Proper acclimation of your new inhabitant to your aquarium is the most important thing.

This is to make sure that there will be a smooth transition of transfer from the bag to your aquarium.

Try to imagine that you live your entire life in a warm climate.

Then you were moved and dropped off somewhere cold let’s say Alaska or North Pole.

Getting used to your new surrounding will be hard and your body would become stressed and you might even get sick.

Same idea with your fish and invertebrates.

They become stressed when they are taken from the ocean or from your local fish store to your aquarium at home.

All fish, coral and invertebrates are very sensitive to water temperature, salinity and pH.

Before going to the steps look at these factors you are acclimating for.

This will help your animal adjust to its new environment and water chemistry.

Temperature

The bags may have been shipped across country or even the distance from the fish store to your home, the arrival temperature will most likely to be difference from the temperature in your home saltwater aquarium.

Proper procedure will take care of slowly changing the animal body temperature back to a normal temperature without stress.

Salinity

This is the specific gravity = (salt levels) in your water. When there is low salinity level, this means that your fish is receiving higher level of oxygen when they breathe.

If your salinity level then is higher than normal, your fish are prone to common ailments such as ich (white spot). Maintain a salinity level of 1.019 – 1.022 for fish only aquariums and 1.022 - 1.026 if you have corals and/or clams.

PH

Keep your pH level for saltwater at 8.1 to 8.4. Freshwater fish will vary but are around 6.8 to 7.4 (species dependant). Water change and use a pH buffer will help maintain this level.

When your fish releases ammonia -(waste), this will cause the pH in the saltwater in the bag to drop.

Here are the procedures on properly acclimating Saltwater Fish and Corals.

Acclimate means to become used to a new environment or situation. fish acclimation takes time but will reduce your disappointment of watching them struggle and stress or just sink to the bottom of your tank.

Proper acclimation helps reduce the chances of stress. This will make a huge difference in the health and beauty of your new fish.

There are few things to remember and to follow when you’re adding new fish to your aquarium. Try your best to follow these fish acclimation recommendations/procedure for the benefit of your new fish.