ACCLIMATISING YOUR NEW FISH!

 We ship fish all over the UK, the water parameters will vary amongst our customers so it is wise to spend a little time to explain the best ways to acclimatise your new fish to your fishtank to prevent shock and stress. 

1. Our fish will be sent out in water that has a pH of 7.2, TDS of 200ppm and KH and GH averaging 4-6. 

2. The fish should reach you in perfect condition, in cold weather they may be chilled despite the best packing and addition of heatpacks. 

3. On arrival act quickly, but do not rush! 

4. Open the outer box slowly and preferably in a darkened room so not to shock the fish with too much light.

5. Evaluate the condition of the newly arrived fish, the water temperature and chemical composition of the water are likely to be vastly different, we need to slowly adjust the fish and their bag water to your tank water, this is important and can reduce fish stress and losses due to shock. 

6. There are several methods we recommend that can be used successfully, The floating method and the drip method.

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Floating Method. 

1. Open the bag and roll down the sides. 

2. Place the bag into your aquarium in a quiet location where it will not be blown over the tank by aquarium filters etc.

3. Make sure that the tank lights are off to avoid stress.

4. Allow the tank to slowly warm the bag water to the same temperature as the tank. 

5. Slowly add a small amount of tank water to the bag until the water parameters match (You need to own a basic test kit) or you have swapped a large enough percentage of water to ensure the fish are well adjusted, this can take from 10 minutes to 1 hr depending on the initial difference in chemistry and temperature. 

6.  Once the fish are ready to be transferred to your tank we recommend that you use a small net to gently lift the fish from the bag to the tank, we do not advise that you add any of the bag water to your tank, it will be dirty and possibly polluted after travelling for 24hrs. 

7. Keep the light off your tank for several hours and allow the new fish to acclimatise to their new surroundings. 

8.  You can attempt to feed them lightly several hours after acclimatisation. 

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Drip method

1. Find a suitable container (Bucket, large jug) that can hold the bag water plus 150% extra water if needed) 

2. Take the fish from the delivery packaging and open the bag, gently pour the bag water and fish into the container (PLEASE NOTE: The bag water may not be enough to completely cover the container base! if this is the case please tilt the container to allow the fish sufficient depth of water to swim)

3. Take a length of 6mm silicone airline (Premier aquatics can supply if requested in advance).

4. Place one end into the aquarium, you may need to weigh it down with plant lead or trap it in the cover of the aquarium.

5. Take the other end to the container holding the fish and start a siphon with the airline.

6. Place the airline into the container and tie a gently knot in the airline and adjust the flow of water by slowly tightening your knot until you have a drip of water slowly filling the container of fish with water from your aquarium. 

7. Keep an eye on the water level and check the water parameters regularly to make sure that the water chemistry and temperature is equalising between your tank and the fish container.

8. Once the two water bodies match closely you can net the fish from the container, add them to a darkened tank and throw away the water in the bucket. 

9. Allow the fish time to settle before turning on the lights and feeding. 

10. Enjoy your new fish!