Acclimation

When you bring your new animals home, whether from the local fish store or from an Internet vendor, whether it be fish, corals, or other invertebrates, you need to follow some simple steps to make sure your little friends have an easy time adjusting.

Let me say that it is important that you quarantine each animal before introducing them into your display tank. I will not go into the details of quarantining here, as that is a topic for another article. I will say, though, that acclimation into a quarantine tank is the same as that of a display tank.

During shipping, animals are subjected to some extremes in temperature, ammonia, and pH; perhaps even a little starvation. So, by the time you get them home they are no doubt stressed out. These guys are pretty tough, but not many things can handle the stresses that they are subjected to. All of these things may not always directly kill the animal, but failure to acclimate properly can exacerbate the stress, leaving the animal weakened and vulnerable to opportunistic diseases and parasites that can surely kill them.

Each category of animal requires a variation from a very standard them, so I will cover each of them individually. The common theme here, though, is adjust temperature, pH, and salinity so as to make for a smooth transition into their new home. I will identify the process for each of the following types of animals:

• Fish
• Corals, Clams, and Anemones
• Shellfish, Starfish, and Snails

Fish

To introduce a new fish into your aquarium, following this procedure:

1. Turn off the lights in the aquarium.
2. Float the shipping bags in the aquarium for 15 minutes to normalize the temperature.
3. Open the bag and pour off some of the shipping water to make room for water from your tank. Do not pour this water into the aquarium.
4. Add 6-8 ounces of aquarium water to the bag.
5. Wait 5 minutes. (I have some large spring-loaded rubber-tipped woodworking clamps that I use to hold the bag onto the side of the tank during this procedure so they do not flip over and pour out. Check Home Depot.)
6. Repeat step 4-5 until you have added several cups of tank water to the bag. You may need to pour off some more of the bag water to do so.
7. When you feel that the water is normalized, pour off most of the water from the bag. (Down the drain, not in the tank.) Then, slowly release the animal into the tank.
8. Leave the lights off for several hours to allow the nerves of the fish to settle.

As a side note: If you are introducing a new fish into an established aquarium with other fish, mix things up a bit. Move around some rocks or place a large colorful plastic cup in the middle of the tank. This will confuse the current fish so that they are not likely to take a shot at the new guy.

Corals, Clams, and Anemones

To introduce a new coral, clam, or anemone into your aquarium, following this procedure:

1. Turn off the lights in the aquarium.
2. Float the shipping bags in the aquarium for 15 minutes to normalize the temperature.
3. Open the bag and pour off some of the shipping water to make room for water from your tank. Do not pour this water into the aquarium.
4. Add 6-8 ounces of aquarium water to the bag.
5. Wait 5 minutes.
6. Repeat step 4-5 until you have added several cups of tank water to the bag. You may need to pour off some more of the bag water to do so.
7. When you feel that the water is normalized, pour off most of the water from the bag. (Down the drain, not in the tank.) Then, slowly release the animal into the tank.
8. Place the animals at the bottom of the tank
9. Restore the lights.
10. Over the next several days, move the animals up in the tank to a spot that meets their natural lighting and current requirements.

These animals make take several days to expand fully and show their natural colors. Additionally, the anemones may wander the tank for days until the find the spot they like. This is normal.

Crustaceans, Starfish, and Snails

Crustaceans, starfish, and snails are extremely sensitive to rapid changes in salinity and pH. Therefore it is necessary to acclimate these animals extremely slow. If improperly acclimated, snails can start to die within hours, and starfish may pop off a leg or two or five in a few days. Sometimes they simply dissolve into star(fish) dust. I wouldn't have believed it, but it happened to me.

To introduce a new coral, clam, or anemone into your aquarium, following this procedure:

Summary

I know how anxious you get to see that new animal in your tank. Sometimes it is all you can do to not toss 'em in, flip on the light, and step back and "OOH" and "AAH". Resist the temptation to rush things. If your don't do it right, you could easily lose the animal without ever a single "OOH" or "AAH" and that would be a shame.