Acclimation Guides & Information

Instructions for fish and snails:

Do not open the bag/s.

• Inspect the sealed bag/s, checking the water temperature and overall well-being of all animals. Take note of any issues.

Temperature Acclimation is next.

• Float the bags in your tank for 10-15 min to allow the water temperature to equalize.
• Place a fish net over a bucket or large container. Cut open the bag and pour the total contents through the net, allowing the shipping water to empty into the container while catching your new aquatic friend/s in the net. Remove any unwanted items from the net. 
• Use caution when handling fish that have spines (such as catfish) to avoid getting poked, and be sure to use extra care when handling energetic animals who may be able to jump out of the net. 
• Carefully place your new aquatic friend/s from the net into your tank. 

Instructions for Shrimp:

Drip acclimation can help reduce shock, which can negatively affect shrimp and can lead to a shorter life expectancy, can cause death, causes stress, and chances of not eating. So acclimating shrimp by the drip method is essential to giving your shrimps a chance to survive in their new environment.

Here are some instructions on how to drip acclimate (there are also lots of YouTube videos illustrating this as well).

What you will need:

• 1 x Large Cup or Bowl (Something to hold the shrimp while acclimating)
• 1x Aquarium airline tubing
• 1 x Airline Valve
• Water Detoxifier such as Seachem Prime

Step 1: Place your shrimp into a container along with the water they were shipped with inside and allow enough room in the container for water to expand up later by 200%. If the container is smaller, be careful to not let the water overflow and cause potential shrimp loss.

Step 2: Add a drop of detoxifier such as Seachem Prime or your favorite brand of detoxifier. Any will do, but this step is crucial to detoxify the water as described in the above section. 

Step 3: Take an airline control valve to one end of your tubing, making sure it is completely open. Now fill the tubing with the aquarium water and then close off the valve.

Step 4: Place the cup with the shrimp on a flat location below the level of the aquarium water. Take the tubing without the airline valve into the aquarium water and fix it firmly with a suction cup. The other end with the airline valve should now be placed above the cup with the shrimp inside.

Step 5: Gradually adjust your airline control valve until you have around one drip per second. Allow the water to drip until it is mixed and consists of 1/3 old water and 2/3 aquarium water. The entire process should take anywhere between 1-3 hours. As long as the detoxifier was added this slow acclimation will help the shrimp adjust properly to their new home.

Step 6: Remove the shrimp from the container using your net, and then release the shrimp into their new tank.

Step 7: Sit back and enjoy your new shrimp!

Do You Need To Acclimatize New Aquarium Plants?

Most “easy” aquarium plants don’t need to be acclimatized. Some of the “harder” plants may require some more careful planning, to ensure the water parameters match the care requirements of that species, but they technically don’t require acclimatization, though they may take time to adjust to their new environment.

Do our plants have snails?

We do have snails… But, if you do not like snails you can do a 1:20 ratio bleach to water dip and/or wash the plants. Anytime you add something new to an aquarium it is important to rinse it off before adding, just to be safe.