Last time, I went over what some may call a reverse acclimation. A process in which the QT tank is transformed to match a new arrival’s bag water, rather than bag water matching the QT tank. The thought behind this is simple, a fish bag is a disposable habitat, only meant to bring your new aquatic charge from point A to B. The QT tank will be the species home for some time to come, and allows you to slowly and appropriately make changes. So let’s pick up, right where we left off. You’ve gotten your QT tank water to match your species shipping bag, and the fish is now released into the QT tank. Likely your water temperature is 75 degrees or slightly below, and your salinity is in the 1.020-1.021 range. PH has been adjusted to match the shipping bag, and let’s assume it’s around 7.8. The first course of action, is to slowly raise the temperature. Tropical temperatures are important in marine fish, and using a properly sized heater, adjust the thermostat and slowly let the water work its way up to 78. After 24 hours in either darkness or greatly subdued lighting, it’s time to make some of those important decisions life is full of. I prefer to QT new arrivals at hypo-salinity (down around 1.009). This serves two purposes, one it kills off a variety of potentially present parasites, and two, it reduces stress (wasted energy) by aiding in osmoregulation. Before starting the slow trek down to 1.009, I recommend offering some frozen food. After a good 24 hours in low light, with water temperatures at tropical levels, it’s likely your new species will accept food. If they don’t, it’s no reason to be discouraged, as each individual species varies in how quickly they adjust to a new environment. Begin the drop down, slowly diluting marine water with fresh. Let PH naturally drop, and don’t plan on the use of any buffers until you reach your desired hypo-salinity, and see where PH has settled out. I usually spend two evenings adjusting to hypo, hour by hour adding more freshwater and closely monitoring salinity with a refractometer. Once there, it’s best to let the water stabilize over 24 hours, and then test PH and make any needed adjustments, bringing it up to 8.0-8.2. It’s vital to monitor the physiological response of your new fish.… More:
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