How Accustom Your Angelfish

If you’re thinking about adding Angelfish to your aquarium, you probably should know some of the basic guidelines for keeping these colorful fish as pets. First and foremost, you should know the process of acclimating your angelfish: Angelfish should be kept in their own tanks; they don’t play well with other fish. Meanwhile, Angelfish require more care than most tropical fish (saltwater fish); they are exceptionally prone to disease and need a varied diet to thrive in an aquarium environment.

Before you get into the long-range prospects of keeping Angelfish, your first challenge is getting the fish acclimated to the tank. Angelfish are known to be a little fussy about water temperature and quality. You can’t just dump them directly into the tank from a container or plastic bag. Fortunately, there is a simple step-by-step process for acclimating your Angelfishes. This is why Aquatic Dreams in Clearfield, Utah is here to tell you how to acclimate your Angels.

Step 1

Prior to any sort of introduction to the aquarium, you’ll want to test the pH level of both the container and the tank. Drastic differences in pH will hamper the acclimation process and most experts recommend pH levels from 6.0 to 7.5 for Angelfish to thrive. If the disparity of pH is higher than 0.4, your fish are likely to suffer or die.

Step 2

Once you’ve established a suitable pH level, transfer the fish and the container water to a plastic bag (if necessary). There should be just enough water in the bag to accommodate the fish (you’ll need that extra space in Step 3). Place the plastic bag into the tank. Allow the fish to adjust to the water temperature of the tank for 15-20 minutes.

Step 3

Start the acclimation process by adding half a cup of tank water to the fish bag and wait 20-30 minutes before adding another half-cup. Repeat until the bag is full.

Step 4

Now comes the tricky part. Begin removing water from the fish bag, making sure it doesn’t mix with the tank water. At the same time, observe the fish. If you see signs of distress, slow down or stop the process. Once you’ve removed roughly three-quarters of the water from the fish bag, leave the fish for another 30 minutes to an hour. The longer you let them acclimate, the better.

Step 5

You should be several hours into the acclimation process and keep in mind that it can take an entire day for the fish to settle down. If you see pumping gills or agitated movement, the fish are struggling. Give them more time. Once you’re confident that the fish have been acclimated, you can use a net to release them into the tank, again, being careful to discard the water from the fish bag.