How To Acclimate Shipped Fish?

[BigEZ77]

I am making my first online purchase for fish as they don't have the fish I want at the local LFS. I'm bringing in a Rainfords Goby and a Flame Hawkfish. I've only ever transported fish for 15 minutes from the local LFS to my home. Is there anything I should watch out for when bringing in fish that are shipped for roughly a day? Note, I don't have a QT, not enough space in my current place.

Thanks,

 

[vikinglord13]

I've done this with a few fish.

Not having a QT isn't a great idea, but it's certainly possible.

Be careful with the rainford goby, I've heard they will die if there isn't hair algae present in the tank.

I've often experienced fish shipments to be pretty cold (they usually have an ice pack). So make sure to place their bags in the water for about 15 minutes to adjust the temperature, then start acclimating them to the water like normal. Or... use a slow drip method. So they get acclimated to the new parameters and the temperature at the same time.

I also recommend keeping the lights off. Remember, they've been kept in a box for 1+ day. I usually only turn my night lights on after that then start a normal light cycle the next day.

 

[BigEZ77]

Thanks Viking. I've heard that the waste they accumulate in the bag during shipping might make it urgent to get them out of the bag and into the tank as soon as possible? i.e. once temp and salinity are matched?

 

[vikinglord13]

Well, a good shipper won't feed for a day or so before he ships. Granted... some can't know when they will ship a fish so they just feed as normal.

Personally, I go with the bag in the water method to change the temp just in case there is high ammonia in the bag water. Then add about 1/4 cup of aquarium water every 15 minutes or so (i've only purchased small fish). Once the bag water is relatively diluted (however big the bag is) I put the fish in the tank... scooping him out with a cup...

 

[BigEZ77]

10-4, thx

 

[CStrickland]

No. You don't want to drip shipped fish the same way as lfs ones. Regardless of whether or not they are fed, they produce ammonia through respiration and urine. In a bag the oxygen level drops at the same time that the ammonia is accumulating. This buffers the ammonia such that it does not harm the fish. When you open the bag the ammonia becomes toxic very quickly.

Temp and salinity are the crucial factors for acclimation. Floating the unopened bag takes care of temp. When you run a qt it's easy to match that salinity to the shippers and toss the fish in, then gradually raise it to your tank sg. If the salinity is within a couple .001s it's not a big deal, but more than that, especially if the fist is going into higher salinity, it is problematic.

I guess in your shoes I would try to slowly raise it by adding tank water, but I would definitely add an ammonia buffer like Prime to the shipping water generously. Also be careful that the temp does not go down during the drip. A lot of people will float the bags to get it just the same and then let it cool off 10 degrees while they are dripping. Have a calibrated refractometer ready to test the bag water and your tank so you can stop as soon as they are close enough.

 

[Yellow Eyes]

I always check with the seller to find out what their salinity is. Usually it is well below what most of us keep our reefs at, my last order was 1.019 (1.026 is where most keep their tanks). This is exactly why a QT would be the safest, least expensive option. For around $40-50 you could set up a QT, even just for acclimation and raising salinity, to ensure your fish survive. Why pay all that money for fish and shipping just to have them die because you didn't want to QT?

I have a 10g tank, which I fill 5g of 1.026 and have 5g of heated RODI standing by. When I get the fish (if I couldn't find out the salinity from the seller) I temp acclimate like everyone has suggested, open the bag, check salinity, and match my QT to it (which usually involves just added some RODI until the salinity is there). Then I put the fish in. Haven't lost one like that yet.

 

[sde1500]

How To Acclimate Shipped Fish?

Float to temp acclimate, as long as you want when the bag is closed. Then open and in they go. Don't drip acclimate or you risk ammonia buildup killing the fish.

I use 2 plastic bins from the container store for QT. if you have room for a fish tank you should have 5 square feet to QT. But if you don't, I'd try to get the fish out of the water they came in before adding to the tank. Look up using at least a formalin or ParaGuard bath first before adding to the tank.

 

[BigEZ77]

Thanks all for the very good information. What a PITA it is ordering fish, my LFS has salinity only slightly lower than mine and obviously I'm not too concerned about ammonia in such a short time (drive home). I might just wait until the LFS has the fish I want, if that ever happens, lol.

I am going to also look into a small quarantine tank. No guarantees...the wife doesn't understand the hobby and does not want another tank anywhere in our current place.

 

[BigEZ77]

One other question...If I go ahead with this order, I should use Prime and ParaGuard in the shipped bag after matching temp and before adding to the tank?

 

[gone fishin]

No. You don't want to drip shipped fish the same way as lfs ones. Regardless of whether or not they are fed, they produce ammonia through respiration and urine. In a bag the oxygen level drops at the same time that the ammonia is accumulating. This buffers the ammonia such that it does not harm the fish. When you open the bag the ammonia becomes toxic very quickly.

Temp and salinity are the crucial factors for acclimation. Floating the unopened bag takes care of temp. When you run a qt it's easy to match that salinity to the shippers and toss the fish in, then gradually raise it to your tank sg. If the salinity is within a couple .001s it's not a big deal, but more than that, especially if the fist is going into higher salinity, it is problematic.

I guess in your shoes I would try to slowly raise it by adding tank water, but I would definitely add an ammonia buffer like Prime to the shipping water generously. Also be careful that the temp does not go down during the drip. A lot of people will float the bags to get it just the same and then let it cool off 10 degrees while they are dripping. Have a calibrated refractometer ready to test the bag water and your tank so you can stop as soon as they are close enough.

I agree, if your going to be dripping the fish then I would have some prime or similar product on hand to add to the bag.

FWIW The LFS should be able to order the fish for you, they are not really all that uncommon.

 

[sde1500]

One other question...If I go ahead with this order, I should use Prime and ParaGuard in the shipped bag after matching temp and before adding to the tank?

Prime locks ammonia, ParaGuard treats some diseases. Two very separate things obviously. If you aren't drip acclimating, which you shouldn't if you're getting them shipped, no need for Prime.

 

[cougareyes]

I always check with the seller to find out what their salinity is. Usually it is well below what most of us keep our reefs at, my last order was 1.019 (1.026 is where most keep their tanks). This is exactly why a QT would be the safest, least expensive option. For around $40-50 you could set up a QT, even just for acclimation and raising salinity, to ensure your fish survive. Why pay all that money for fish and shipping just to have them die because you didn't want to QT?

I have a 10g tank, which I fill 5g of 1.026 and have 5g of heated RODI standing by. When I get the fish (if I couldn't find out the salinity from the seller) I temp acclimate like everyone has suggested, open the bag, check salinity, and match my QT to it (which usually involves just added some RODI until the salinity is there). Then I put the fish in. Haven't lost one like that yet.

 

[cougareyes]

I test the salinity in the bag, if you just dump a fish in a tank with the sg higher you have a great chance of a dead fish within a day or two. If no qt you need to bring the sg up slowly to match the tank, I have taken as long as 2 hours.

 

[NewOne81]

Adding Prime to water that has medication can be a bad thing to my understanding, especially water with copper in it. I would check into that if you're thinking about trying this. It would be a big upset to me to lose a fish this way after going through the whole process and over looking this. Hope this helps! Enjoy your new fish

 

[BigEZ77]

Thanks all. Think I'm gonna stick with the local LFS. Too many things to worry about with shipped fish. Just sux having to wait forever for the shop to get what I'm looking for...but, all my fish so far are from them and they have never let me know...all have been healthy.