Acclimation box/breeder net

[hazmat319]

So...I'm getting a new fish tomorrow. A female lineatus wrasse to go with my male.:dance: I'm a little nervous about introducing her into the tank and figured I would use an acclimation box. I've never used one before and have never had to acclimate a fish. I have 2 things that I could use. I have a medium size fish trap. It only has a circular area on each side that lets water flow thru which isn't ideal. And I have a large (10x6x6) breeder net. I want to use the breeder net because it's bigger. But not sure if the netting will obscure the fish from seeing each other. My thought was to turn off the lights and put her in the breeder net. I have a mesh top that sits on my tank so that would keep her from jumping out of the breeder net. Hoping everyone will get along so I don't have to keep her in there long.

Has anyone used an acclimation box before and how long did you keep your fish in it for?

[suicideissleep]

I did this for my last fish I added and did it for two days and added the fish with no problem. On a side note had a sad week for the birds nest was doing good till my Gfo powerized and killed most of my tank :( might need anouther small peice if you get around to it hope ur wrasse does good for you

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

If I were you I would also use the breeder net. I don't think it will obscure enough of the view of the female wrasse and plus I'm sure he will sense that there is a female nearby.

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

Sorry to hear about the mini crash Ron. Did you have too much flow through the reactor?

[hazmat319]

I did this for my last fish I added and did it for two days and added the fish with no problem. On a side note had a sad week for the birds nest was doing good till my Gfo powerized and killed most of my tank :( might need anouther small peice if you get around to it hope ur wrasse does good for you

Oh no!!!!! Didn't that happen to you once before? You definitely can have another piece. Are you ready now? I have a huge colony (actually have 2 of them) that I was just thinking I need to sell off. Let me know when your ready.

Thanks for the replies!

[suicideissleep]

Sorry to hear about the mini crash Ron. Did you have too much flow through the reactor?

Yea I pulled my skimmer cup to clean when putting it back I hit the valve and didn't notice till am when the tank looked funny I opened my door to check the sump and bam orange slim at water line what a mess been skimming orange for a week now lol

Hazmat it's the first time got that with me lol but me and reactors are just trouble lol calc reactor killed couple things kalk reactor did the same lol it's like learning a standard car for the first time lol not use to all this :)

[joewallace2008]

Had fix this post

[Useful_Idiot]

Nice wrasse! I recently added a pyramid butterfly and used a large eggcrate box for acclimation. My yellow tang didn't seem to like him but was too fearful of the eggcrate to get too close. After 2 days I let him out and the tang went right after him but not too bad, maybe I should have waited longer. When Copps spoke at house of fins he said the best thing you can do when adding any new fish to your tank is use a tank divider so the new fish can claim some territory. He has his rockwork setup for this with seperate islands.

[suicideissleep]

Sry to get off topic but pat where you say the fish can claim its own spot my powder blue my flame angle and scopus sleep touching each othere in the same tiny cave and the cave was only two walls till I added a mushroom to make a third wall didn't notice I did that till I started seeing these guys all huddled together

[Useful_Idiot]

Not off topic, I was quoting copps. I thought the reason behind fish aggression was the fish protecting their territory ie their food source or grazing area. My pyramid and tang although they don't sleep or swim together now get along just fine. no more raised fins. Maybe new fish having some of their own territory is a de-stressor for them knowing they have a safe spot in the tank full of potential food and free from harassment.

[QUOTE=copps;18158725]Like so much in this hobby, the rules I use in transitioning are fluid and based on my experiences... I prefer to use a transition zone over an acclimation box if possible... this is an area in the system you section off for the new addition. This allows the new fish to be seen but not touched, and become one of the group over the course of a couple of weeks. The new fish establishes a bit of its own territory, and when the section is removed the aggression is much less than it would be... Here is a shot from another one of my systems showing the transition zone...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx114/johnjcoppolino/kitchen2-1.jpg

[Useful_Idiot]

Does that answer your question or were you just disagreeing with me? Which is fine with me. By the way I am bad at keeping fish so I try to copy those that are good at it.

[hazmat319]

Not off topic, I was quoting copps. I thought the reason behind fish aggression was the fish protecting their territory ie their food source or grazing area. My pyramid and tang although they don't sleep or swim together now get along just fine. no more raised fins. Maybe new fish having some of their own territory is a de-stressor for them knowing they have a safe spot in the tank full of potential food and free from harassment.

[QUOTE=copps;18158725]Like so much in this hobby, the rules I use in transitioning are fluid and based on my experiences... I prefer to use a transition zone over an acclimation box if possible... this is an area in the system you section off for the new addition. This allows the new fish to be seen but not touched, and become one of the group over the course of a couple of weeks. The new fish establishes a bit of its own territory, and when the section is removed the aggression is much less than it would be... Here is a shot from another one of my systems showing the transition zone...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx114/johnjcoppolino/kitchen2-1.jpg

I like this idea. I'm not sure I could pull this off in my tank with my scaping as it is. But it's a great solution. Then you don't have to worry about trying to get food to your fish in the acclimation box etc....So many things that you don't think about when you are aquascaping your tank. She's not here yet but my plan is to try the breeder net and see what happens. Of course my clowns JUST laid their clutch of eggs a couple of days ago so if she goes near that it won't be pretty. But usually they just chase away and then go right back to the eggs. And luckily it's in the very back left corner of the tank on the wall.
For some reason I'm nervous! Maybe because I haven't introduced a fish into the system in quite awhile. I like how all the children play together on the playground :lmao:

[hazmat319]

Had fix this post

Was this for me? Cause I no understand:lol2:

[hazmat319]

So....she is in the breeder net hiding in the PVC pipe I put in there. But I have the lights off and all my fish are in their sleepy mode. I don't think they even realize there is another fish in the tank. How long should I keep the lights out?

Sorry Swanny.....but I have to give a HUGE kudos to FedEx. The driver couldn't find my house because we live in a new neighborhood and we don't show up on GPS yet. She actually called me and asked for directions. She said her GPS took her way out of her way and she still made the effort to bring me my package. I couldn't say thank you enough to her. I can guarantee if it was UPS I would have had a different outcome. But I don't think I will use Saturday shipping anymore after Swanny reminded me that if it did get delayed it would be sitting until Monday. I don't think I want to take that risk. Not that I will be ordering anymore fish. This is it for my tank.