Queen Angelfish Acclimation Advice

Ev8siveaz · Feb 25, 2025

Good morning everyone,

I finally found a Queen Angel (5 inch adult) and pulled the trigger on it yesterday. I found one at a reputable lfs up in Phoenix and they are shipping it down to me. It is scheduled for arrival today. I wanted to get some advice on acclimation for this fish as I have been getting conflicting info. Usually when I have my lfs get me fish they leave them in the travel bag and I get them in that bag before they go into the stores system. The owner has told me that when they travel it is best to not do a long acclimation because of the waste built up in the bag so he will have me empty 3/4 of the water from the bag, take a cup and add tank water, wait 5 min, add another cup of tank water, and then net and release into the tank. This has worked for me for years but I am a little more cautious as this is the most expensive fish I have purchased so far and there is info online for longer acclimation. Will that method work for this one since it was travelling or should I do a long acclimation? Any input is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Timfish · Feb 25, 2025

First I would follow the advice from your supplier. What I would do is put it in a bucket/container with roughly a third water from the system it's going into and the water it was shipped in. I would set up a drip system so it roughly doubled or trippled the amount of water in the bucket/container over 1-2 hours.

littlefoxx · Feb 25, 2025

Ev8siveaz said:
Good morning everyone,

I finally found a Queen Angel (5 inch adult) and pulled the trigger on it yesterday. I found one at a reputable lfs up in Phoenix and they are shipping it down to me. It is scheduled for arrival today. I wanted to get some advice on acclimation for this fish as I have been getting conflicting info. Usually when I have my lfs get me fish they leave them in the travel bag and I get them in that bag before they go into the stores system. The owner has told me that when they travel it is best to not do a long acclimation because of the waste built up in the bag so he will have me empty 3/4 of the water from the bag, take a cup and add tank water, wait 5 min, add another cup of tank water, and then net and release into the tank. This has worked for me for years but I am a little more cautious as this is the most expensive fish I have purchased so far and there is info online for longer acclimation. Will that method work for this one since it was travelling or should I do a long acclimation? Any input is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

This is usually what I do. Ive done it with a regal angel before. I would think it would be fine for your angel! Congrats, it is a beautiful fish. post pictures of it!!

TastesLikeChicken · Feb 25, 2025

My understanding is that if the fish has been in a bag for a while you should match the temp, do a quick water acclimation and put the fish in the tank. As soon as the bag is opened, CO2 will start to escape. The decrease in acidity from the release of CO2 will shift the ammonium (not harmful) to ammonia (harmful) and hurt the fish. Therefore, quick acclimation, not a long drip acclimation is warranted. If you look at the acclimation guide on Dr. Reef, it will be very useful to you.

In summary, I’m in agreement with you LFS.

Ev8siveaz · Feb 25, 2025

The fish came right after this post. It got here just in time because the bag had leaked and it barely had enough water to cover itself. I ended up doing a float to my room temp water because the bag was leaking and then did an hour acclimation in a bucket. The suppliers instructions recommended it. The fish didn't look stressed at all. He is in the tank with everyone else and seems to doing great. Definitely happy with the condition of the fish. Appears to be very healthy and is very friendly. I would buy from aquarium arts again. Definitely don't blame them for the leak as the fish was packaged in 3 bags, a nice insulated foil bag and then Styrofoam. So happy to finally have one! Thanks for the input everyone!