Fish struggling after shipping

[Resilient]

Hi everyone, I just got a set of fish from Biota. These are the first fish I have gotten via shipping since my LFS closed so I am trying to figure out what is normal, and what I can do to help.

I got 2 royal gramma's, 2 clowns and a rabbit fish. One of the clows is doing 100% OK it seems, the other is in bad shape laying on its side breathing heavily, though it seemed OK in the bag. The rabbit fish was struggling with orientation in the bag and is now laying under the rock. It will some times shuffle around a bit, but struggles with staying upright.

The two Royal Grammas are upright on the bottom of the tank, maybe a little heaving breathing, but kinda of what I would have expected for stressed fish after shipping.

The tank is a cycled holding tank that fish go into after QT, its been empty for about a week after a 50% water change. 0 ammonia and 2ppm nitrates. The plan was to keep them here till I was sure everyone was happy and eating then move them to the 200 gallon DT.

The fish were floated for 20 minutes, then one at a time bags were cut open, fish were netted and added to the tank and the bag water was discarded. I think my salinity meter may be out of calibration. I read 1.025 in my tank, but the Biota fish were 1.027. My guess it it is reading 0.002 high. So there was a little bit of a difference there.

Anything I can do to help the struggling fish?

Here is a video that shows their current conditions:

New video · Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

Edit: Forgot to add, I put it an airstone set to medium/high after I saw them struggling with breathing incase there was low O2, it has a smallish HOB filter otherwise.

 

[Fish & Coral Store]

id recommend hydroplex all fish before putting them in your QT.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone, I just got a set of fish from Biota. These are the first fish I have gotten via shipping since my LFS closed so I am trying to figure out what is normal, and what I can do to help.

I got 2 royal gramma's, 2 clowns and a rabbit fish. One of the clows is doing 100% OK it seems, the other is in bad shape laying on its side breathing heavily, though it seemed OK in the bag. The rabbit fish was struggling with orientation in the bag and is now laying under the rock. It will some times shuffle around a bit, but struggles with staying upright.

The two Royal Grammas are upright on the bottom of the tank, maybe a little heaving breathing, but kinda of what I would have expected for stressed fish after shipping.

The tank is a cycled holding tank that fish go into after QT, its been empty for about a week after a 50% water change. 0 ammonia and 2ppm nitrates. The plan was to keep them here till I was sure everyone was happy and eating then move them to the 200 gallon DT.

The fish were floated for 20 minutes, then one at a time bags were cut open, fish were netted and added to the tank and the bag water was discarded. I think my salinity meter may be out of calibration. I read 1.025 in my tank, but the Biota fish were 1.027. My guess it it is reading 0.002 high. So there was a little bit of a difference there.

Anything I can do to help the struggling fish?

Here is a video that shows their current conditions:

New video · Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

Edit: Forgot to add, I put it an airstone set to medium/high after I saw them struggling with breathing incase there was low O2, it has a smallish HOB filter otherwise.

Just had a royal Gramma for daughter do the same and it bounced back after a day. Were the bags cold when received?
With bag salinity higher, you want to lower it Slowly and equalize it with that of intended tank. If lower, you can raise it quickly but overall, if not done right, you drive off the carbon dioxide faster than you are diluting the ammonia which then raises the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the residual ammonia toxic to the fish. At this point and do not use hydroplex for already stressed fish, lower the tank lighting, run air stone and allow the fish to settle. Osmotic shock is possible in this case

 

[Resilient]

Just had a royal Gramma for daughter do the same and it bounced back after a day. Were the bags cold when received?
With bag salinity higher, you want to lower it Slowly and equalize it with that of intended tank. If lower, you can raise it quickly but overall, if not done right, you drive off the carbon dioxide faster than you are diluting the ammonia which then raises the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the residual ammonia toxic to the fish. At this point and do not use hydroplex for already stressed fish, lower the tank lighting, run air stone and allow the fish to settle. Osmotic shock is possible in this case

Thanks for the info.

In the future, what is the best way to match the bag salinity? I know that once the bag is opened and exposed to fresh air the ammonia in the bag can become toxic.

I thought I had matched the salinity they said they would arrive in but it was off by a little, probably due to how I calibrated my meter.

Should I just make a small puncture, use a dropper to get some water, test it then add brine/RO water to raise/lower the holding tank salinity to match? I know that will take a few minutes and wasn't sure if that was a bad idea to wait that long after puncturing the bag to get the fish out.

 

[FUNGI]

No one does drip acclimation anymore?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the info.

In the future, what is the best way to match the bag salinity? I know that once the bag is opened and exposed to fresh air the ammonia in the bag can become toxic.

I thought I had matched the salinity they said they would arrive in but it was off by a little, probably due to how I calibrated my meter.

Should I just make a small puncture, use a dropper to get some water, test it then add brine/RO water to raise/lower the holding tank salinity to match? I know that will take a few minutes and wasn't sure if that was a bad idea to wait that long after puncturing the bag to get the fish out.

There are many ways to do this.
Here is My method and Jay's recommendations:

Mine:

I generally:
Float for 20-30 minutes
Transfer fish and water into a clean bucket
Then . . . .
Measure the Ph, salinity and temperature of the bag water. If you can, make up some water in a container that has exactly the same measurements as the bag readings and move the fish right over, then you can add a cup of tank water to bucket every 15 mins 6 times (almost 1.5 hours)
Then check salinity in bucket and compare to tank. If no match or very close, add a cup of water every few mins until youve reached salinity and trap fish in same cup and pour off water and release into display. Release under LOW light before lights out.

Jay's:

Acclimation Methods

Acclimating Animals to Aquariums Jay F. Hemdal c.2020 Introduction to acclimation techniques Most beginning aquarists hear that they must “acclimate” any new animals they add to their aquarium. Acclimation (sometimes termed “acclimatization”) is simply the process of gradually adapting...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[leewish]

No one does drip acclimation anymore?

Typically not when getting fish shipped. Don’t quote me but the water they are in becomes toxic when getting exposed to the air after the waste buildup from 24 hours. I’m sure someone will explain it better and more scientifically.

 

[FUNGI]

Typically not when getting fish shipped. Don’t quote me but the water they are in becomes toxic when getting exposed to the air after the waste buildup from 24 hours. I’m sure someone will explain it better and more scientifically.

umm.....ok thanks.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

No one does drip acclimation anymore?

It often isn’t done correctly…..

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi everyone, I just got a set of fish from Biota. These are the first fish I have gotten via shipping since my LFS closed so I am trying to figure out what is normal, and what I can do to help.

I got 2 royal gramma's, 2 clowns and a rabbit fish. One of the clows is doing 100% OK it seems, the other is in bad shape laying on its side breathing heavily, though it seemed OK in the bag. The rabbit fish was struggling with orientation in the bag and is now laying under the rock. It will some times shuffle around a bit, but struggles with staying upright.

The two Royal Grammas are upright on the bottom of the tank, maybe a little heaving breathing, but kinda of what I would have expected for stressed fish after shipping.

The tank is a cycled holding tank that fish go into after QT, its been empty for about a week after a 50% water change. 0 ammonia and 2ppm nitrates. The plan was to keep them here till I was sure everyone was happy and eating then move them to the 200 gallon DT.

The fish were floated for 20 minutes, then one at a time bags were cut open, fish were netted and added to the tank and the bag water was discarded. I think my salinity meter may be out of calibration. I read 1.025 in my tank, but the Biota fish were 1.027. My guess it it is reading 0.002 high. So there was a little bit of a difference there.

Anything I can do to help the struggling fish?

Here is a video that shows their current conditions:

New video · Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

Edit: Forgot to add, I put it an airstone set to medium/high after I saw them struggling with breathing incase there was low O2, it has a smallish HOB filter otherwise.

How long after arrival was the video taken?
Was the shipment delayed?

The fish look really “shocky”, not sure why. The slight drop in salinity isn’t an issue.

For future reference, here is an article I posted on acclimation methods:

Acclimation Methods

Acclimating Animals to Aquariums Jay F. Hemdal c.2020 Introduction to acclimation techniques Most beginning aquarists hear that they must “acclimate” any new animals they add to their aquarium. Acclimation (sometimes termed...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ptrusk]

Lowering the salinity not a problem. Turn off the lights and let him be. They keep their fish at normal reef salinity and tell you to temp acclimate and drop. Turn of the lights and see.

 

[Resilient]

How long after arrival was the video taken?
Was the shipment delayed?

The fish look really “shocky”, not sure why. The slight drop in salinity isn’t an issue.

For future reference, here is an article I posted on acclimation methods:

Acclimation Methods

Acclimating Animals to Aquariums Jay F. Hemdal c.2020 Introduction to acclimation techniques Most beginning aquarists hear that they must “acclimate” any new animals they add to their aquarium. Acclimation (sometimes termed...

www.reef2reef.com

That was about 1.5 hours hour after arrival, 1 hour of being in the tank. It wasn't delayed, but it was Florida to the West Coast so the biggest time difference you can get. Probably 27 hours or so. Heat pack was still warm in the box.

They are looking better now. The rabbit fish had a bit of a panic when I turned the room lights on and darted around and is now sitting upright on the bottom of the tank. So it has energy. The clown is still the worse off of the bunch but does look like it is improving.

 

[ptrusk]

Turn off the lights and let them be

 

[vetteguy53081]

That was about 1.5 hours hour after arrival, 1 hour of being in the tank. It wasn't delayed, but it was Florida to the West Coast so the biggest time difference you can get. Probably 27 hours or so. Heat pack was still warm in the box.

They are looking better now. The rabbit fish had a bit of a panic when I turned the room lights on and darted around and is now sitting upright on the bottom of the tank. So it has energy. The clown is still the worse off of the bunch but does look like it is improving.

As mentioned, lower lights and allow them to settle. This is not an unusual circumstance