acclimating new shrimp

[drhooha]

I am anticipating an order of cherry red shrimp. Is there a recommended way to acclimate new shrimp? Should I just float the bag for 15 minutes, then strain out the shrimp from the water and drop them in? Or should I drip in tank water into the bag first to acclimate them to any pH difference?

[rustarific]

I'm definitely not an expert but I like the drip method. I place whatever fish or shrimp and water into a small bucket then use a length of air line tubing to siphon water out of the tank into the bucket. I have a small plastic valve attached at the output end to control the flow. Haven't had any problems with this method at this point. I've had quite a few fish that had difficulty acclimating by just floating the bag.

[Piscesgirl]

I would suggest either Rustarific's drip method or another such slow, method. I personally use a 2-hour method for shrimp and fish -- I have a hang-on breeder box type thing that hangs inside the tank. I slowly add water from the tank to the box until it is filled, then remove water from it and dump it, and add more from the tank into the box for 2 hours to acclimate. Haven't had any problems with any fish or shrimp I've acclimated in this fashion.

[Mustafa]

This is my "acclimation method", which works great.

1. Catch shrimp out of bag

2. Open aquarium cover

3. Release Shrimp into the tank

Done! Always works and I never have any problems with it.

Certainly you should make sure that the temperature of the water the shrimp were shipped in and the temperature of the water in the tank are about the same. That is easily achieved when your tanks are approximately at room temperature. You just let the shrimp sit for a little while so their bag water adjusts. *DO NOT FLOAT BREATER BAGS* since that cuts off their oxygen supply.

Temperature is really the only adjustment factor (in my opinion) for all the shrimp species I have come across (and I am currently keeping about 14-15 species).

Hope this helps.

Mustafa