Acclimating New Mantis - High SG

[SkinnyPete]

Just got home with a 4-5" peacock and while acclimating, I learned that the container's SG is 1.033. My tank water is 1.025. Seems like a lot to be acclimated in one shot.

Any suggestions? Other than calling the store and asking why their salt is so....well, salty? Would it be better to hold off the drip and mix some more salt into my tank and let it mix for a couple hours to bring my tank up to say 1.028 or 1.030...then, lower it gradually over the next couple days?

Or just acclimate until the 1.033 is 1.025?

I realize I probably won't get an answer in time, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

- skins

 

[dantodd]

I'd just slow down the drip acclimation. Might want to put in a couple drops of amquel over time. Let it go 12 hours or so.

 

[SkinnyPete]

Yeah, I guess that would have been a better idea. I slowed it down and acclimated for 4 hours. He's in the tank now. I can't really judge his behavior at this point, because I'm sure he's super stressed. He's just sort of sitting in a corner not trying to hide and not really moving too much. This fish store is getting an angry call from me tomorrow.

Hopefully, I'll luck out and he'll still be with us tomorrow. When would any of you suspect I'd be in the clear? If he's okay after 4-5 days, can I assume he survived this nightmare acclimation?

Thanks all. Everyone has been very helpful on this board.

- Skins

 

[Gonodactylus]

You are pushing the upper limits of acclimation here. Even four hours is too fast. It would be better if you could take it down over a day or two - perhaps using the drip in steps - four hours to go from 1.033 to 1.030, then hold for several hours. The reason you want to go so slow is that when the animal is exposed to less saline conditions, water will enter the gill filiments causing them to rupture. The longer you can give to animal to reduce the salinity of its tissues, the less likely this is to happen.

The problem of receiving animals in seawater other than 1.025 is a real headache. Just last week I received one shipment at 1.019 and another at 1.029. I always try to check the salinity of bags when they arrive, at times when the animal is already stressed due to poor water quality, it isn't easy to quickly mix up new replacement water at the same value.

Roy

I haven't conducted LD-50 tests on upper salinity limits for O. scyllarus, but 1.035 is often fatal for other gonodactylids.

 

[SkinnyPete]

Yeah, I realize this is not a very good sinario. And unfortunately, it got worse. I came home from lunch to check on the guy and the news isn't good. One of his smashers is laying on the gravel and he is dragging the other on the sand. This fish store is getting a telephone call from me today. I don't know if this is something due to the elevated salinity, the less than ideal acclimation, or if he had a problem when I bought him.

Funny thing is - I didn't have a great feeling about this store when I walked in there. I've been in this hobby for 10 years. I'm not new to acclimation, I've just never received livestock in water that salty. I feel bad that I didn't adjust the acclimation properly.

Here's a pic...

 

[Gonodactylus]

Without getting to technical, the muscle system that powers the raptorial strike is very labile and seems to go haywire with temperature or salinity extremes (not to mention organic solvents). If the stress caused is suffcient, the firs thing you will see is the raptorial appendage "spring" on with the propodus extended. If this happens, it is usually not reversible and the animals rip off their appendages. I've seen this happen several times in the field when there were major day time exposures on the reef and water heated to near 40C. In one case in Panama, nearly a quarter of all the Neogonodactylus living in the literal zone lost both appendages. They will grow back if the animal survives, but it takes three or four molts and several months.

Roy

 

[SkinnyPete]

Thank you for your response, Roy.

He removed his second appendage shortly after I posted that pic. There's no doubt in my mind it was the salinity extremes.

I'm mostly fuming about the pet store. They basically told me I was lying about the water parameters "there's no way that's true" and refuse to refund my money or give me a store credit. I wasn't really expecting such a horrible experience.

But, I finally decided on a name. "Salinity".....or "Sal" for short. AND, I guess I don't have to worry about forgetting not to stick my hand in the tank. I just hope he makes it.

Thanks all for the posts.

 

[n00b2SWF]

What a horrible pet store!! :mad2:
I hope Sal make through this. Good luck!