temperature adjustments

[Condor]

How long does it take for discus to adjust to new temperatures? I am referring to the "drip" or "plop" methods of introducing fish to their new environments. It seems to me that fish take more than a couple of hours to adjust their internal "thermometers" to the new temp, not to mention new chemistry. Any thoughts on this?

[RyanH]

I try to prioritize. If the fish are in dire straits when you get them home and out of the box then you may be better off just tossing them in your tank right away. If they seem to be doing ok then taking an hour or two to acclimate them certainly will not hurt. Just make sure to drop an airstone in the pail while they are waiting.

[FarWaters]

When I started in discus, I always read about being careful on rapid temp changes with the fish. It has been my experience that they handle temperature changes (not huge) much better that some other types of fish. And MUCH better than saltwater fish. I am not entirely sure over the hundreds of thousands of years they haven't adapted to river conditions, which are almost always constant, but are supposed to change quickly during the rain season. Obviously the change is not huge, but certainly several degrees depending on the depth the fish is in. I don't know- maybe I am looking too deeply at that. The short answer is that the method of introducing may not be as important as just using one of them. I use drip method and have never had a fish go "shockey" due to different water.

[Tad]

Davey,
I have used both methods "Drip and Plop",....IMO Drip is more important when adding new fish to a lower PH with temperature a secondary consideration. I would have to think that the drip method would address both issues (PH/Temp) the best, but if the PH is higher in their new home, Vs the PH of the holding bag of the new fish and the temp is within 5-10 degrees then the plop method IMO would work just fine in the acclimation.

JMO,
Tad

[ShinShin]

I never bother anymore with anything but just plopping a new fish into it's new tank. This may not work well for everyone, however.

Generally stated, from a lower temp to a higher temp, no harm is done. I have never received a shipment or brought home from local p/u where the shipping water was warmer than the tank water.

Also, generally accepted is that from a lower pH to a higher pH, no significant shock takes place. This "rule" needs a little more attention paid to it. Most shipping water has a lower pH upon arrival than what it was before it left it's original location. I might be hesitant to just plop discus in shipping water of around 6.1 or 6.2 (or even less, I have received fish in water <6.0pH) into some of the high pH some people maintain their discus.

My tap water is ~6.6 (+/- 0.1, depending on the season), 50-55 m/s and kept at 83-84F in the tanks. I have no problems with the plop method.