how to acclimate wc fish

[FrontosaurusRex]

Im about to receive a colony of 12 wc fronts and i need to know how to acclimate them from the plane to the tank. They are all about 3" and they will ne going into my new 180g

[wesleydnunder]

Rhett, when I acclimate wild discus here's what I do:

1. Float bag(s) to equalize temp
2. add a drop or two of prime to neutralize any ammonia built up in the bag
3. pour bag water and fish into 5 gal bucket and set in front of tank
4. run a length of airline tubing from the tank down to the bucket
5. insert an inline valve or tie a loose knot in airline
6. drop an airstone in bucket to keep surface agitated and water oxygenated
7. start syphon from tank to bucket
8. adjust flow rate with valve or tighten knot to get about 4 drops per sec
9. if water in bucket is initially too shallow, tilt bucket slightly to make water collect in one corner to deepen it
10. drip acclimation generally takes about an hour for me
11. if if bucket fills too soon before time is up, remove some of the water from the bucket with cup

This works for me with discus. I've never tried it on wild fronts. cichlid1409 or one of the guys who's acclimated wild fronts may have a better way.

Mark

[tbui1178]

Make sure you put them in a quarantine tank for a few weeks. If the 180g starts off as your qt tank - SWEET!

[Darbex]

+1 On both comments shouldnt this be in general discussion?

[armthehomeless]

Are you receiving them from Africa directly?

[Mzungu]

Are you receiving them from Africa directly?

Good question. That will really determine how you go about acclimating them.

(P.S. I moved this to the African Cichlid section.)

[wesleydnunder]

How would y'all acclimate if they came from Africa?

Mark

[armthehomeless]

A response that I found a while ago by Clay Neighbors when researching the same subject:

"First, lets face the fact that most wild caught fish have a few parasites. Many wild caught fish build up tolerances to these parasites, but when introduced into an aquarium they can become lethal. The shipping and stress of a new environment causes the fish's immune systems to break down enough for the parasites to do their worse. I cannot stress enough the use of an appropriately sized quarantine tank. You can save yourself so many problems by simply quarantining your new arrivals for two weeks.

Before the fish arrive find out the water parameters from whomever you are buying these fish from and match them as closely as possible. Find out if these fish went through any de-worming or medication program from the exporter or importer. This can save you some of the trouble of doing it yourself. For a quarantine tank, it is best to use a bare bottom tank for sanitary reasons. I would recommend covering or painting three of the tank sides and bottom with a flat black material or color to give them a sense of security in their new surrounding. They are already stressed from shipping. Anything you can do to make them feel secure is advised. For my quarantine tanks, I use the recommended amount of Zeolite in the filters and do 25% water changes every other day. Prepare a food mixture including both pipzine and metronidazole as per the manufacturer's instructions. Pellets work really well because they really soak up the medicated solution. You can also do flake just be sure to mix it up really well. Freeze either of the medicated foods after preparing them. Metronidazole will kill internal protozoan infestations like Hexamita. Pipzine is an effective internal dewormer. I have never noticed any problems from feeding either of these medications. Get the quarantine tank set up several days in advance to be sure everything is in order for the new fish's arrival. When shipping fish I recommend the fastest method possible of getting them to you. The longer the fish spend in transit, the worse the water quality they have upon their arrival.

Once the fish arrive there are two methods of acclimating them before you put them into the quarantine tank. The first is the drip method, which siphons water from the Quarantine tank into the fishes shipping bag. This method uses a piece of U shaped rigid airline tubing, a length of airline tubing and a valve to control the water flow. You attach the airline tubing to the rigid U. Install the valve in the airline tubing. Hang the rigid U on the lip of the aquarium and open the valve. Siphon water into a bucket and slowly adjust the valve until you get a steady drip. Put the dripping end of airline tubing into the newly acquired fish's bag. About every half hour remove a cup of water from the fish's bag. Continue this for about two hours. I recommend this method for delicate species. You must be cautious when using this method. If pH has dropped significantly in the bag, raising the pH can make the toxins in the bag more toxic to the fish. Check that the ammonia and nitrite levels in the bag aren't extremely high prior to doing anything that raises the pH.

The second method involves floating the bags in the tank until the water is the same temperature and moving the fish from the bag to the tank. Be sure not to get much of the water from the bag into the quarantine tank. I recommend this method for the more robust species.

Once the fish are in the tank cover the tank with a blanket and turn the lights off. Do not try to feed your newly acquired fish the first night. The next evening take the blanket off and observe the fish for a while. Feed some of the food laced with pipzine and metronidazole. For the purpose of this article I will assume that your newly acquired fish eat when given the opportunity. On the morning of the second day begin a treatment of Flubendazole as per the manufacturer's instructions. The fish don't seem to realize that Flubendazole is in the water. This will clean up any external nematodes or flukes. Continue this treatment for ten days while continuing to feed the medicated feed at least once daily. If your fish come in with a mild case of ich from their trip I recommend a one-day treatment with Clout before the Flubendazole treatment is started and a water change afterwards. Clout will stain the silicon aquarium sealer blue. Clout has a reputation as a harsh medication and it is much harsher than the other medications used in this article. I have lost very few fish while using Clout and believe that they were doomed either way. In my experience only one day of Clout is needed to completely rid your quarantine tank of ich. If your new fish come in with torn or frayed fins incurred in shipping use Melafix as per the manufacturers instructions. Melafix is the best product that I have found for healing fin damage.If you are buying imported Malawi fish, in the second week as a precaution I would suggest a treatment of Jungle Fungus Eliminator. The holding tanks at some of the stations by the lake have unsanitary conditions, which lead to a bacterial infection which Fungus eliminator works really well on. Complete the treatments and watch the fish closely for the complete two-week period. After the two-week period the fish will be ready to move into their new home. I am happy to say that since using this method that I have not had any problems. "

[armthehomeless]

How would y'all acclimate if they came from Africa?

Mark

I'd be more careful than if they came from a breeder that I trusted who had already acclimated them.

[FrontosaurusRex]

They are coming straight from Africa. I've never owned wc fish and I've never set up a quarantine tank. Is a 125g too big to use as a quarantine tank? What chemicals are absolutely necessary for the quarantine tank?

[Mzungu]

They are coming straight from Africa. I've never owned wc fish and I've never set up a quarantine tank. Is a 125g too big to use as a quarantine tank? What chemicals are absolutely necessary for the quarantine tank?

No, absolutely not. A 125 is not too big.

Honestly, here's what I would do. And don't get mad, anyone. :)

That is a looooong flight. And depending on how big these guys are that you're getting, it could really take a toll.

I would set up the QT right away, before they came. Add filter media from cycled tanks to be sure it's cycled, as well. Or at least seeded with bacteria so when the fish are added they won't have to handle much cycling on top of everything else.

Then, I would check the parameters in a few of the bags that they come in, check the params of my tank, and if they're close enough, pH wise, I would slit open the bags with a new razor blade, pour the fish out into a net situated over a bucket (to catch the bag water and assure none of that's going into the tank), and put them in their tank.

Of course, if the parameters are vastly different, I would probably either drip acclimate or acclimate slowly by pouring a cup or two of water into a nicely aerated bucket or three containing the fish and their bag water. Then, after sufficient time, net out the fish and transfer them to their new home.

[wesleydnunder]

Thanks y'all. I learned something today.

Mark

[FrontosaurusRex]

That sounds good. Do i need to de-worm them or use any parasite tablets?

[Mzungu]

That sounds good. Do i need to de-worm them or use any parasite tablets?

I'd definitely make sure to have some meds like this on hand. Some will tell you to medicate no matter what. I'm one of the others that only medicates when I see symptoms. I just hate to medicate unless I'm absolutely sure, especially considering the stress these fish will be under already.

[wesleydnunder]

I'd definitely make sure to have some meds like this on hand. Some will tell you to medicate no matter what. I'm one of the others that only medicates when I see symptoms. I just hate to medicate unless I'm absolutely sure, especially considering the stress these fish will be under already.

+1

Mark