EricR
2500 Club Member
I agree,,, but I'd also keep the shrimp in QT until first molt.
Drip acclimate?
- Thread starter Notsolostfish
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I feel you, to each their own. When i did float acclimation, I'd have mysterious deaths on fish 3-5 days after letting them settle in. Never figured out why except that when performing drip acclimation I've had 0 deaths result from the transfer. And not buying from a specific online big box fish store.
I only ever saw pests and crap from frags, which I used the same drip acclimation but now have a very different introduction process after having to beat aptasia, AEFW, and EEFW.
Townes_Van_Camp
Valuable Member
For what it's worth, my experience is exactly the opposite. When I drip them in, they die. When I float to temp and double the shipping volume with my tank water I never lose one.
PotatoPig
Valuable Member
From LFS: Have QT tank set up. Check LFS salinity from bag. Match to within 1%. Float and dump.
From Biota: Follow acclimation instructions to the letter (float for recommended time and dump, no drip).
In each case don’t put the bag water in the tank.
Edit: I’m less experienced than many here but suspect many of these fish are a little hardier than we think for the whole acclimation process and that many deaths shortly after introduction are the result of shipping stress, tankmate stress, and being hit by a whole new microbiome their immune systems aren’t attuned to.
From Biota: Follow acclimation instructions to the letter (float for recommended time and dump, no drip).
In each case don’t put the bag water in the tank.
Edit: I’m less experienced than many here but suspect many of these fish are a little hardier than we think for the whole acclimation process and that many deaths shortly after introduction are the result of shipping stress, tankmate stress, and being hit by a whole new microbiome their immune systems aren’t attuned to.
Last edited:
Jedi1199
2500 Club Member
For fish, this is my method...
Drop the bag in the sump for 20 minutes to match temp. Then I open the bag and pour out about 1/4 of the store water. Then I use a plastic clamp to secure the bag to the side of the tank (bag on the inside). once I have that done, I add a turkey baster full of tank water to the bag every 5-10 minutes. When the salinity is balanced, I pour the water through the catch net over a bucket. The fish goes in the tank.. the water goes down the drain.
For corals, 15 minute dip in ReVive and into the tank...
Shrimp, crabs, snails, ect ect.. I dont acclimate at all... Open bag, pour out through the net over the bucket as above and into the tank.
Drop the bag in the sump for 20 minutes to match temp. Then I open the bag and pour out about 1/4 of the store water. Then I use a plastic clamp to secure the bag to the side of the tank (bag on the inside). once I have that done, I add a turkey baster full of tank water to the bag every 5-10 minutes. When the salinity is balanced, I pour the water through the catch net over a bucket. The fish goes in the tank.. the water goes down the drain.
For corals, 15 minute dip in ReVive and into the tank...
Shrimp, crabs, snails, ect ect.. I dont acclimate at all... Open bag, pour out through the net over the bucket as above and into the tank.
TangerineSpeedo
2500 Club Member
I feel...
Online purchase: You need to acclimate temp and dump into a QT (or not). There is a bunch of not good JuJu in that bag and you want to give your animal a breath of fresh (water).
LFS purchase: You can mix up your QT tank to match the LFS, then while in QT you can bring up the parameters to your DT. If you are going direct to your DT you have plenty of time to drip. Also you can use the two container idea and have a 50w heater in the outsider container if it is ambient air temp is significantly less.
Online purchase: You need to acclimate temp and dump into a QT (or not). There is a bunch of not good JuJu in that bag and you want to give your animal a breath of fresh (water).
LFS purchase: You can mix up your QT tank to match the LFS, then while in QT you can bring up the parameters to your DT. If you are going direct to your DT you have plenty of time to drip. Also you can use the two container idea and have a 50w heater in the outsider container if it is ambient air temp is significantly less.
Jedi1199
2500 Club Member
This is why I use the bag in tank method. It does not take long for temp to drop from tank temp to room temp a couple drops at a time is not going to keep up...
Jay Hemdal
10K Club member
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Most people do drip acclimation incorrectly (too slowly). The main issue with shrimp is that they don't tolerate changes in salinity well, so making sure your aquarium is close in salinity to the LFS tank helps a lot. Here is an article I wrote up on acclimation:
Acclimation Methods
Acclimating Animals to Aquariums Jay F. Hemdal c.2020 Introduction to acclimation techniques Most beginning aquarists hear that they must “acclimate” any new animals they add to their aquarium. Acclimation (sometimes termed...
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Jay
