There is a lot of talk about drip acclimation on here and for someone new to some of this you may not know what it involves and how easy it is.

First off, drip acclimation is a way to slowly get the fish that will inhabit your tank to get accustomed to your water. A severe ph shift from the water they came from to your water is enough to kill some fish and is known as ph shock. Since I have been using this method my losses a day or two after the fish store have decreased by probably close to 80-90% and the fish doesn't go to one spot and sit for a few days. They are very active immediately - usually. Shyness is inherit with some fish.

Anyway, I thought I would explain with pics what is involved. You will need about 6ft of ailine tubing, some tape (preferrable, but not required), a bucket that is used only for aquarium stuff, and a piece of wood (can be substituted).

You start with your bag of fish. Cut the top off and pour out a little bit of the water. Take the fish and pour them gently into the bucket (you will need to tilt the bucket and then place the block of wood underneath to prop it up.


Place it in front of the tank the fish are going to.




Take the airline tubing and tie 3 overhand knots into it and pull them a little tight, but not too tight. Stick one end of the hose into the tank and the other end into the bucket. Tape down both ends. Suck on the bottom end of the hose to start a siphon (use your own method if you don't want to put your mouth on the hose). Once the water starts flowing, tighten the knots you made previously until you get about 1 drop per second into the bucket. You may need to really tighten them down and can even include a 4th knot if needed.



Once you have flow established and everything is secure, cover the bucket to keep out most of the light. After about 2hrs, net the fish out of the bucket (do not pour the water in your tank) and place into your tanke. I usually take a mental note the water level that was in the bucket before I started dripping water into it to give me an idea of how much has dripped from the tank. You want it to be mostly your water by time the 2hrs has gone by. Once you put in the tank, keep the lights out for minimum 1hr.

**EDIT** One thing to be concerned about during the Winter time period is how cold the water gets during the drip period. I keep my house at 65F during the Winter and using such a small amount of water, it chills pretty fast despite close to 80F water dripping into it. So, I have increased the drip rate and reduced the acclimation period to keep the water from getting too cold. You don't want it to be a temperature shock when the fish is put in your tank.



That is all that is needed. This is slightly a pain to accomplish, but once you see how you start losing less fish right after you buy them you'll want to do this every time.

good post!

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My 30 gallon planted freshwater - CONSTANTLY CHANGING

There are also plastic airline needle valves that you can buy for cents on the dollar at most LPS's that will make controlling the flow much easier.

I've always dumped the bag with fish into one of those clear plastic hang-on-the-side holding containers and floated it in the tank to equalize the pressure, and every time I think of it I'll go and spoon some water from the tank into the container. When the container's water level is overflowing, I just up-end it into the tank. This way not only are you drip-acclimating, but you're equalizing the temperature as well.

Oh, and +1 for the light ideas. I hadn't thought of that but it makes sense that high light levels would stress a fish out.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Drip acclimating using this method doesn't require you to float the bag as the temp is adjusted as well as your water drips in. I have seen video of floating the bag first before doing this method, but believe it is overkill.

Thanks, well described and illustrated. It is well worth the effort to use this or a similar method.

I've also had good results doing more or less the same thing but without the tube, just adding a cup of water at a time.

I use these for all my acclimations and water changes. Highly recommend to use them over the knot method as it will be much easier and can precisely dial in the drip rate. Don't get me wrong, the knot does work, but can be a bit of a hassle.

You can pick up a pack of them for cheap.

I don't find the knot too hard to get right. It is important to make sure the tube won't come out of the bucket, yes I've done it , not too much harm done but had a puddle to clean up!

LOL, I can never find tubing limber enough to not have to tape it down. The knots work for me and my lfs doesn't sell the valves. I have seen these :Proper Handling of Aquarium Fish: New Fish Acclimation Kit but just have never made the move to buy one or two. I have had 3 buckets going at once.

Very nice write up!For keeping the tubing in the bucket I use a clip.One of those black metal ones,where if you flip the handle down it cant be unclipped.It is the perfect shape to hold the tube secure and allow the drips without interruption.I also use the drip valve,and a piece of rigidtubing in a U shape to keep the other end in the tank.

And +1000 for the light thing.Especially if you get fish shipped.They are in a dark box for a day or so,so the light is very blinding and stressful.

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"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

wow! i love it! i will definitely use this method next time

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im right!

and also.. nice corys

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im right!

Thanks for sharing. I will be using this in the future.

I like this technique and will use it in the future. I keep 2 gallon black buckets around for general tank use and think the black will help with the light issue. I do have issues with the stress caused by netting, so just pouring them in might be better in that sense. The contra to that is "their" water get mixed in with my "perfect" water. lol.

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

This problem I had for awhile.If you drip acclimate them in something smaller(I use the cylinders from the 100 disc DVD spindals)then once you get it half your water and half the old water,pour out 3/4ths of that and drip more.Then you wount be pouring very much of the old water back in.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

You can also pick up the flow adjusters for IV units at a medical supply outlet, they're great for dialing in the driprate right to where you want it.

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This thread should be 'stickied'

This is so great! Thanks! I'm going to be using this for sure! And just realized I have an extra valve - bonus!

And I like the idea of dumping some water out then re-filling so that when you do pour the fish in, very little store water gets in the tank.... much easier than netting the fish!

Question: If you buy several fish and they are in different bags, can they all go in the same bucket? For instance, my next tank will have 3 different types of fish (Honey Gouramis, Harlequin Rasboras and Panda Cories, with 4 Onion Nerite snails).... and I've only got 2 buckets.... For those of us with limited space and resources, lol. I'm hoping yes, since they will be blacked out with the towel? But then.... I guess we don't add all the fish at once either..... so never mind, I kinda' answered my own question, lol.

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It's stickied now. Need to remove the bumps in it though.

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I have a question, I understand the acclimation for when you're adding fish, How would I do it for a water change?

Let's say I want to do a 10% water change. I put 10% in a bucket, I let it drip for two hours.

Then I take out 10%, and put the acclimated water in?

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The way I do it...

- Draw out 10% from the tank as your water change
- Drip in the amount to replace it with aged water.

Are you talking about doing a PWC at the same time as adding fish? I wouldn't recommend it - too much stuff going on at once, if you ask me.

Otherwise, I just siphon new tap water into the tank with my gravel vacuum hose.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!