Re: Freshwater or brackish cycling? f8s?
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:29 pm
Sounds right to me. Here's a link to an article in the Puffer LIbrary with the directions on how to do that. You have to scroll all the way down to the section called The Final Destination, and it's about halfway into the first paragraph in that section. library/puffer-care/moving-and-transpor ... and-tanks/
The way I did it was I put the fish into a small bucket. I used an empty ice cream pail. Then I put a plate over the top so that there was a small gap near the side of the pail. I then filled the empty bag that was used to bring the fish home with a couple cups of the tank water. I tried to get about the same amount as was in the bag originally. I tied off the top of the bag, and then poked a small hole with a pin to make a slow drip. If needed, you could poke a couple holes until you get a slow drip. That should last a couple hours. Keep checking to make sure it's not dripping too fast but is still dripping. After an hour or so, you can take out a small amount of water from the pail and repeat this every half hour to hour. Once the bag is empty, you can either refill and continue or place in the tank. It really depends on how much water they came in, how much water you put in the bag, etc. This method is not exact, but it worked for me 3 times without any losses or even stress. Since you're going with brackish fish and aren't raising it all that much, they should go through it pretty well. With saltwater fish, you'd probably have to acclimate longer since they aren't meant to be in fluctuating salinities.
The way I did it was I put the fish into a small bucket. I used an empty ice cream pail. Then I put a plate over the top so that there was a small gap near the side of the pail. I then filled the empty bag that was used to bring the fish home with a couple cups of the tank water. I tried to get about the same amount as was in the bag originally. I tied off the top of the bag, and then poked a small hole with a pin to make a slow drip. If needed, you could poke a couple holes until you get a slow drip. That should last a couple hours. Keep checking to make sure it's not dripping too fast but is still dripping. After an hour or so, you can take out a small amount of water from the pail and repeat this every half hour to hour. Once the bag is empty, you can either refill and continue or place in the tank. It really depends on how much water they came in, how much water you put in the bag, etc. This method is not exact, but it worked for me 3 times without any losses or even stress. Since you're going with brackish fish and aren't raising it all that much, they should go through it pretty well. With saltwater fish, you'd probably have to acclimate longer since they aren't meant to be in fluctuating salinities.