The effects of poor acclimation are not always immediate, it can to damage that don't manifest for a period of time. If someone wants to rush acclimation, that is their choice though.
Im just about ready to throw in the towel!!
- Thread starter boo-v
- Start date
LukFox
Active member
If the LFS is keeping their water at say, 1.018 (using this number since it seems to be pretty common) and the OP's tank is at 1.026, that is still a HUGE jump to do in a couple hours or however long you drip acclimate. That kind of change is best done over a period of several days. If the fish store isn't keeping their tanks that low, I don't think acclimation would kill all of these fish.
It sounds like an unidentified parasite given the time frame, breathing rate, and many of the dead fish are commonly susceptible to disease. Are there ANY fish in the tank right now?
iamwrasseman
New member
LukFox and snorvich , i totally agree with your opinions on acclimation as there are many ways . when i get a fish from my lfs i do about 1 1/2 hr drip and have great success . when i get a fish that has been shipped i only do a temp acclimation for 15-20 minutes and its directly into the tank for most of my fish and that works very well . if the SG is far off and i do a drip for 1 1/2 hr i usually dont have any problems ,except the choats which are just another ball game .
i really think he has just had a bad stretch of luck with somewhat delicate fish and questionable but acceptable tank conditions .
i may be wrong as there still may be something missing here but he has had multiple deaths so i would usually rule out parasites etc unless its in his tank and that may be the cause . maybe a treatment of prazipro can help i dont really know ?
if its not a bad stretch of luck then we must look at the tank conditions or acclimation procedure . many of the tanks that i take over to maintain are in very ,very poor shape when i begin but their fish live and that is the reason that i think its poor livestock . again i can be wrong but fish tend to deal with bad water conditions where as corals show severe signs of stress when its just a tad off .
i really think he has just had a bad stretch of luck with somewhat delicate fish and questionable but acceptable tank conditions .
i may be wrong as there still may be something missing here but he has had multiple deaths so i would usually rule out parasites etc unless its in his tank and that may be the cause . maybe a treatment of prazipro can help i dont really know ?
if its not a bad stretch of luck then we must look at the tank conditions or acclimation procedure . many of the tanks that i take over to maintain are in very ,very poor shape when i begin but their fish live and that is the reason that i think its poor livestock . again i can be wrong but fish tend to deal with bad water conditions where as corals show severe signs of stress when its just a tad off .
I think I have to agree with Brian here. If acclimation were the problem I don't think it'd manifest itself a month later with the fish suddenly dying. If fish are repeatedly living a month past introduction they've probably recovered from whatever stress/shock that no acclimation has caused them.
boo-v
New member
Yea I have a clown, a convict damsil and a blue damsil, another watchman goby and a lawnmower blenny
boo-v
New member
iamwrasseman
New member
like i said were still missing something here .
boo-v
New member
I think I'd hold off on getting any new stock for at least two months. If possible, I'd remove the fish and quarantine them during this time, in case there is some kind of pathogen/disease in the tank. I've had fish before be carriers of disease - they lived and others died.
Also, any chance flukes could be an issue? IME tangs are very susceptible. Though having the problem come up a month after introduction doesn't seem to make sense...
Good luck with this. Wish I could think of what is going on. How often are you checking water parameters? Any aggression going on with damsels and clowns?
Also, any chance flukes could be an issue? IME tangs are very susceptible. Though having the problem come up a month after introduction doesn't seem to make sense...
Good luck with this. Wish I could think of what is going on. How often are you checking water parameters? Any aggression going on with damsels and clowns?
LukFox
Active member
I agree with all of this. And on flukes, they can "hide out" in small populations without becoming evident for weeks. Since Boo-v is relatively new to the hobby he may not even notice the more subtle symptoms until the fish is at its end. (No offense intended at all, Boo-v. It takes a while to really know what to look for.)
boo-v
New member
Yea thats what im going to do, I lost my lawnmower blenny today too, my grabs are in there making short work of him right now, he died cause of the refuse to eat episode, hurt my feelings though....ima poor out a bottle of saltwater for him later on..
You might consider treating the display for flukes. It is one of the few treatments that can be safely done for the DT with very low risk. Look up Prazipro or Praziquantel.
Even if you try prazi with good results, I'd hold off on stocking and also read up on QT and make sure you have a good QT set-up for any new fish.
Even if you try prazi with good results, I'd hold off on stocking and also read up on QT and make sure you have a good QT set-up for any new fish.
iamwrasseman
New member
prazi pro is very safe for your DT as i have used it dozens of times . i dose with it when ever i add a new wrasse and that is quite often .
boo-v
New member
You are making absolute comments about something that is by no means an absolute. If the gloom-and-doom were true, I wouldn't have any fish in my tank. I won't argue that lack of a stringent acclimation process is "good", but I also won't agree that the lack of same will cause certain death/problems. I think pointing to acclimation as the "certain culprit" in this particular case is not warranted or supported.
I am just trying to help out the OP, I believe a good acclimation procedure is a good thing. In my experience, I lost less fish after I went to a drip acclimation procedure. By no means does anyone have to do this, but he was asking for things to try to help from losing fish. I did not mean to make it sound like it was the only problem, I am suggesting it could be one. No reason to argue over it. We will agree to disagree on acclimation. No biggie. :beer:
ocellaris123
Active member
I also agree with this. I never acclimate any new arrivals (besides shrimp) and have never lost any fish as the op describes.
Perhaps a parasitic issue is at play? A heavy ich infestation, or velvet problem can desimate a fish population in no time. Let your tank run fishless for 2-3 months.
I had a problem like this one time, I had a yellow tang and a coral beauty with something eles cant remember what else. But I i was wanting some more fish and bought a sail fin tang, then died in a few weeks, ok then tried a philipine tang, done for a few weeks then died too. Now I was gitting disgusted and mad didnt know what was wrong, water great everything good. Then bought some chromies they died in the same time frame. So i waited a couple of weeks and save up my money and add 4 fish at one time. Hurt my pocket, but all my fish are still living and doing great too. I dont know what was going on, but came to an idea that adding one fish at a time might be stress full on them and slowly kill them. More tank mates my make them happer.
iamwrasseman
New member
i strongly feel that fish do much better when introduced into a populated tank . i have had great success with many of my wrasses and they never go into a QT as it is simply to stressful but they do great when introduced into a populated tank and i think its better for two a few reasons. 1 they have less stress when released into populated tanks as there are many species on every reef .2 i think that many delicate shippers do much better when they get into settings close to their natural setting as opposed to a QT that is so distant from the ocean ,\.
