So I finally got my fish from the lfs. I was like a kid in christmas. So I bring it home and aclamate the fish, he's looking good and ready to release. As soon as I place him in my tank it looks like he went into shock. What did I do wrong, he aclamated for 20 min, I tested my water and everything was normal, salt content was 1.024, temp is at 78. Should I have let him sit longer than 20 min?
Flaming Angel
- Thread starter Eddie V
- Start date
Shells4
New member
I know I always go overboard acclimating....I usually take about 2 hours to acclimate when getting a fish from a LFS. I let the bag float for about 20 min. first then slowly starting adding very small amounts of water every 10-15 minutes. Never lost a fish from acclimating so my theory is slow is better.
+1...always check their water, and adjust your acclimation time, accordingly!
rssjsb
New member
I'm actually curious about the long acclimation thing. If the salinity and ph match in the transfer bag and the tank (QT hopefully), why continue to drip?
It seems to me like the longer you keep the fish in the water it came in the more likely it is that the ph will rise and the waste that's already in the water will get more toxic.
It seems to me like the longer you keep the fish in the water it came in the more likely it is that the ph will rise and the waste that's already in the water will get more toxic.
sandwi54
New member
The definition of "acclimation" means to match temperature, salinity, and pH. If all three match 100%, there's no acclimation needed.
The problem with acclimation is that many LFS keep their salinity low (~1.015) to save on cost of salt. Many people unknowingly buy fish from them and try to acclimate to their 1.025 tanks, and stress the hell out of the fish and sometimes result in deaths. As a result, it is critical to test the LFS water prior to acclimation. If there is a difference of more than 0.003 between the QT salinity and LFS salinity, you will have to adjust the QT salinity, otherwise you run the risk of losing the fish.
At the end of the day, the length of acclimation depends on how much difference there is between the LFS water and the QT water. If all of the parameters are close, a quick 20 minutes is all that's needed.
The problem with acclimation is that many LFS keep their salinity low (~1.015) to save on cost of salt. Many people unknowingly buy fish from them and try to acclimate to their 1.025 tanks, and stress the hell out of the fish and sometimes result in deaths. As a result, it is critical to test the LFS water prior to acclimation. If there is a difference of more than 0.003 between the QT salinity and LFS salinity, you will have to adjust the QT salinity, otherwise you run the risk of losing the fish.
At the end of the day, the length of acclimation depends on how much difference there is between the LFS water and the QT water. If all of the parameters are close, a quick 20 minutes is all that's needed.
Unfortunately the fish died, luckly the lfs owner managed to reorder another fish for me at cost to the distributor. LFS calls me as soon as he gets my orders in so they are still in the shippers bags when I pick up my fish. Hopefully it will be here next week. Shame to lose such a beautiful fish like that, size and colors were perfect on this little guy too.
LobsterOfJustice
Recovering Detritophobe
What are you planning on doing differently this time? Your last fish didn't just die because it was a bad fish.
Coming direct from the vendor is even more of a chance that the fish you will be getting will be in low salinity water. It sounds like the first fish you floated for temperature acclimation but did nothing else. Do some reading on proper acclimation procedure, you want to do a drip acclimation or a least add some tank water to the bag every few minutes for an hour or so. Also this fish should really be going into a quarantine tank instead of your display, especially since he's coming straight from the distributor.
Coming direct from the vendor is even more of a chance that the fish you will be getting will be in low salinity water. It sounds like the first fish you floated for temperature acclimation but did nothing else. Do some reading on proper acclimation procedure, you want to do a drip acclimation or a least add some tank water to the bag every few minutes for an hour or so. Also this fish should really be going into a quarantine tank instead of your display, especially since he's coming straight from the distributor.
Chipie
Active member
I'm thinking the same thing. Hopefully the OP only forgot to mention that he drip acclimated the fish or it's no surprise that the fish died.
+1 ... and while it's in QT...you should look at your current fish...
3 tangs in a 55g may become a problem, but the 2 damsels will probably attack the new angel!
