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Wow I want yall to check this out....... this is from aquruimfish.net
. We have tested these methods of acclimating fish many times under many varying conditions, and they work. We have discussed them with other leading fish professionals, and these methods have the widest agreement. Finally we have made many calculations to check and be sure there are good scientific reasons to be confident in these methods.

Elsewhere we have read the following criticism of these recommendations, "You should never put any water from the shipping bag into your aquarium because that water contains pathogens and lots of ammonia." Yes, the shipping water will contain pathogens and ammonia. But there will be more of both in and on the bodies of the fish than there will be in the small amount of shipping water poured into the aquarium.

For example suppose the fish are small, and all but one ounce of the shipping water is discarded before the fish and the one ounce of shipping water are poured into a 10-gallon aquarium.

The dilution ratio is 1 oz./10 gallons = 1 oz./40 quarts = 1 oz./80 pints = 1 oz./1520 oz. < 0.0007. If the 1 oz. of water in the bag had 10 ppm. of ammonia, it would be diluted to < 0.007 ppm. and an increase of this amount is insignificant. So if the water were safe before you added the new fish plus one ounce of water with 10 ppm. of ammonia, it will remain safe.

If you put 12 fish in the same aquarium each with 1 oz. of shipping water containing 10 ppm ammonia, there would be an increase of 12 x 0.007 = 0.084 ppm, and this again is an insignificant increase. If the fish were much larger and there was, say, five times more shipping water poured into your aquarium, we presume the aquarium would be at least five times bigger, and dilution would be about the same, and again the concentration of ammonia would be changed by an insignificant amount.

The point here is not to be argumentative. But to do the calculations and confirm what we know from experience, that pouring a few ounces of shipping water into an aquarium won't significantly increase the amount of ammonia and be the cause of problems.

You could remove more of the shipping water by pouring it through a net to remove the fish. But fish are often harmed more by the net than they are by a very small amount of ammonia from the shipping bag that will be quickly removed by an active biological filter.

Another alternative is to cut off the top of the fish bag, then pinch the opening with your hand, invert the bag, allow most of the water to drain out of the bag into a bucket, then pour the fish from the bag into the aquarium. This is a slightly better method, and I have frequently used this method, but it requires more skill, and is a negligible improvement

what do yall think about this????
They also said not to float the bag or do the drip effect

yea i dislike the drip method it seems to cause more stress then anything. But i acclimate usually only 30 mins to an hour. I find longer acclimations stress out the fish. This is of course my opinion of acclimating as i'm sure some may disagree.

I think the net is fine. They have to be netted to be put into the bag anyway.

If the fish are from water with significantly different temperature and/or chemical parameters it can be a big shock to the fish to change suddenly, so drip or floating the bag are both valuable to us. Fish spend a considerable amount of energy regulating their chemical uptake and disposal. Making them change their systems too rapidly to adjust to changes in parameters can be stressing to the fish.

Another consideration most people don't think about is lighting. Floating a bag of fish right under the aquarium lights could be worse than anything else, because fish don't have eyelids to regulate well the amount of water coming into their eyes. It's really stressful for them to have sudden changes from darkness to lighting, and to be stuck with light and not be able to duck into some shade.

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The ammonia issue is not the one at head, but the pH difference is the real shocker. Most fish can acclimate to a different pH, but not "drop 'em in." quickly. That shock is more than enough to kill a fish -- ask anyone who has bought a cardinal tetra (pretty much 100% wild caught) that was kept in an acidic tank and then just tossed into an alkaline tank.

I mean, we all know how important buffering of the water is, and how you should not change your pH more than 0.4 units or so a day... imagine what a difference of 1 pH unit in a matter of seconds can do?

brtaylor2000

All this sounds very confusing complicated especially for the beginner.

I have never and I mean never in 30+years added any water from the shipping bag into the tank. I never float the bag under the light I always push it back or turn it off.

While it is floating opened I add a few drops of a anti stress product. Then I add about 1/4 cup of tank water to the shipping bag several times usually over the hour.

When I am ready, I place a large net over a large kitchen bowl empty the water through the net. When all the fish are in the net I place them into the tank gently.

Simple basic and it works for me.

This might not be the exact comment you are expecting, but over the years I have had to work out many things with out much help. I made plenty of mistakes but I learnt from them.

Keith

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They also said not to float the bag or do the drip effect

Don't float or drip!!! On longer trips where the temp in the bag can decrease, not floating can be BAD!! Floating gets the temp in the bag the same as the tank. Adding water from the tank gets pH/Hardness/whatever similar also. Dripping does the same thing, but very slowly.

Also, how can dripping/floating be bad? Fish can stay in bags for a LONG time. So as long as you are going strait home from the fish store, then there is no concern.

Personaly, I float/add water for hardy fish, and I drip for fragile fish. Just my $0.02.

I use the drip method. Osmotic shock is all too real and since I lack a conductivity meter, I think it's far better to assume the TDS of the store's water (where they often add salt, shipping water, and who knows what else) or the online store's (usually from across the country) is quite different from mine.

Having had a fish die from osmotic shock because I short-handed an acclimation (~15 minutes, rather than the traditional two hours) but never lost one using the drip method, I'm quite satisfied with my choice.

And generally I don't add store water, but I'm not as worried about that, generally.

-Molly
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Well..... My brother was home when my package arrived and he followed the directions that was posted above and my cories look fine and happy. They are starting to gain their color from that stressful trip. I was so nervous because I was going to do the drip effect and float the bag but my brother beat me to it and just put the fish in. I guess it all depends on where you get the fish from. I guess if they are so confident taht there fish would live Its ok...

i think "drip methods" are way too overrated.

I personaly wouldnt be caught using that method.

Acually, i wouldnt be caught acclimiting a fish. (unless it is some $249 zebra pleco...

I find the drip method to be far too time consuming for me, and pretty much out of the question considering the hood of my aquarium requires 2 people to remove.
HOWEVER! I do believe it is essential to float the bag (OPEN) in the aquarium until the water temps match. This is my biggest fear, dumping a fish in water 12 degrees warmer than the water he was in, and having him go into shock and die. I also always add a couple ounces of tank water to the bag to acclimate the fish to the different PH and hardness of my water. (most fish stores around the water is super soft, my place the water is hard almost as a rock!).
Anyone who just dumps there fish outta the bag into the tank will definetly have a higher mortality rate in my opinion. And to me, it doesnt matter whether the fish cost 2.99 or 299.00, each is a life, and each life counts equally!


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I would never put aquarium water or any water that i knew almost nothing about into my tanks. Its to much of a risk. The best method is quarintineing becuase The fish gets to calm down without other fish pecking at it and that water is most likely close to the water in your other tanks.


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I would never do the method shown above from any lfs. The ones in my area are ok but not top quality. The online fish store on the other hand I just follow the method they give me if they are so confident that its going to work it shouldnt be a problem

I don't put water from ANY fish store in my tank. Heck, I didn't even put the water in my tank when I got fish from the tank of my sister's boyfriend. I don't care how clean the water is, I don't know what all's in it...

I do acclimate, but generally not for that long, maybe 20-30 minutes, adding tank water gradually to the bag. Super fragile fish generally don't interest me, so I've never used the drip method. *shrugs*

Sure, if I get more delicate fish, I spend more time acclimating, but I'd rather get the water somewhat the same as my water, then get them out of the bag and into the tank where they can hide. Considering my fish will all swarm up around the bag and stare at the newcomers, I'd think they'd rather get out of the spotlight and into the hornwort!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

The water in my aquariums is 300 ms and alkaline. I have tested LFS water at 1800 ms and acidic. The drip method will result in burned gills and fins but the fish cannot survive a dump with a "hardness" change of 1500ms.

I decant the fish, add AmmoLock and add the same amount of aquarium water to the bucket as the volume of the bag every 10 minutes. When I have a ms difference of less than 100 ms. I dip the fish from the bucket and drop into the QUARANTINE tank.

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