A bit testy aren't ya??? I read the whole topic that one wasn't for you sorry
and stand by what I said. Drip acclimation can be dangerous i am open to listen or read any examples of people having losses due to that method i personally had all my 10 fish aclimatted that way with no loss at all regardless of what you read at Live Aquaria.. Ammonia builds up to dangerous levels when drip acclimating drip aclimation starts with a small amount of water and when it doubles in volume (aprox. 5-7 min.) we discard half of the water. so in about 7 min. we reduce the ammonia 50% after 7 more min we do the same and we have 25% of initial and the last 7min reduce it to 12,5%(aprox. because it continious rising)which is the time we put them in the tank. The whole process takes about 25 min. and as such drip acclimation can be very dangerous. Especially with low O2 levels and it would appear that your tank is possibly borderline with O2. I've been doing this a VERY long time so I speak with plenty of first hand experience. Let me further explain some things to you.
Live aquaria like most online fish retailers suggest drip acclimation they do not suggest drip aclimation they clearly state: Drip Method
This method is considered more advanced. It is geared toward sensitive inhabitants such as corals, shrimp, sea stars, and ''wrasses''. because they ship their fish at very low salinity (1.018) and most fish don't tolerate rapid salinity increases. Keep in mind that most of us keep out tanks between 1.021 and 1.025 with 1.025 being the common reef salinity as it matches NSW. The biggest reasont they suggest drip acclimation is for differences in salinity and in their case, given their levels of salinity, it can be prudent to do. Fish don't like rapid salinity increases. As such, acclimating from 1.018 can be problematic if not done slowly depending of course on the salinity of its new home. Fish can tolerate rapid drops in salinity much better. On the other hand, PH and nitrate changes have very little impact on fish where as salinity and ammonia spikes do. Once you open the bag, the ammonia will spike to dangerous levels and prolonged exposure to that can be lethal to fish. Further that, if your O2 levels are low, the fish being drip acclimated will see even lower O2 levels in the container during acclimation which results in greater levels of stress. If the salinity was was relatively close, the drip acclimation and almost certain spike in ammonia as a result of the longer drip method would have caused further stress on the fish.
If salinity is within .002-.003, the drip method is more dangerous than floating and mixing some water. Having said that, did you test the bag salnity vs your salinity? No because i was determined to use the drip method from the beggining This is something you should always do when bringing a new fish home. If the salinity is within .01, match the temp via a 10 minute float, add a little bit of water, wait 10 minutes and set it free. If it's within .002-.003, match the temp via a float, mix some water in, wait several minutes, repeat, wait several minutes and set it free. I'd only use drip method for .004+ at that point I personally use a contraption by Reef Gently called Acclimate which is a nifty little acrylic box that siphons water into the box while siphoning water out creating a constant exchange of waterthat is a very nice gadget and propably the best way to aclimate.. You set the drip rate out but most importantly, water is constantly being removed to insure that ammonia is not continually building up. that is what i do manually every about 5-7 minutes.
Going back to your relatively paralized fish. Wrasses are very active fish and stress easily when placed into a bag. That stress coupled with it darting around the bag, coupled with prolonged acclimation stress likely caused lactic acid buildup within the fish which will cause the paralysis you saw. I think that this is the most possible reason that caused the paralisys. I hadnt thought of that.
As to why the fish was up at the top, I stick with what I said before.. You likely have low levels of O2 and the stressed fish needed more O2 than your water had saturated in it. Your O2 levels may seem fine for some of your fish all of them including the sixline now but they could be on the lower side for more active fish like a wrasses that are more sensitive to O2 levels. Especially when stressed.
I will certainly look after the oxygen matter though just to be sure. Cant play with that things.
Glad to hear the fish is doing better. Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to bit the hand that feeds you Perhaps, but I tend to reply when i have an opinion in a matter plus personal experience (even if it is not so big but it is solid) and always looking forward in prommoting the conversation in such a way that usefull conclusions might be extracted. You obviously have much to learn as all of us curious and we are actually trying to help you and are providing you with solid information And trully, believe me, thank you for your time and consern. Cooperation is really important to go a step further. :thumbsup:
