How do i drip acclimate my f8 from fw to bw?

[ray123]

Hi every one,
I wanted to know how i drip acclimate my f8 from fw to bw? i havent got it yet but i want to get it right,
thanks

[Phaedrus]

What is your target SG? This will determine how long it will take to raise the salinity to the desired level.

If it's from fresh to 1.005 or so, you should be able to reach it in about an two or so safely.

The easiest way to do it is to have a large bucket (say a 5gallon pail) with your fish in it sitting below your destination tank. Then use a piece of airline hose to start a syphon into the pail. Tie a loose knot at the bottom end to slow the flow of water to a slow and steady drip.

When the SG in the pail matches the sg in your tank, you can safely move the fish over. It's best not to use a net for this though because you dont want the puffer to freak out and puff up with air. A small cup or plastic container is much safer.

[ray123]

thanks i will try this method. did you say around 2 hour's or days?

[Fella]

It would be more stable to go from fresh to 1.005 with frequent salty water changes. I went from fresh to 1.005 recently in my brackish tank, and I wish i'd done it a bit slower to be honest.

[Pufferpunk]

Phaedrus meant 2 hours. I agree w/Fella though, unless you already have an established BW tank.

[RachelS]

Are you buying one already in brackish? If not just put it in fresh and take 3 to 5 weeks to get it up there

[ray123]

thanks but i will have to go with Phaedrus's method as i already have an established bw tank.

[CoreyK]

FYI, I acclimated my figure 8's from fresh water to ~1.009 in about 2 hours, no problems whatsoever. This was after I recieved them in the mail and they were extremely lethargic. They really seemed to perk up once they got some tankwater, not sure if it had to with the salt or not.

Being brackish creatures they are used to salinity changes, I wouldn't be too terribly concerned about the puffers, its the bacteria you have to worry about in established tanks.