How to Acclimate Fish to Your Aquarium
Posted by Artur Wlazlo on 15 Dec 2021
Adding New Fish to Your Tank
When introducing new fish to your aquarium, you must consider their sensitivity to rapid changes in their environment. When you buy new fish, it’s already comfortable with its current surroundings, but it will need to acclimate to your specific tank conditions and water chemistry. If you’re wondering how to acclimate fish to your tank, check out this guide from the experts at Modern Aquarium.
Supplies for Acclimation
Before you start adding new fish to your aquarium, you may want to have the following handy:
- Bucket
- Fish net
- Scissors
- Watch/Timer
- Towel
The Process
Once you bring new fish home, follow these steps to learn how to acclimate them to your tank:
- Wash your hands to clean them off any lotions and perfumes.
- Turn off or dim all of the lights in your tank to reduce the stress on the fish.
- If the fish do not appear overly stressed, float the sealed bag with the fish sealed inside in the tank for approximately 15-30 minutes to match water temperatures.
- After 15-30 minutes, after the water in the bag is the same temperature as the tank water, cut open the top.
- Remove the fish from the bag and put it in your aquarium.
- Discard the water from the bag.
- Keep the lights turned off or dimmed for several hours.
Safely Introducing New Fish Into An Aquarium
If this is your first time learning how to acclimate fish to your aquarium, you might be wondering why it’s such a slow process. Each of these steps is designed to ensure that you don’t shock your fish’s system and cause a negative immune response, illness, or death. Take your time throughout the process.
For the next few days, make sure to test your water quality and temperature to ensure they are as stable as possible.
Advice From the Experts
Now that you know how to acclimate new fish to your aquarium, it’s time to take the leap. Of course, if you’re concerned about the health of your fish, you can always explore our blog for more advice or check out our FAQ for additional guidance!