Alright guys, what did I do wrong

[PlaidHero]

Really, really kicking myself. First big fish purchase, $50 down the drain. My blue striped lasted maybe 6 hours in my tank. No idea what happened. I did a fair amount of research. I have a 75 gallon reef tank set up. Only critters in there are scarlet reef crabs, emerald crabs, flasher wrasse, molly, harlequin shrimp, urchin, snails, and some coral. Just did a water test and everything checked out. I have 2 power heads positioned near the top of the tank, not super huge but not tiny. I do have a hammerhead coral, but I had read that blue stripes are normally hardy enough to deal, and with 75 gallons, I assumed he would be fine with plenty of room.

I figured I was grabbing the hardiest of pipefish, and that he would do okay. But I just walked by my tank to see my snails and crabs feasting on his corpse. Maybe I shouldn't have risked it. I know many things pointed towards no pipefish, like my hammerhead and slightly high flow near the surface, but I had read a ton of testimonials that the blue stripes seem to do okay in both of these conditions.

How are they supposed to act? I was worried in store he wasn't looking the best, with slow swimming and seeming to not react much, but again I assumed it was basic pipefish behavior since they aren't the best swimmers. Even saw him swimming around a small amount in my tank and between corals. Granted it was really more just kinda going with the flow. Didn't seem distressed though. Last I saw he was hanging out on the substrate and I assumed he was hunting.

Was it truly me, or was he doomed from the start?

 

[ndz98]

How did you acclimate him?

 

[PlaidHero]

Welp, I uh. I guess I didn't do enough research. I just did a basic bag float for about a half hour before introducing him. Really wish my store had let me know I should've done more. But ultimately that fault lies with me.

 

[FishOfHex]

Really, really kicking myself. First big fish purchase, $50 down the drain. My blue striped lasted maybe 6 hours in my tank. No idea what happened. I did a fair amount of research. I have a 75 gallon reef tank set up. Only critters in there are scarlet reef crabs, emerald crabs, flasher wrasse, molly, harlequin shrimp, urchin, snails, and some coral. Just did a water test and everything checked out. I have 2 power heads positioned near the top of the tank, not super huge but not tiny. I do have a hammerhead coral, but I had read that blue stripes are normally hardy enough to deal, and with 75 gallons, I assumed he would be fine with plenty of room.

I figured I was grabbing the hardiest of pipefish, and that he would do okay. But I just walked by my tank to see my snails and crabs feasting on his corpse. Maybe I shouldn't have risked it. I know many things pointed towards no pipefish, like my hammerhead and slightly high flow near the surface, but I had read a ton of testimonials that the blue stripes seem to do okay in both of these conditions.

How are they supposed to act? I was worried in store he wasn't looking the best, with slow swimming and seeming to not react much, but again I assumed it was basic pipefish behavior since they aren't the best swimmers. Even saw him swimming around a small amount in my tank and between corals. Granted it was really more just kinda going with the flow. Didn't seem distressed though. Last I saw he was hanging out on the substrate and I assumed he was hunting.

Was it truly me, or was he doomed from the start?

One thing you have to remember is most of these fish are wild caught then transported half way around the world in a bag and bounced around from one tank to the next. The death % is so high for saltwater fish. The best thing you can do is have a quarantine setup nothing fancy, slow drip the new fish over an hour or so. give plenty of hiding places and keep lights off. Stay away from the fish and allow it to calm down the next day add small amounts of food, continue to keep lights off or at least low. Make sure you QT no less then 4 weeks! Best of luck with everything.