Clownfish death during acclimation

[Jethro]

Hello all. Just wanted some feedback on a recent fish death. Ordered a picasso clownfish pair from a reputable online supplier. Both looked fine on arrival. I drip acclimated them immediately upon receipt over 2 hours along with 2 trochus snails that were in the same shipment. Noticed the larger clown was sitting on bottom more at the end of acclimation. Introduced the 2 clowns and snails into my 30 gallon tank. The larger fish went to bottom immediately and swam occasionally, breathing rapidly. The other clown and the snails did fine. Larger clown died 2 hours after introduction.

Tank parameters:

Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0-5
pH 8

Did i screw something up?
Is this a possibility with fish that are shipped?

Makes me feel really bad, especially if I bungled something.

Jeff

 

[theatrus]

Hello all. Just wanted some feedback on a recent fish death. Ordered a picasso clownfish pair from a reputable online supplier. Both looked fine on arrival. I drip acclimated them immediately upon receipt over 2 hours along with 2 trochus snails that were in the same shipment. Noticed the larger clown was sitting on bottom more at the end of acclimation. Introduced the 2 clowns and snails into my 30 gallon tank. The larger fish went to bottom immediately and swam occasionally, breathing rapidly. The other clown and the snails did fine. Larger clown died 2 hours after introduction.

Tank parameters:

Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0-5
pH 8

Did i screw something up?
Is this a possibility with fish that are shipped?

Makes me feel really bad, especially if I bungled something.

Jeff

Drip acclimation isn’t suggested for shipped livestock. Upon opening the bag, any ammonia buildup can rapidly become much more toxic.

 

[Jethro]

Thanks for the reply. So of I understand, shopped livestock need to be introduced more quickly? Any tips?

 

[ShaunRobinson]

2 hours far too long for fish acclimatisation in my opinion. I have never taken more than 40 mins to get a fish into my tank. About right for inverts though.

 

[Jethro]

Thanks much. Live and learn. Feel bad.

 

[mattzang]

to expand a bit, from what i understand (i did the same thing you did) the bag has some ammonia in it, but it's not toxic. but once you open the bag to air the oxygen can make the ammonia toxic. so u want to use a syringe to check the salinity of the bag water, then tape back over the hole u made, then match tank salinity (best done in a QT tank) to bag salinity. then once you temp acclimate, you're good to go. open bag and put the fish in the tank.

 

[ShaunRobinson]

Thanks much. Live and learn. Feel bad.

Here’s a post I made on a UK forum regarding acclimating fish. As below there isn’t a ‘correct’ way to do it and everybody will recommend something different.


There is no ‘proper’ way to acclimatise fish to be honest and everybody will have their favourite way of doing it so you are likely to get a lot of conflicting information. A reputable lfs should advise you whenever you buy a fish unless they know you are an experienced keeper.
For what it’s worth, here’s what I do:

1. Get the fish home as soon as possible and float the bags in the tank or sump to equalise the temperature for around 15-20 minutes max. My closest lfs is only 30 minutes away from home but if I buy one from further afield and the fish have been in the bag for an hour or more I will open the bag up to let some air in and attach it to the side of the tank in the watewith plastic clothes pegs to prevent any of the bag water entering the tank.

2. Once the temperature has equalised I will empty at least half of the water out of the bag and sit it in a jug or small bucket. I like to make sure that the water left in the bag only covers the fish by an inch or so.

3. I then use a turkey blaster and put around 20ml of tank water into the bag every 5 mins, emptying about half the water out again whenever the volume in the bag doubles. I do this for around 30-40 mins max.

4. Net the fish and put in tank.

Occasionally if I’m busy with other stuff I will drip acclimatise but I do this in a similar way.
1. Temp equalisation 15-20 mins.
2. Empty half the bag out and the rest into a jug with the fish
3. Drip at a steady speed 2 or 3 drops a second so the volume doubles over 10 mins or so.
4. Empty half out when volume doubles and continue for 3 or 4 cycles then net the fish and put in tank.

An hour max from getting the bag home to putting the fish in the tank. This routine was given to me when I first started out and I have never lost a fish doing it this way.

*edit* the above is my routine for shop bought fish. I don’t really have any experience acclimatising shipped fish unfortunately as it’s not something UK shops do.

 

[dwest]

Thanks much. Live and learn. Feel bad.

Sorry, I’ve been there.

For an online shipment, you’ll want to ask the shipper what specific gravity their water is, then match your quarantine tank to that. When your shipment comes in, poke a needle through the bag to get a water sample and check the specific gravity to make sure what they told you is correct. You can put a piece of tape over the hole in the bag. Then readjust the specific gravity in the quarantine tank if necessary. Note that your tank water could be slightly lower salinity without harm. Then, float your bag of fish in the quarantine tank for 20-30 minutes. Then net them out (I use my hands) and release.

My last 2 batches of fish came in at 23 ppt salinity, whereas my tank runs at 35. It takes me a couple of weeks or more to raise.

 

[Jethro]

Thanks everyone. Always great to learn from knowledgable folks.

 

[Musovski]

tbh, ive never acclimated except when it comes to inverts and coral. Pop and drop is my method. However, how was the fish shipped? Color water? any pieces of rock? Was the fish breathing heavy during acclimation? Hows the skin look?

 

[Jethro]

tbh, ive never acclimated except when it comes to inverts and coral. Pop and drop is my method. However, how was the fish shipped? Color water? any pieces of rock? Was the fish breathing heavy during acclimation? Hows the skin look?

 

[Jethro]

Sorry late reply. Fish looked great on arrival. Nothing in shipping bag but clear water. Starting breathing heavily just before moving into tank.

I received replacement clown. Acclimated him quickly, no problems. I really think I took too long to acclimate the first time, as was suggested above.

 

[ShaunRobinson]

Sorry late reply. Fish looked great on arrival. Nothing in shipping bag but clear water. Starting breathing heavily just before moving into tank.

I received replacement clown. Acclimated him quickly, no problems. I really think I took too long to acclimate the first time, as was suggested above.

Glad the new clown has settled in.:)