I was also very worried about introducing Thailand fish, but I just floated their bags in their tanks for an hour to acclimate temperature and released them. They were fine and still are

 

I don't know how much it varies but I always set a 2 hour acclimation time MINIMUM. That's after the half hour float to get them acclimated to the temp first. They are going to be stressed, that cannot be helped so you just need to make it as easy for them as you can. I suggest doing a 2 hour drip acclimation, more if you think it's necessary.

I use a 1 gallon tank for the Drip Acclimation process and it really works very well. I highly suggest it for any sensitive fish/inverts and fish coming from oversea's and really any shipped fish I should say

After that they totally do fine! I've got one AB fish right now and another girl will soon be joining as well and the drip acclimation has always done wonders for them! Also using some IAL or Oak leaves will help ease them as well.

 

Thank you both so much, I thought it would be really complicated >.< I have a one gallon drip already set up, do you know where I could find IAL or Oak leaves?

 

IAL you can get off Ebay or AquaBid just fine, Dried Oak leaves can be found in your backyard but ONLY if you absolutely know that there has been no pesticides or insecticides sprayed around that tree or anywhere near it. They do have to be dried though, just like IAL.

 

I'll be sure to check those both out. Thanks again!

 

The water in Thailand is very different from the US. A lower pH, soft water, tainted from leaves which add beneficial properties, and very warm water. ^.^ It sounds like paradise for them lol. Up here it differs in each city based on the water system and how they clean it.

Proper acclimation as everyone said up here is mandatory for a long life in America.

 

Drip acclimation is the best way to go. If you arent able to set up a drip system, then you can also add a tsp of new water into their old water every 20 or so minutes for an hour and it'll be fine.

I'm not recommending this by any means, but I've actually never acclimated any of my fish to anything besides temperature, and probably never will, except for this pair of wilds I'm getting in Thursday. I've never had any deaths, shock, or anything else that could be a problem happen to them.

 

Just do a drip acclimation over a period of 90 minutes to 2 hours or so, same way saltwater keepers acclimate their new arrivals. Its simple and will get the fish slowly used to the new water.

 

Yes, I have a drip set up that I recently got, so I will do the 2 hour process as mentioned. This has helped me gain confidence about bidding on that little girl, thanks for the thoughtful responses.

 

Horray! I really hope you can get her, I bet she's absolutely lovely!

 

Drip Acclimation is the best for any type of fish. You could always test the water the fish comes in. I will do this sometimes with expensive fish. I check the ph of the water they fish was shipped in. Sometimes I check the kh and gh too. I did a lot of water test when I kept shrimp.

 

Drip Acclimation is the best for any type of fish. You could always test the water the fish comes in. I will do this sometimes with expensive fish. I check the ph of the water they fish was shipped in. Sometimes I check the kh and gh too. I did a lot of water test when I kept shrimp.

I was thinking about testing the water, and I think I have some test strips handy from past aquariums so I will do that too. And I found some IAL at my LPS last night! I'll go buy some closer to when I have some fish arriving.

 

I just floated the bag for 20 min for temperature acclamation, added some tank water into the bag and left it for another 20 min and released him. Worked out just fine.

 

Hey guys just want to add something to already all good information here. Just like LebronTheBetta said that Thailand water is very different , it usually quite soft around 6.0 for a ph and probably about 1-3 6h for hardness. A fish that is accustomed to soft water may some times have problem to adjust in hard water. Its messed with their osmoregulation or how they process the water going through their systems.
I was talking to someone who got 3 bettas from Thailand and 2 of them were perfectly fine, but the other one was having a problem to adjust. He constantly was sick and had bad case of fin rot that nothing was helping.
The reason i am writing that , because i would recommend to quarantine him for a few weeks if you have any other fish.

 

I acclimated mine over 24 hours, perhaps that was overkill but figured it wouldn't hurt. Mostly I was worried about the huge difference in pH. I tested the bag water and it was, if I remember correctly, 6.4. My water is 8.4! I can get it a little lower with driftwood and IAL. Ugh I hate the hard water here. Mineral stains all over the tanks, corroding thermometers, etc.

 

My ph is about 7.5 and I lower it by using IAL leaves which I slowly wean them off of. This fish will be going into her own tank alone so I won't worry about the quarantine but I will set up a .75 gallon drip acclimation for about 8 hours. I will also test the water to try to match it as best as I can. So hopefully she does well in her new home. Thanks everyone!