How to Acclimate New Fish Using the Drip Method

It is essential to acclimate new fish to an aquarium, or risk ending up with stressed, ill or dead fish from the sudden changes in their environment. By acclimating new fish, you gradually introduce them to the current water conditions in the aquarium, such as the current temperature. You can use one of two common methods to acclimate fish: the drip method and the float method. This article provides step-by-step instructions on using the drip method.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 5-gallon bucket Plastic air line tubing, 4 to 6 feet long Gang air control valve Small net

1. Dim all of the lights in the room. Keep the lights dimmed for at least 4 or 5 hours once your new fish are in the room. This helps to facilitate the fish's adjustment to the new home.

2. Empty the fish and all of the store water from the specimen bag into your bucket. Ensure that the fish is fully submerged. If there is an insufficient amount of water, then tilt the bucket at an angle.

3. Place the bucket on the floor next to your aquarium, so that it will be at a level that is below that of the fish tank.

4. 
   Penn Plax Airline Tubing

   Set up a siphon drip line using the plastic air line tubing, which runs from your aquarium into the bucket. This will transfer the water from the aquarium into the bucket.

5. 
   Micro Ball Air Control Valves

   Attach the air control valve to the tubing to regulate the flow of water from the aquarium during the acclimation process. If you do not have an air valve. Tie three or more loose knots along the length of the tubing, spacing them roughly the same distance from each other.

6. Begin the siphon to slowly transfer water from the aquarium into the drip bucket. To do this, suck on the end of the tubing that will be placed into the bucket. As the water begins to flow through the tubing, place the tube into the bucket with the fish.

7. Adjust the air control valve so that the drip rate is about three to four drops a minute. Tighten the knots in the tubing if you are using these instead of a valve.

8. Allow enough aquarium water to drip into the bucket to double the volume that is in it. Empty out half of the water from the bucket, and set up the siphon drip once again. Repeat this two or three more times.

9. Use a small net to lift the fish from the bucket. Gently lower your fish into the fish tank and then release them into the aquarium water.

Tips & Warnings

• Acclimate your new fish as soon as you after purchasing them, because ammonia begins to accumulate in the bag as soon as it is sealed. Ammonia is a waste product that is released into the bag by the fish. If you acclimate more than one fish at the same time, use a different drip bucket for each one to avoid them attacking and injuring each other. This is especially important if the fish are of the same or a related species. The drip method is especially well-suited for sensitive invertebrates such as shrimps, coral, and sea stars which are even more sensitive to sudden changes in water temperature and salinity. Before you transfer the fish to the aquarium, you can test the temperature, salinity and pH of the bucket water to see if they match those in the aquarium.
• Never add any of the water from the drip bucket to your aquarium, as this may expose your fish tank to any disease or parasite that may have been in the pet shop's tanks.