I'm planning on getting a few fish (at once) for my new tank, and I'd like to do a freshwater dip for them. If I do this, can I just skip normal acclimation procedures with the exception of temperature?

In otherwords, can I put them in RO/DI water at the same temp as my tank then put them directly into my tank? Or does it still make sense to acclimate them to my tank water, then do the dip then put them into my tank?

I don't have anything but live rock and sand in my tank currently, so I'm choosing not to quarantine them. Plus, I only have one separate tank available to quarantine.

Thanks!

I wouldn't do a dip at all. Most of the time when you do a dip its because the fish is ill and you're trying to kill the parasite thats bothering it. Dips are extremely dangerous to your critters... the salinity of the water around them supports their cells, and putting them in a hypertonic environment causes their cells to take on more water than they normally would (which is the result of nature's tendency towards equalibrium... the salt levels inside the fish's cells and the salt level in the surrounding environment have a need to be the same), and since salt cannot pass through the phospholipid bilayer of the fish's cells, the water will enter the cells in an attempt to combat it.

So in short, it stresses your fish. Badly. And could prolly kill them.

Acclimation is something entirely different. You acclimate fish because the water they are in when you bring them home in the baggy has different parameters than your tank's water, and to simply dump the fish into your tank will cause it to have a lot of trouble breathing and end up stressing the fish... it could even cause it to die. Good thing to look for when you first add a fish to know if you've acclimated it long enough is to look to see if the veins around his tail stand out, or you can see his blood turn a brighter or darker shade of red.

I use a drip acclimator, which you can buy for like, 5 bucks at www.marinedepot.com. Works amazingly... I've never seen any sort of stress from bad acclimation with any of my fish or inverts. Definately worth the investment :)

So... in short (again), yes, acclimate your fish, always. Inverts and coral too, even though some people will say otherwise.

One last thing... how many fish are you planning to add at one time? From what you're saying, it sounds like you've got a pretty new start up going. Don't rush things... the filtering bacteria in your tank are still in their infancy. Adding a large bioload will overwhelm them and you're gonna start to get all sorts of nitrite and nitrate problems. Best thing is to take everything extremely slow... add maybe 2 fish that are known to be tough (I'd recommend a chromis or two).

I wouldn't do a dip at all. Most of the time when you do a dip its because the fish is ill and you're trying to kill the parasite thats bothering it. Dips are extremely dangerous to your critters... the salinity of the water around them supports their cells, and putting them in a hypertonic environment causes their cells to take on more water than they normally would (which is the result of nature's tendency towards equalibrium... the salt levels inside the fish's cells and the salt level in the surrounding environment have a need to be the same), and since salt cannot pass through the phospholipid bilayer of the fish's cells, the water will enter the cells in an attempt to combat it.
while i agree with the details of your information, i dont agree with the outcome, FW dips are proven to be safe and effective against seen and unseen parasites and other bacteria, fungus, or other type nasties. its is not 100% for everything, but not aways a bad idea. FW dips should be less than 1 minute, no more than 2 IMO and go here if you know something is wrong.
in short, my opinion is that short FW dips are generally safe

Acclimation is something entirely different. You acclimate fish because the water they are in when you bring them home in the baggy has different parameters than your tank's water, and to simply dump the fish into your tank will cause it to have a lot of trouble breathing and end up stressing the fish... it could even cause it to die. Good thing to look for when you first add a fish to know if you've acclimated it long enough is to look to see if the veins around his tail stand out, or you can see his blood turn a brighter or darker shade of red.

I use a drip acclimator, which you can buy for like, 5 bucks at www.marinedepot.com. Works amazingly... I've never seen any sort of stress from bad acclimation with any of my fish or inverts. Definately worth the investment :)

So... in short (again), yes, acclimate your fish, always. Inverts and coral too, even though some people will say otherwise.
i agree 110% here. acclimation is totally different, and in NOT an option. failure to acclimate can cause major stress or even death as noted

One last thing... how many fish are you planning to add at one time? From what you're saying, it sounds like you've got a pretty new start up going. Don't rush things... the filtering bacteria in your tank are still in their infancy. Adding a large bioload will overwhelm them and you're gonna start to get all sorts of nitrite and nitrate problems. Best thing is to take everything extremely slow... add maybe 2 fish that are known to be tough (I'd recommend a chromis or two).
i also fully agree here, make sure your tank is fully cycled and its ready to handle the bio-load of fish.

also a comment on QT, its really best practice to QT even your first fish, but i will let others preach that one.. ;)

Thanks guys for the detailed info. Love the podcast Rob. I've learned lots through it!

Just so I have this straight, if I choose to do a FW dip, I should acclimate first to my tank water, then do the dip, then straight into the tank?

Also, I'm assuming the FW dip should be the same pH as my tank water. What's the best way to get it there? I've read adding baking soda to RO/DI water can do the trick. Thoughts?

yes, it should be same ph and temp

PH can be adjusted with carious commercial buffers, and some house hold items like vinegar and baking soda although i have never used these since my water PH is right where i need it

The others have input a fair amount of info, & not alot really to expand on. Im just going to add that fish on a constant bases are always maintaining the equalibrium around them by drinking or excreating more & have done since the dawn of time. Fish from certain regins have adapted over time to withstand salt & brackish ranges of various natures, with only the most sensitive succumbing or moving further offshore. Being that most fish have scales with tight platelets the problem ocelot is refering to is the mass oral or gill introduction of fresh water to the fish system, which as he mentioned can cause some problems. The only thing is the interpretation of such occurances, because
A) your osmotic balance is close > hence any cell viscosity/rupture/purge rate would be limited. put into perspective no more damage would be done swallowing a piece of small coral.
B) the age of the cells & fish in question.
C) the time period in which you dip.
D) evolution of any given species to handle variations
E) any secondary infection residue affecting the cellular make-up as whole.

So personally id say the chances of the average joe losing a fish using the fish personality as the first & formost guide, & secondly any relating dipping references, to lose a fish would be slim during fresh water dips.


And the only other thing i wanted to throw my dirty washing towards was about the bio-load. The load of any given is dictated by the size of the environment, then the fish, then the inputs you manually contribute to the tank. using the analolgy the bio load/waste content increases in your left hand, bactera in your right hand consume & replicate to keep up with whats in your left hand. If you rush edditions to the tank everything piles into the left hand & you're forced to drop everything in an unclimatic mess. No more than one eddition a month if your starting out, if your seasoned im dirrecting my comments to the greener among us.;)