll get 3 different answers from 3 different people imoe. Lol
D

Very true! As with everything in this hobby, there are many different methods. This method has produced high success over the past 35 years, so we try to recommend it to all of our customers.

 

[Gtinnel]

You'll get 3 different answers from 3 different people imoe. Lol
D

That one great thing about this hobby. There is no one "right" way for anything.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I agree I love the diversity in this hobby.

 

[thereefhotspot]

Nice video.
I personally float the bag for temp and then add prime to the bag (if there is no copper in the bagged water) and add some water from my tank into the bag every 5 minutes or so. I empty half of the water from the bag when it starts to get close to full. I've never understood how a drip acclimation into a bucket on the floor isn't an issue with temp differences.

If the bagged water does have copper in it then I just float the bag for temp and then dip the fish out and directly into my qt. One big advantage of qt is that I make the tank salinity match that of the store before I get the fish.

Hi there!

Thanks for sharing your process! To answer your question about temperature difference, the idea is that if you constantly have water flowing from your tank, it will eventually make the bucket the same temperature as your tank as long as your home isn't incredibly warm or cold. I will also add that I typically do float the bag for a few minutes before I start dripping the fish. I usually do that with the lights off so that I don't create a greenhouse effect in the bag. It seems I forgot that step in the vid. I may need to make and edit...


- Gavin

 

[Gtinnel]

Hi there!

Thanks for sharing your process! To answer your question about temperature difference, the idea is that if you constantly have water flowing from your tank, it will eventually make the bucket the same temperature as your tank as long as your home isn't incredibly warm or cold. I will also add that I typically do float the bag for a few minutes before I start dripping the fish. I usually do that with the lights off so that I don't create a greenhouse effect in the bag. It seems I forgot that step in the vid. I may need to make and edit...


- Gavin

I've always assumed I keep my house cold enough (my house is usually about 10° lower than the tank temp) that I wouldn't be able to maintain the temp from the water being added, although it would possibly be close enough that it wouldn't matter.

Is the ammonia becoming toxic on shipped fish not an issue in your opinion? I usually buy my fish many hours away from home so thats why I add prime to counteract the toxic ammonia (again as long as there is no copper in the water).

 

[thereefhotspot]

I've always assumed I keep my house cold enough (my house is usually about 10° lower than the tank temp) that I wouldn't be able to maintain the temp from the water being added, although it would possibly be close enough that it wouldn't matter.

Is the ammonia becoming toxic on shipped fish not an issue in your opinion? I usually buy my fish many hours away from home so thats why I add prime to conteract the toxic ammonia (again as long as there is no copper in the water).

That is an interesting question about temperature. I would think that within a 30 minute to 1 hour time frame that the temperature would not be able to drop fast enough. In this scenario I think it's more important not to change the salinity too fast. In the ocean, the fish can go to a colder zone just by swimming deeper and going into a shaded crevice in a short time period whereas it takes a few miles of swimming to get to an area of different salinity.

As far as ammonia becoming toxic, these fish travel in bags for 48-72 hours from their country of origin to our facility in Arizona. In that scenario it is incredibly important to bail the water as the fish acclimates. In a domestic shipping situation, the time in bag is usually between 8 - 24 hours depending on if the fish is shipped via air cargo or if it is shipped with FedEx or UPS. Air cargo is typically better if you live close to an airport. Either way, that is another reason why it is critical to bail water during the acclimation. Usually we "purge" fish before shipping. So, they go about 36- 48 hours with no feeding before shipping so that they do not defecate in the bag and cause damage to their gills and eyes through ammonia burn.

I hope I fully answered your questions there!

- Gavin

 

[csund]

Temp acclimate and make sure tank is similar or lower specific gravity - toss them in.

If you keep a system at 1.025-26 it’s easy to add Rodi to lower quickly then as water evaporates your back to target levels.