How long to acclimate?

Question

How long does it take to acclimate a new fish to the temperature of a tank? How long do they have to float in their bags in the tank before I can let them in?

Answer 1

Float them for about 20 minutes and gradually add tankwater to their bag. When the bag is half tank water and half store water, scoop the fish from the bag and let it into the tank. Good luck!

Nosoop4u

Answer 2

It should only take 15-30 minutes for temperature (floating the bag on the top of the water), but you should take some additional time to acclimate them to the new water chemistry. You can do this by opening their bag, and dumping around 1/4 of the water down the drain. Refill with the same amount of water from your tank, then wait 5-10 minutes. Dump out about 1/4 more, and add the water back from your tank, then wait. Do this about 4 times in all, then net the fish and add it to your tank. (Don't ever put water from the store into your tank - this is a good way to introduce disease!).

The above method will work with most freshwater fish, and some of the hardier saltwater species, but if you have a fish that's very sensitive to water conditions, it would be advisable to take even more time. You can use a piece of airline tubing with a flow valve to siphon water to a bucket with your fish and deliver the water a drop every few seconds. With this method, you can take a few hours to complete the acclimation, just make sure the bucket doesn't overflow.

Answer 3

Float the bag for about 15 to 20 minutes. Cut open the bag at the top and begin to add some of the tank's water into the bag every 5 minutes until the bag is full. Pour only as much of the bag's water into the quarantine tank (assuming you have one) as is needed to move the fish.

Answer 4

I float them for about 15 minutes, adding one cup of water from the tank to their bag every 5 minutes.