goreef170
New member
You know I forgot to ask... But I think i'm equipped with lots of variety. I have squid and krill right now defrosting.....
He actually has a lot more blue on him then their pic showed.
New Australia Harlequin Tusk
- Thread starter goreef170
- Start date
You know I forgot to ask... But I think i'm equipped with lots of variety. I have squid and krill right now defrosting.....
He actually has a lot more blue on him then their pic showed.
Well, I guess if you don't QT your fish, that the sump is better than the DT for now, but (IMO) a 3 hour acclimation was at least 2.5 hours too much.
goreef170
New member
You really think a drip acclimation of 3 hrs is to long??
I was going to do 2hrs, but seeing how stressed he was decided to go 3hrs.
B.Z States at least 2 hrs, and D.D says 2 hrs.
HPark
New member
I've had really good luck simply matching my QT salinity to the bag water. Then, just float bag for 15 minutes to match temp and release....Obviously, this requires a QT tank and knowing ahead of time the salinity of the water the fish is coming from.
But yeah...I don't think I'll ever drip acclimate again...too much of a risk of ammonia spikes/low oxygen.
But yeah...I don't think I'll ever drip acclimate again...too much of a risk of ammonia spikes/low oxygen.
+1
I think acclimating for over 15 minutes is stressful for the fish, and the new thinking is as posted above...match temp and salinity and release fish ASAP
goreef170
New member
Hmmm, you got me thinking now, with the ammonia,low oxygen....
What about these fish being shipped in bags in sealed boxes for 20 hrs +.
A 2-3 hr acclimation make a difference ?
He is now laying on the sand against the side, been there about 2 hrs.....
D.D does give a 14 day guarantee, but still don't want to lose this guy....
What about these fish being shipped in bags in sealed boxes for 20 hrs +.
A 2-3 hr acclimation make a difference ?
He is now laying on the sand against the side, been there about 2 hrs.....
D.D does give a 14 day guarantee, but still don't want to lose this guy....
sk8r posted this thread a few weeks ago. i have followed this protocol with 3 fish so far and the stress was pretty much 0. the issue of ammonia is this...once you open the bag and air gets to it, that is when the ammonia becomes lethal. i can't remember the exact terms but i'm sure somebody will chime in.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2415839&highlight=acclimation
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2415839&highlight=acclimation
goreef170
New member
Just read it Thanks !
It states UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE LET A SHIPPED FISH ACCLIMATE MORE THEN 30 MINUTES.
Then why would these Fishing companies, that been around a while and are successful state to acclimate 2 hours, and they guarantee their fish....
hmmmmmm
Probably too busy to update the acclimation information
i'll give you a good example. i ordered 2 wrasses from LA. they arrived but were delivered to the WRONG HOUSE and i did not get them until 6 hours past their arrival time. when i opened the bags intending to drip acclimate, one of them was ok, the other was circling the drain.
i called LA to let them know i finally got the fish but that one of them didn't look good and i was concerned about the other one. she told me to DOUBLE the acclimation time which would have meant i would have drip acclimated them for 3 hours!
i posted a 911 question here and was told to get them both into qt immediately. unfortunately, the carpenter's didn't make it but the mccosker's (actually i think it's a yellow fin wrasse but that's neither here nor there) made it fine and after tt and qt for 4 weeks is doing great in my dt.
i do NOT acclimate anything now beyond matching temp and salinity. i don't know how "new" a method this is, i don't think it's been routinely done until recently so it's no surprise the fisheries don't seem to know about it.
i called LA to let them know i finally got the fish but that one of them didn't look good and i was concerned about the other one. she told me to DOUBLE the acclimation time which would have meant i would have drip acclimated them for 3 hours!
i posted a 911 question here and was told to get them both into qt immediately. unfortunately, the carpenter's didn't make it but the mccosker's (actually i think it's a yellow fin wrasse but that's neither here nor there) made it fine and after tt and qt for 4 weeks is doing great in my dt.
i do NOT acclimate anything now beyond matching temp and salinity. i don't know how "new" a method this is, i don't think it's been routinely done until recently so it's no surprise the fisheries don't seem to know about it.
That's how the 'old way' of acclimating was done...it is as bad as we think...if you want to continue doing that method 15-20 minutes is more than enough
goreef170
New member
If this guy doesn't make it, I will try it.....15 -20 min max.
ben jammin
Member
Go reef, I got an Aussie tusk from DD four months ago. He was a little bigger, 6.5". Like you, I did a long drip acclimation per LA's instructions. When I put him in the DT (I don't QT the fish I get from DD) he went and tucked himself on the sandbed next to some live rock. He stayed there for several days, would swim around once in a while but really barely moved at all and showed no interest in eating. It took several days for him to start swimming around, and a few weeks for him to start eating, and I tried everything. DD actually extended the warranty on him for a full month and it wasn't until the end of that period that he started eating.
Once he did start eating, he got gradually more confident. A little too confident, actually, as he made an expensive breakfast out of my watchman goby - much to the horror of my 10 year old daughter and her friends who witnessed the gruesome act. =:-0. Since then, I've started feeding him frozen krill every day to keep him satiated and there have been no more expensive meals. He's a model citizen even though he's the biggest fish in the tank. He's definitely a showpiece. Gorgeous fish and I was really happy with the way DD stood behind him for a full month.
So, my advice is stick with it, be patient, and he'll come around.
Once he did start eating, he got gradually more confident. A little too confident, actually, as he made an expensive breakfast out of my watchman goby - much to the horror of my 10 year old daughter and her friends who witnessed the gruesome act. =:-0. Since then, I've started feeding him frozen krill every day to keep him satiated and there have been no more expensive meals. He's a model citizen even though he's the biggest fish in the tank. He's definitely a showpiece. Gorgeous fish and I was really happy with the way DD stood behind him for a full month.
So, my advice is stick with it, be patient, and he'll come around.
ben jammin
Member
Here's a pic of that expensive breakfast I mentioned
Kinda sucked...
Kinda sucked...
tapaquote picture fix and oh, what a bummer!
Here's a pic of that expensive breakfast I mentioned
Kinda sucked...
goreef170
New member
Thanks for the fix Nina 51.... so sad 
awesome looking Harlequin 
ben jammin, Thanks for sharing your experience....From what I have researched, these fish can be very shy and timid at first, but they do come around once they get there confidence up. My goal today is try and get him to eat. I went and bought frozen krill and squid. I called D.D to find out what they feed them and they told me krill and squid and silver sides.
I did put him into my sump to isolate him, so I can observe him and get him to eat.
ben jammin, do you have a reef or fowlr ?
awesome looking Harlequin ben jammin, Thanks for sharing your experience....From what I have researched, these fish can be very shy and timid at first, but they do come around once they get there confidence up. My goal today is try and get him to eat. I went and bought frozen krill and squid. I called D.D to find out what they feed them and they told me krill and squid and silver sides.
I did put him into my sump to isolate him, so I can observe him and get him to eat.
ben jammin, do you have a reef or fowlr ?
