Need Help 5 fish dead in hours

[snorvich]

They were store bought. i didnt check the sg of the transported water but the sg of the qt was 1.025, tested with a refractometer. they were transported for 2 hours in the bags though. the heater was a brand new one but was a brand i havnt used before. its a fluval heater. the air stone i used wasnt the small one either it was like a air brick, a 1.5 inch diameter.

Many LFS keep their fish system at a low of about 1.017 or less to save on salt. If so, it is possible that two hours did not equalize SG appropriately. However I would not use this sized tank for 5 fish.

 

[bullitr]

They were store bought. i didnt check the sg of the transported water but the sg of the qt was 1.025, tested with a refractometer. they were transported for 2 hours in the bags though. the heater was a brand new one but was a brand i havnt used before. its a fluval heater. the air stone i used wasnt the small one either it was like a air brick, a 1.5 inch diameter.

If its a store bought why 2 hours of drip acclimation ?

 

[quackiedodle]

just did 2 hours of drip to be safe i didnt think i could over do it for drip acclimation.

 

[Ptyochromis]

Testing at this point would likely be useless, with an already established bacterial colony it would have likely been able to process the ammonia by now.

You can check for nitrites and nitrates. If nitrates are higher than normal you can assume an ammonia spike.
I was thinking the new rock (because it was recently added) went through a mini cycle.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Overly long acclimation coupled with rise NH4 and too little O2 will combine to create a scenario like this. I dont think I would put 2 fish in a 10g for qt let alone 6, just not enough surface area for bacterial colonization.

One thing I HATED hearing over 14 years ago when I got into reefkeeping was "Slow Down." Suck but its a lesson everyone learns at some point.

 

[jarrod13]

Lfs should never let you buy six fish at once, unless they knew someone who had multiple QT's set up. I agree need to slow down and do one or maybe two at a time

 

[ajherrera2]

why is it LFS's responsibility to control purchases???? just out of curiosity...

 

[Marshall O]

why is it LFS's responsibility to control purchases???? just out of curiosity...

Most times they can and should be able to read a customer's knowledge/experience and react accordingly. I myself have seen too many cases where a customer buys way too many fish at one time, when the LFS did not say anything as far as going slow, etc.

Nothing they HAVE to do, just something they SHOULD do, IMO.

 

[usmc1812]

You said new water if so your ammonia spiked no bacteria in your QT tank. QT needs to run continuously do not change your water.

 

[jarrod13]

why is it LFS's responsibility to control purchases???? just out of curiosity...

For the same reason it's the responsibility of someone selling a bunch of puppies, and a consumer wants to buy a more than average amount of puppies, to make sure that they can properly take care of them before selling them, instead of thinking only of the profit and not the well being of the animal. IMO fish are just as much living creatures as dogs so why not take care of them with the same regards? I wasn't trying to be confrontational just stating my opinion which is "shame on the fish store". I did state in my previous post however "unless they knew someone who had multiple QT's set up."

 

[NyReefNoob]

Most times they can and should be able to read a customer's knowledge/experience and react accordingly. I myself have seen too many cases where a customer buys way too many fish at one time, when the LFS did not say anything as far as going slow, etc.

Nothing they HAVE to do, just something they SHOULD do, IMO.

customers for the most part dont want to hear it. when you try to educate them they look at you like you dont know anything.

temp and ph will shock a fish more then salinity and shouldnt take 2 hr's to get salinity up.

 

[Ptyochromis]

You said new water if so your ammonia spiked no bacteria in your QT tank. QT needs to run continuously do not change your water.

Water changes don't affect your nitrifying bacteria. The bacteria lives on surfaces and can double in size every 24h, so as long as you don't clean your media with anything other than tank water you are fine. You should also do water changes to control nitrates.

 

[Ptyochromis]

customers for the most part dont want to hear
temp and ph will shock a fish more then salinity and shouldnt take 2 hr's to get salinity up.

Just to play devil's advocate; is a temp, pH and salinity shock more stressful than sitting on a container with high ammonia and low O2?

My fish acclimations never take more than 30 min. I set them on a fast drip 5-10 drops/sec.