How to Acclimate Your Fish to a New Aquarium

Acclimating a fish allows it to adjust to the new water environment slowly to reduce the risk of injury and death. Of the three methods described here, the drip acclimation method is the safer option. If you don't have any narrow tubing and you've already brought your fish home in a plastic bag, try the floating bag method instead.

EditSteps

EditQuarantine

1. Use this method unless you know the place you got it from uses best practices, especially if you have a saltwater tank. The problem is the disease or parasites are in the water and on the fish. Even if you transfer the fish without the water into your tank, the fish can still carry parasites and disease. Without putting the fish into quarantine you really have no idea what you are introducing into your tank. Unless you treat the fish first, or know for sure the store has, you are risking your entire tank.
   
   • There reputable dealers who "self quarantine" their fish. They have a medically treated tank which the keep the fish in for 1-3 weeks before putting them into the display tanks for sale. If you know for sure that is who you are buying from, then the methods suggested below are safe. Net the fish after it's acclimated to the tank water temp.
   • Some stores keep their fish in treated water (copper or other types of treatments). This is good, but if you put that water into your tank, and it's a reef invertebrate tank, you can lose all your inverts.
   • Some stores just dump all their fish into one common system. Their strategy is the fish will only be in their store a short time and not long enough to show symptoms or die before it's sold. If it does, they just dispose of it or offer the customer a partial or full refund. So once you dump it into your tank it's game over. Some of these are discounters that 'churn and burn' their inventory. They don't care about the fish, it's just stock to them.
   • For freshwater tanks, it's not a problem. Float the bags and dump the fish is fine. If it's a freshwater tank you probably have had medication in the tank already.
2. Always keep a small 10-20 gallon, low or no light tank, treated with copper or other typical treatments. Keep a few cleaner wrasses in there, maybe a 4-6" pipe or something where the fish can feel safe.
   
3. Put all new fish into this tank. After 7-30 days of no symptoms, drain some of the water into a bucket (1 gallon is fine) and you net the fish into the bucket. The time frame depends on the life cycle of parasites and the temperature of the water. Higher temperatures mean a shorter life cycle and less time in the quarantine tank.
   
4. Take the bucket and add 2 cups of water from the main take to the bucket about every 5 minutes. After you have doubled the water (now 2 gallons) net the fish and put them in the main tank. Keep a floating thermometer in the bucket to make sure you're within one degree of tank water. Sometimes a heater is needed, but usually not.
   

EditDrip Acclimation

1. Purchase small vinyl tubing. Look for ¼ inch (6mm) vinyl hose at a pet store, or the faucet and sprinkler section of a home improvement store. You only need enough to transfer water from the tank to the other container.
   
2. Knot or clamp the tube to reduce flow. Tie a simple overhand knot in the tubing. Place one end in the aquarium and the other in an empty bucket, lower down. Suck on the dry end to get the siphon started, then watch the flow. Tighten or loosen the knot until only a drip comes out, aiming for about 1 drip per second.
   
   • You may use a clamp instead to clamp the tube nearly closed.
3. Place the fish in a separate container. Stand the bag in a fish-safe container that holds ½ to 1 gallon (2–4 liters). Gently pour the water and fish from the bag into the container. If the water would be too shallow for the fish, just stand the open bag upright with the fish inside.
   
4. Siphon water with the tubing. Siphon the tank water again, this time into the container with the fish. Let it fill up until you've transferred ½ gallon (2 liters) of aquarium water.
   
5. Transfer the fish with a net. Do not pour any water back into the tank, as it may contain undesirable substances or organisms from the pet store.
   

EditFloating the Bag

1. Prepare your tank.
   
   • If it's a brand new tank make sure the filter has been running for at least a week, preferably two weeks, so enough bacteria builds up in the filter to process nitrates (for small fish tanks a nitrite peak builds up after around 10 days).
   • Add all the ornaments/gravel and plants before you put in the new fish. Aquatic plants (if any) need time to build up roots and get used to the tank too. Fertilisers and possible dirt in the gravel have to set on the floor and break down.
   • Put in the correct amount of tap safe or chlorine inhibitor for the amount of water in the tank.
   • If you are adding the fish to an existing tank, rearrange the decorations. This will break up the territories of other fish, reducing the potential for aggression toward the newcomer.
2. Bring the fish home. The seller will usually place the fish in a plastic bag for transport. On your way home, cover the fish with a towel, paper bag, or your shirt, since changes in light will stress fish out.
   
   • Don't worry if your fish dulls in color on its trip. This is caused by stress and your fish will recover quickly after it is in its new home.
3. Float the bag on the water for 15–30 minutes. Untie the bag, and then place the bag carefully to prevent the water in the bag from mixing with the tank water. If the bag doesn't float and keeps tipping over, tape one side of it to the side of the tank. The water in the bag will gradually change temperature to match the tank, preventing injury and death from a sudden temperature change.
   
   • If the bag is untied, you can wait a full hour to be cautious.
4. Add a little water from the tank to the bag. Pick up a little tank water with a clean cup and add it to the bag. Give it another 5-10 minutes to adjust, or up to 15 minutes to be extra safe. This will prevent the fish from dying due to a sudden and drastic pH change.
   
5. Transfer the fish without pouring in water. You can either tip the majority of the water from the bag into another container and then let the fish swim from the bag into the tank or tip the bag at an angle, allowing the fish to swim out. Then dispose of the rest of the bag water elsewhere. Water from the bag may contain microorganisms or chemicals that damage your other fish.
   
   • If you don't feel comfortable adding any of the water from the bag into the tank, scoop up the fish with a small net and place it in the tank.
6. Monitor the behavior of all of the fish. Check on your new fish frequently, especially if it frantically avoids the other fish or seems too energetic. They should settle down eventually if you have enough (non-plastic) plants for them to hide in. If they do not, you may need to separate them temporarily with a tank divider.
   

EditTips

• Signs of shock include clamped fins, "shimmying", hiding, dashing around the tank in an unusual way, and gasping at the surface. Promptly begin gradual adjustments to the temperature, pH, ammonia, or nitrite levels as necessary, and the fish may recover.
• Severe changes, especially with temperature, can cause death instantly or within 24 hours.
• Before you decide on a new fish to add to an existing tank be sure the species is compatible with the fish you already have. Some are more territorial than others and some will fin nip or bully. Keep an eye on them in the first couple of days to make sure this isn't happening to the new addition.
• For best results, take pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings of your established tank when adding a new fish. Not necessary with a new tank prior to adding fish, the only reading at that you'll get at that point is the pH.

Ask aquarium store employees for these same readings for their tank. The greater the difference, the longer the fish will take to acclimate. The store employees can also advise you on how to adjust these readings with partial water changes and cleaning.

• If you don't like that plants obscure your view, plant a solid block of plants across at least the back quarter of your tank. Your fish will be healthier and happier, and you will still be able to watch them.
• You can improvise a tank divider with a perforated two liters plastic bottle. Just make sure that the plastic bottle is labeled PETE or PET #1 and chemical free.

EditWarnings

• Mixing store water with your tank water is very risky as you do not know what treatments or parasites the store may hold in its water. So add as little as possible to your tank. Mixing store water could potentially harm your already acclimated fish, or cause parasites to take over your tank.

Disclaimer: All methods assume the main tank is of high quality water with the correct pH, no nitrates, correct temperature, etc. Adding fish to a tank that is not stable and of high quality water could kill a new fish regardless of which method is used.

EditRelated wikiHows

• Change Your Betta Fish Water
• Acclimate Salt Water Fish
• Acclimate Your Betta
• Introduce a Fish to an Aquarium

EditSources and Citations

• http://ift.tt/1MuSMex — partial research source

source How to of the Day http://ift.tt/1oE0ay2