Aquatic Plant Central - View Single Post - Yay! I'm finally getting some Dwarf Cichlid. Help me acclimate them please?

BryceM · 12-20-2007, 05:36 PM

I don't drip acclimate, but I am careful when putting new species in a tank with high CO2 levels. If possible I like to turn the CO2 off for several hours prior to adding new species. I usually dump off most of the shipping water and gradually add cupfulls of tank water over 30 or 50 mintues. After that, the newbies are netted out and thrown in their new home. I do it the same way every time and have had mixed results over the past year.

I've added 24 otos, 30 wild-caught rummies, and 20 wild-caught cardinals at different times with zero losses. That surprised me!!! Other times virtually 100% of the rummies died within 2 days. Another time 10 new harlequins died within a week. As long as you don't just dump them right in, they usually do fine. I'm not sure the drip method will do much to help fish that were already sick, stressed, or on their way out. Those are the ones that always give me issues. Healthy fish are pretty tough.

12-20-2007, 05:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
BryceM Administrator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: South Central Idaho, USA Posts: 4,262 iTrader Ratings: 42 iTrader Positive Rating: 100% Plant Points: 178534	Re: Yay! I'm finally getting some Dwarf Cichlid. Help me acclimate them please? I don't drip acclimate, but I am careful when putting new species in a tank with high CO2 levels. If possible I like to turn the CO2 off for several hours prior to adding new species. I usually dump off most of the shipping water and gradually add cupfulls of tank water over 30 or 50 mintues. After that, the newbies are netted out and thrown in their new home. I do it the same way every time and have had mixed results over the past year. I've added 24 otos, 30 wild-caught rummies, and 20 wild-caught cardinals at different times with zero losses. That surprised me!!! Other times virtually 100% of the rummies died within 2 days. Another time 10 new harlequins died within a week. As long as you don't just dump them right in, they usually do fine. I'm not sure the drip method will do much to help fish that were already sick, stressed, or on their way out. Those are the ones that always give me issues. Healthy fish are pretty tough.