My personal method of acclimation (Based on my experience ONLY)

NOTE: Dont do this with fish purchased online, or newly transported fish, since they can still contain some bad things, that might have been released out into the stores water. They might even be way to stressed to even survive. Also, make sure that you ask your fish store in detail about water quality and medication use, since copper or any other medication methods can hurt your tank badly. MAKE SURE THAT THE WATER IS CLEAN AND HEALTHY! (I know mine is, since i'm from Denmark, and its illegal to use fish medication over here, kinda strange, but yes)

Hello everyone,

I'm boywithafishtank, and i currently run a 20 gallon nano reef that i update alot on my youtube channel. If any of you have followed my reef tank, you know that i've been through alot of harsh things in this saltwater hobby. Extreme algae growth, parasites, diseases, wrong fish stores, aiptasia outbreaks, majano outbreaks and pretty much everything. However i almost got rid of all of the problems (Not the aiptasia, hate those guys). Today, i wanted to discuss with you people on how i currently acclimate my fish, and i will come with reasons why this works better for me than the drip acclimation method and how i got rid of all my parasite and disease problems with this method. I've actually heard about some people from my area, that uses this method aswell, and have good success aswell. A very old guy, who has kept reef tanks for 25 years has told me about this method of acclimation. He was himself, having problems with drip acclimation in the winter, were temperature changes rapidly in such small amounts of water (Especially up here in the northern Denmark). So i thought you guys could learn something new, that will help you acclimate your fish better in the cold weather, or weather under the temperature of your tank.

How is it done?
I've always had problems with drip acclimation. Honestly, i really dont think myself that it works very well, since all of the fish that i've drip acclimated has died of parasites, mainly because at the time where i was acclimating them, the temperature in my area, was really cold. I mean freezing. And the room temperature was not very high either. I have some serious problems with cold weather in the winter, so this method works fantastic for me. So lets get to the point. I will of course get your fish in a sealed bag. This bag can be floated on top of the water in my fish tank meanwhile using this acclimation method. This will allow the temperature to stay at the same level as my tank, all the time, and i will avoid having problems with temperature swingings, which can lead to parasites and diseases. After that i basically pop 8 small holes with a fork. A fork has these 4 metal thingies that you use to pick up food with right? Exactly. Therefore if i pop 2 times on each side of the bag, that way i will get 8 small holes, where water SLOWLY will drain through. However, a thing that you have to take into consideration is that water inside the bag will also come into your aquarium. This is why i always make sure to find a good fish store, with good water quality and UV lighting to make sure that i dont get anything "bad" in my tank. I know that i have a fish store, that has perfect water quality. I have seen them test the water, and i'm happy with the results and surprised how they got so good filtration and clean water. Anyway, some people will probably be against this, but for me it works. I let the bag float for 1 hour to 1½ hours. After that i always remember to NOT catch them with a net, just turn around the bag and let them swim out by themselves, since you already mixed the water in the bag, and the water from your tank, so it doesnt matter. After using this method, i have had zero losses of fish, and i'm very happy with the results. The fish are very comfortable when they get into the tank, and eat right away. I'm so happy that i have found this method.

Why is this the "Best Case Scenario"?
Lets get over some of the things that i avoid by using this method
- I wont catch your fish with a net
This is a HUGE problem in my opinion. There is probably not something more stressful than having a fish in a net. They hate it. If the fish are very sensitive, and the temperatures are swinging in the water, it wont end well. Or well rather: Its the worst cocktail... EVER!
- Temperature wont swing
The temperature levels wont go up and down, which i've had huge problems with since i live here in the cold weather all the time. Temperature swings is one of the biggest reasons for newly added fish to get parasites or diseases, since they will get stressed and their immune system will fade away, making it easier for parasites and diseases to jump on the fish.
- I'll get the same effect as drip acclimation
I'll get the exact same effect as with drip acclimation, this means: Salinity will adjust perfectly and slowly, aswell as ph, alkalinity and amounts of nitrates/phosphates in the water. This works just the same way, and just as slowly.

So i hope i've interested you guys by showing something new, remember I DO NOT SAY THAT YOU SHOULD USE THIS METHOD! It can actually be quite dangerous for most people! You might disagree with me, but i know from my own experience, that i have had nothing but success since i've used this method. No losses. No parasites. No diseases. No swinging water parameters. Everything is just as i want it to be.

Thanks for reading!
- Boywithafishtank

 

Beautifully written and thought out, but I don't agree with ever putting LFS water in your tank.... ever. Even if you trusted them with your LIFE, their one mistake will become your biggest mistake. It's not an issue of water quality or anything that a UV will fix. Every fish in your tank will come in contact with every fish that has gone through that system..... without a QT. Trust me, they don't look after their tanks the way you do yours.

 

Amen to that sister.

 

Thanks man. I completely agree. Its rather scary to think about. I'm just trusting my own experience, and all of my fish are doing great It worked for me, so guess it works for other people too if they just choose the right fish stores Thanks for reading!

 

Oh and btw. A thing that i forgot to mention: When you're buying fish, make sure that they have kept that particular fish that you're buying for ATLEAST 1 week. This way, you'll make sure that you dont stress them out, after just being transported to the fish store. That way, you'll also make sure that it would go through the "New Arrival Cut" as i call it. Since its a new arrival, its super stressed because of being moved, and are easier a target for diseases and parasites. Some might even get so stressed that their body cant keep up, and they'll slowly die. I've done this for now, and it seems to work very well. One fish might be sick in the store, but it doesnt matter if all of your fish in your current system are healthy, and having the ability to absorb those parasites and diseases because of the incredible immune system. Only stressed fish gets diseases and parasites, remember that! And btw, for all who has read this so far, thanks for reading, really appreciate it!

 

You can for example come out on a day at a new arrival and say "I wanna reserve those clownfish, can you keep them for 2 weeks and i promise i'll come and buy them" my fish store agrees with that, and puts a big paper up on the shop saying "Clownfish sold to Boywithafishtank". This way i'll get the healthiest, and best clownfish available. Just wanted to give you guys some quick tips

 

To add to that, I know both of my LFS will run copper in their FOWLR tanks, especially if they are having an Ich outbreak. Using this method would release some amount of copper into your tank, which your inverts may or may not enjoy very much.

If you are drip acclimating fish from a LFS, I don't see why you should need more than a 30 minute drip. Just float the bag to get it to temp, drip, as soon as salinity/pH are close, release the fish.

 

Well, guess i'm lucky here. In Denmark, it is illegal to use ANY types of fish medication in home aquaria. So i can assure you that there is no copper in my fish store's water. Thats why i reccommend you research a little bit about your fish store, just to know what they do with their tanks etc... If they use medication over here, their store will be closed IMMEDIATELY. So, not possible over here, but yeah it can probably happen in the us. Yes 30 minutes can work fine, i sometimes do an hour, to make sure that sensitive species of fish will be all acclimated. Have done an hour will all of my fish, and they're doing fine I'll make an update very soon on the new goby that i added 3 days ago, so you can go check out the fish and see what i mean. Thanks for reading

 

What do think 3 days will prove?

That could be made to sound like I'm being difficult, but I'm not. I'm just trying to clarify. Sometimes I "read" really cranky and confrontational. It's not meant to be.

 

Oh sorry, i think i said it wrong but... I have had a dottyback for a couple of months now, and he got introduced by this acclimation method. Also 3 chromis that i added a little over a month ago. So it will prove alot. It will prove that the fish are still doing well, as usual