Divers den acclimation?!

[Erick Armanii]

Any tips or suggestions to acclimate a fish from the divers den? Or is it just like any other fish I’ve ever purchased?

1,) float the bag for temp (15mins or so)
2,) Open the bag add a small cup of tank water to off
3,) Then drip acclimate for 30-60 mins or until the salinity is the same.

I’ve heard horror stories where the fish died after the drip process due to spikes in ammonia and I’m hoping that’s just a one off situation.

 

[andrewey]

I don't drip acclimate any shipped fish. Float the bag until temperature acclimated- match my QT to the salinity of the water (contact vendor ahead of time) and drop them in. Ammonia toxicity is a very real concern and not a one off siutation. I'd estimate ammonia toxicity is the #1 reason for poor acclimation outcomes.

 

[HairyGary]

I don't drip acclimate any shipped fish. Float the bag until temperature acclimated- match my QT to the salinity of the water (contact vendor ahead of time) and drop them in. Ammonia toxicity is a very real concern and not a one off siutation. I'd estimate ammonia toxicity is the #1 reason for poor acclimation outcomes.

+1 This. Always match your QT salinity to that of any vendor. Float for 20 minutes and then plop it in the tank.

 

[Erick Armanii]

That’s a big job to drop the salinity for the whole tank!

 

[Jacked Reefer]

The second you open the back put in some seachem prime. Neutralizes ammonia for 24 hours on contact. Have never killed a fish from acclimation and I work at an lfs.

 

[Erick Armanii]

The second you open the back put in some seachem prime. Neutralizes ammonia for 24 hours on contact. Have never killed a fish from acclimation and I work at an lfs.

How did you acclimate

 

[andrewey]

You shouldn't be dropping the salinity of the display tank- only the QT/seperate container.

The second you open the back put in some seachem prime. Neutralizes ammonia for 24 hours on contact. Have never killed a fish from acclimation and I work at an lfs.

Prime will definitely work to detoxify ammonia and buy you some time. It's not my first move as I've encountered some LFS that run sub therapeutic copper in their systems, so setting your QT is always the safest, but if you don't have that option, this is probably the next best option.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

How did you acclimate

We float for 20-30 minutes, cut open the bag and Pour enough water in the bucket the fish can swim around and quickly dose some prime. Then drip for 20 mins to an hour depending on the fish

 

[Erick Armanii]

We float for 20-30 minutes, cut open the bag and Pour enough water in the bucket the fish can swim around and quickly dose some prime. Then drip for 20 mins to an hour depending on the fish

Yeah that’s my method as well..

 

[Erick Armanii]

You shouldn't be dropping the salinity of the display tank- only the QT/seperate container.

Isn’t the point of purchasing from live aquarias divers den is to avoid a QT? Unless you’re suggesting set up another tank to match the delivery bag salinity, plop the fish into the new container and then drip acclimate him to tank level?

 

[andrewey]

I won't go into all the details here, but not all QTs are the same. If you are interested, divers den has a somewhat sparse, but at least honest description of what their QT procedure entails (it differs depending on species). For some, this is better than they can get at their LFS so they use them, while others still QT their fish from divers den as they deem their procedures to not cover enough or just to be safe. This issue has been discussed at length between the various practices of reefers- I've copied a link to a discussion from a few years ago on the topic, but there are many more.

Quarantine already quarantined fish?

Places like Liveaquaria (Divers Den) quarantine the fish before seeking them. So if you've bought from them have you also quarantined them once you get them?

www.reef2reef.com

Ultimately, so long as you are mindful take steps to prevent ammonia toxicity and osmotic shock, the decision to QT depends largely on how risk adverse you are*

*There are other reasons to introduce new fish into a QT beyond disease including observation, transitioning to prepared foods, etc, but I didn't want to muddy the waters.