How to Acclimate My New Fish

Acclimating your Koi is the first thing that you should do when you bring your Koi home. Acclimation is the process that gets a Koi used to new/different water.

When you acclimate, you:

  • Equalize the water temperature between the bag and the new pond
  • Equalize the pH level
  • Equalize any other water parameters

Acclimation eases the transition from one pond to another for a Koi.

How to Acclimate

  1. Float the bag in your pond for 15 minutes to equalize the temperature.
  2. Open the bag and add 30% of your pond water.
  3. Float the bag for 15 more minutes.
  4. Open the bag and add 30% more water.
  5. Float the bag for 15 more minutes.
  6. Scoop your new Koi out of the bag with your hand or a net and add it to your pond.
  7. Discard any water in your bag in your yard or a drain pipe. Do not put the water in your pond, it can have stray parasites or bacteria in it that you wouldn’t want to introduce into the pond.