Don't Float Shipping Bags
A New, Better Way to Acclimate Marine Aquarium Species
Mark Martin, a marine aquarium expert, goes against conventional wisdom when it comes to acclimating marine species to the temperature of your saltwater tank.
Mark Martin, the Director of Marine Ornamental Research at California-based Blue Zoo Aquatics, has shaken the marine aquarium world today with an important announcement—DON’T FLOAT YOUR SHIPPING BAGS. That’s right, while the conventional wisdom has always been to float the shipping bag with your new fish or invertebrate in your tank for a period of time before opening the bag, Martin says “No longer!” The thinking behind floating the shipping bag was that the temperature in the bag would equalize with the temperature in your aquarium. It does, but Martin contends floating the bag can cause the temperature in the shipping water to change far too quickly for many species.
Avoid Osmotic Shock by Drip Acclimating
Blue Zoo Aquatics is one of the largest online retailers of marine animals in the United States. As a result, they have had plenty of experience shipping marine animals. They have always advocated drip acclimatization for all animals in order that the pH and salinity of the shipping water gradually transition to the pH and salinity of the aquarium water over a period of hours. Doing so greatly decreases the stress on new animals and ensures a healthy transition, especially for super sensitive animals like shrimp, urchins, starfish, sea cucumbers, and ornamental crabs. According to Martin, it seemed odd to go to such lengths to slowly acclimate animals to pH and salinity, when temperature acclimation is just as important a parameter to watch in order to avoid osmotic shock.
“Through the use of heat or cold packs during shipping, we target an average shipping water temperature of between 60 and 80 degrees upon arrival,” explains Martin. “Given that most marine hobbyists keep their tanks in the upper seventies, there can be a dramatic difference between the temperature of the shipping water and the temperature of the aquarium water.”
Rapid Temperature Changes Contribute to Mortality
Increasing the water temperature inside the shipping bag by as much as 20-degrees Fahrenheit in as many minutes leads to stress that can contribute to delayed mortality (dead after arrival) or outright death. “Such a rapid shift in temperature can send many marine animals into osmotic shock, as their bodies struggle to adapt to the changing water conditions,” says Martin.
Acclimate Temperature Last
After you have completed the full drip acclimatization cycle, it is a good idea to remove any knots in the drip lines (or open the valves up on the flow control device) and let the tank water flow directly into the acclimatization chamber. Once the water level has again doubled in the acclimatization chamber, the temperature in the acclimatization chamber will be fully equalized with the aquarium water and you are ready to introduce your new animal to your aquarium.
