Your live animal order is on the way and you are wondering how best to add the new arrivals to your aquarium?

No problem! You can find important information and tips for acclimating fish, corals, etc. here.

By the way, this is what it looks like when your package arrives:

ACCLIMATION OF MARINE FISH


  1. Turn off or dim the lights

  2. Place the closed fish bag in the aquarium water for about 15 minutes to allow the temperature to adjust

  3. Carefully open the bag with scissors
  4. Drain as much transport water as possible (not into the aquarium) and transfer the fish quickly into your reef tank

You can also use a big spoon or something similar to transfer the fish from the bag into the aquarium with a small amount of water. You should avoid letting the fish come into contact with air (e.g. when catching it with a net). Leave the light off for a while after putting it in, or leave it at low intensity.


We recommend that you do NOT drip the fish slowly .

Background: Fish should be removed from the transport water as quickly as possible. Slowly acclimating the fish by adjusting drop by drop can sometimes cause more stress for the animals than moving them quickly. Depending on the shipping time, pre-treatment of the water and the size or number of animals, the transport water can have high ammonium/ammonia values ​​and a low pH value. If you gradually add fresh sea water (with a high pH value), the pH-dependent ammonium/ammonia ratio shifts towards toxic ammonia - i.e. the fish are slowly poisoned by the drops. You can avoid this by simply putting your new arrivals directly into the tank (with as little transport water as possible).

By the way: An exception is the acclimation of fish larvae (please use the dripping method here).

Additional tips before and after introducing new fish:

  • To avoid disputes, feed your "old" reef inhabitants well before new arrivals arrive.

  • Break up existing territories by moving the reef structure and/or changing the current.

  • The next day, feed your new arrivals generously with high-quality food and, if necessary, vitamin supplements.

ACCLIMATION OF CORAL

Place the closed transport bag or container in the aquarium water for about 15 minutes to allow the temperature to adjust

Visual inspection: Examine the frags thoroughly for injuries or diseases

To prevent diseases and parasites prophylactically, you can use a coral dip

Light acclimatization (optional): First place the new corals near the bottom of your aquarium so that they can get used to the lighting conditions

After a few days, you can position the corals in the aquarium according to their needs using coral glue

Additional tips for acclimating new corals:

  • Be careful not to touch the tissue of the coral, but only touch the frag plug when transferring.

    You can remove the "stalk" of the frag plug before gluing it into the reef, e.g. with a side cutter.

  • It is not necessary to relocate the corals while they are submerged. They do not mind being exposed to air for a short time.

    Try to transfer Euphyllia corals upside down so that the long tentacles do not injure the coral skeleton.

  • In general, SPS corals like strong flow and lots of light (especially Acropora ), LPS corals like moderate lighting and flow.

    You can find the exact care requirements of each coral in our product descriptions.

ACCLIMATION OF NON-CORAL INVERTEBRATES: THE DRIPPING METHOD

These include shrimps, Tridacna giant clams and anemones.

Turn off or dim the lights

Place the closed bag in the aquarium water for about 15 minutes to allow the temperature to adjust

Place the bag in a cup and carefully open it with scissors

Take a thin hose (e.g. air hose, silicone hose), put one end in the aquarium water (fasten if necessary) and the other end in the bag

Tie a knot in the hose to regulate the water flow

Suck the water out of the aquarium and adjust the knot so that about 2-3 drops per second drip into the bag

Once the amount of water in the bag has doubled, discard half of it and repeat the process until the amount has doubled again

Now carefully transfer the animal into your aquarium (e.g. using a cup). Make sure that it does not come into contact with air

We hope these checklists will help you to get your reef inhabitants used to their new home. Please give us feedback and tell us about your experiences.