Acclimating Your Feeder Guppies After Shipping
Live fish travel under stress. A careful 30-minute acclimation protects your new guppies and keeps your tank stable. Follow this step-by-step routine.
Your guppies have spent up to 24 hours in a sealed, oxygenated bag. The water chemistry inside that bag has drifted from your tank, so dumping them straight in can shock and kill them. A short, calm acclimation makes all the difference.
The 30-minute routine, step by step
- 1Open and assess on arrival. Check the bags, note the temperature, and photograph unopened bags if you need a live arrival claim. Dim the room.
- 2Temperature float (15 min). Float the sealed bags in your holding tank so temperatures equalize. Do not open them yet.
- 3Drip or pour acclimation (15 min). Open the bags into a clean bucket and add a half-cup of tank water every 5 minutes until the volume roughly doubles.
- 4Net into the tank. Net the guppies in and discard the bag water — it is high in ammonia.
Most important rule
Never pour shipping or store water into your display or holding tank. Net the fish across and bin the bag water.
Is your tank ready for them?
Enter your readings before you acclimate — fish go into stable water, not a tank that is still cycling.
💧 Water parameter checker
Type in your readings — we'll grade each one.
Temperature
target 74–78 °F
pH
target 7–8
Ammonia
target 0 ppm
Nitrite
target 0 ppm
Nitrate
target 0–40 ppm
Enter your test-kit readings to get an instant verdict.
Keep the lights off for a few hours so they settle, and wait 12–24 hours before feeding them to a predator if you want to gut-load first.
Ninety-five percent of post-shipping losses come from skipping acclimation. Thirty patient minutes protects the whole batch.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I acclimate shipped guppies?
About 30 minutes total — 15 minutes floating to match temperature, then 15 minutes slowly mixing in your water.
Can I feed them right away?
Let them rest first. Wait 12–24 hours, especially if you plan to gut-load before feeding them out.
What if some arrived dead?
Photograph the unopened bags and file under our Live Arrival Guarantee — we re-ship or refund.
Ready to stock up?
Healthy, gut-loaded guppy feeders in bulk packs and bi-weekly subscriptions — live arrival guaranteed.
Questions about this guide? Email [email protected]
