how long do i acclimate firefish?

oc_tallgirl · 07-21-2006, 09:52 AM

I have given up on trusting the kids at the LFS!! When you ask how long to acclimate any coral, any fish, any critter... seems like they always say "30 minutes."
I am going to pick up Fire Fish this weekend, how long should i acclimate them?

sigep161 · 07-21-2006, 03:50 PM

Well, In my opinion it all depends on how stressful the trip is for the fish and also your water quality vs your lfs water quality. I just bout 2 firefish a month ago from my lfs, and I acclimated the about 15 minutes. I only live 5 minutes from the lfs so i mainly needed them to adjust to temp. I took 80 percent of the water out of the bag so it would acclimate quicker, then Added a small amout of my tank water every 5 minutes.

dobejazz · 07-21-2006, 08:25 PM

To aclimate my fish I float the bag for 15 minutes then open and add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of tank water (depending on how big the bag is and the amount of LFS water) every 15 minutes for an hour. Then I net them out of the bag and release them

Little Luey · 07-25-2006, 05:12 PM

it usually takes me about 1 hour to aclimmate fish and coral. About 15-20 min to float the bag in the tank, add water to the bag and wait around 20 more minutes, repeat. Then scoop them out and trow water out.

Geoff · 07-31-2006, 08:23 PM

it really depends on how far off the salinity is between the LFS and your tank. the greater the difference the longer you should take to acclimate them. if they are very close than 15-30 min should be plenty. just enough to get the temp equalized. if the salinity difference is great than you should take at least an hour to acclimate them.

G~

kass03 · 08-01-2006, 04:02 AM

Everyone has a different opinion lol I usually acclimate about 45 minutes to an hour. First floating for 10 minutes then gradually adding water.

To me it's not only the salinity but nitrates, different salt mixes, and other factors.
If they are shipped to me I drip acclimate which works better.
The longer in the bag the higher the pars such as ammonia.

kass

Geoff · 08-01-2006, 09:04 AM

salinity and temp are the things you need to be worried about. ammonia becomes less toxic as the pH in the bag goes down. this is why you are able to ship fish in bags. as you are acclimating you are bringing in clean water so the water quality will be going up anyway. temp/salinity are water quality independant. a big difference in salinity also causes internal stress to the new critter. it will need to adjust its salinity to compensate for the difference in the new water. if you do it to fast you can rupture some fragile critters. Linkia stars are a great example of this.

G~

seaham358 · 08-11-2006, 06:28 PM

I drip acclimate all new fish and inverts. check LFS water and mine and if the SG is right on or close within .01-.02 I drip for a hour. Some LFS have the Sg low, around 1.020-1.018 and my reef is 1.025 so I drip these fish even longer. Fast pH swings is anoter killer of fish.

Geoff · 08-11-2006, 07:50 PM

seaham358- you mean .001-.002 off correct?

i am leary of any LFS that keeps their tanks below 1.025. most distributors keep their tanks at NSW, around 1.026. most use NSW itself for keeping thier livestock. cheaper to use NSW than make your own ASW. if your LFS keeps it at 1.020 and they do not acclimate properly than you are already battling an uphill battle with thier livestock.

inverts will really be affected by this change. i would not buy a Linkia from anywhere that keeps their tanks below 1.025.

G~

seaham358 · 08-11-2006, 08:34 PM

Ya .001-.002 my bad..

I like a LFS that keep the Sg up but most in my area run them lower. To save on salt and they say keeping a lower SG hold off any parasites.
Most do run the invert tanks at a higher level.
I try and get the LFS to hold the fish for me and not acclimate them, most will do this when I special order something.

Kenny Graham · 08-11-2006, 09:04 PM

I agree with Kass.

Spanky · 08-12-2006, 11:03 AM

Has anyone noticed that it's recommended to take days/over a week sometimes to bring fish back up to NSW levels after hypo?

It really depends on how different the SG is like Geoff said.

Another thing to remember is shipping/pH/ammonia.

The longer a fish has been in the bag - typical with shipping not buying from a LFS - the lower the pH will drop. Which in turn will make the free ammonium less toxic.
Floating and then adding water will bring the pH back up, which in turn will make the ammonium toxic.
A fast trick is to not open the bag, take a needle and syringe, and add a few drops of something like Amquel+ to the bag - through the bag, before you open it.