Acclimation is process of getting your new fish and other marine creatures used to their new home. The greatest threat to your new marine animals is while you are making their move to your aquarium water. Mortality is at generally its highest when there is a change in their marine environment – so you have to ensure the transition is as easy and stress free for them as possible.
When they first arrive, they are in water with a different temperature, pH, and salinity than the one in your aquarium. Fish, and in particular invertebrates, are very sensitive to even slight changes in these parameters, so proper acclimation is vital in ensuring their successful transfer.
Of course, you are eager to put your new saltwater fish into the tank and see them swimming around under full lighting. You might want to add a small amount of food and maybe tap on the glass in case they are hiding in the corner. However, this is not the right way to introduce your marine fish into your saltwater aquarium.
Before opening the shipping container, first dim the lights in the room. You should never open the container in bright light because sudden exposure to it will cause severe stress.
Then you have to equalize the temperature, salinity, and ph of the shipping bag water to your saltwater tank. The drip method is the best method to use for acclimating sensitive animals such as clams, cucumbers, shrimp, snails, starfish, urchins, or animals sensitive to pH and salinity shock
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The key here is to be patient and take everything slowly or your fish will suffer. You need time to acclimate your livestock to their new saltwater tank. A few hours are not a lot of time to guarantee the health of your animals.
Slowly adjusting your animals to your water parameters is the key. Let everything settle down and introduce the fish slowly. You want to equalize the temperature, salinity, and ph of the shipping bag water to your tank in a steady manner. And once they are finally safely in the marine tank keep the lights off for the rest of the day.
Even if you think you have done everything right and you are sure your aquarium water is perfect you must still follow this process because the transition from the animals’ old environment to near perfect water is what causes the stress.
The bottom line is that every time you introduce a marine creature to a new aquatic system, it is at its most vulnerable so the key is to be patient and not rush things
Therefore, it makes sense to take things slowly to save your existing livestock from harm and give your new pets the chance to revitalize. A lot of patience will pay big dividends when introducing your saltwater friends to their new aquarium.
