You've invested valuable time and money researching the habitat requirements of the fish you wish to house. Naturally, you want to protect this investment by executing a proper acclimation process once the fish arrive at your door. The purpose of acclimation is simple: the water that the fish are packaged in has different temperature, pH, and salinity parameters than your aquarium. Fish are very sensitive to even minor changes in these parameters, so proper acclimation is the key to ensuring their successful relocation.

We recommend the acclimation method explained below, and wish to remind you the acclimation process should never be rushed. Also, remember to keep your aquarium lights off for at least four hours after the specimens are introduced into the aquarium to help them further adjust.

Though not a requirement of our acclimation procedure, we highly recommend that all aquatic life be quarantined in a separate aquarium for a period of two weeks to reduce the possibility of introducing diseases and parasites into your aquarium and to ensure they are accepting food, eating properly, and are in optimum health before their final transition to your main display.

Drip Method

This method is considered more advanced. It is geared toward sensitive inhabitants. You will need airline tubing and must be willing to monitor the entire process. Gather a clean, 3 or 5-gallon bucket designated for aquarium use only.

1.    Start with Steps 1-3 of the floating method to acclimate water temperature. (1.    Turn off aquarium lights.   2.    Dim the lights in the room where the shipping box will be opened. Never open the box in bright light - severe stress or trauma may result from sudden exposure to bright light. 3.    Float the sealed bag in the aquarium for 15 minutes Never open the shipping bag at this time. This step allows the water in the shipping bag to adjust slowly to the temperature in the aquarium, while maintaining a high level of dissolved oxygen.)

2.    Carefully empty the contents of the bags (including the water) into the buckets (Fig. G).

3.    Using airline tubing, set up and run a siphon drip line from the main aquarium to each bucket. You’ll need separate airline tubing for each bucket used. Tie several loose knots in the airline tubing, or use a plastic or other non-metal airline control valve, (Fig. I), to regulate flow from the aquarium. It is also a good idea to secure the airline tubing in place with an airline holder.

4.    Begin a siphon by sucking on the end of the airline tubing you'll be placing into each of the buckets. When water begins flowing through the tubing, adjust the drip (by tightening one of the knots or adjusting the control valve) to a rate of about 2-4 drips per second (Fig. J).

5.    When the water volume in the bucket doubles, discard half and begin the drip again until the volume doubles once more – about one hour.

6.    At this point, the specimens can be transferred to the aquarium.

Important Facts

• Be patient - never rush the acclimation procedure. The total acclimation time for your new arrival should take no longer than one hour.
• Always follow the acclimation procedure even if your new arrival appears to be dead. Some fish can appear as though they are dead when they arrive and will usually revive when the above procedure is followed correctly.
• Never place an airstone into the shipping bag when acclimating your new arrival. This will increase the pH of the shipping water too quickly and expose your new arrival to lethal ammonia.
• Keep aquarium lights off for at least four hours after the new arrival is introduced into the aquarium.