Acclimating your frag

Every frag PixieCorals ships travels overnight in an insulated, heat-packed box. The four steps below take about an hour in total and are what our live arrival guarantee assumes you have followed.

1. 1

   Float the sealed bag for 15–20 minutes

   Leave the bag closed and floating in your display to equalise temperature. Shipping boxes are heat-packed and the water inside can be several degrees off your tank, and temperature shock does more damage on arrival day than anything else on this list.

2. 2

   Drip acclimate for 30–45 minutes

   Open the bag into a clean container and drip tank water in at roughly two to three drips per second until the volume has doubled. This matches salinity and pH gradually. Do not pour shipping water into your display — discard it once the frag is out.

3. 3

   Dip in a coral-safe iodine dip for 5–10 minutes

   A dip removes hitchhikers before they reach your rockwork. Swish the frag gently through the dip to dislodge anything hiding at the base, then rinse in clean tank water so dip solution does not travel into the display.

4. 4

   Place low and out of direct flow for the first week

   Start the frag near the bottom of the tank, away from powerheads, regardless of where it will eventually live. Move it toward its final position over the following two to three weeks so it adapts to your lighting gradually rather than all at once.