I almost killed my mandarin

[davilahope]

I received my very small less than 1" mandarin goby yesterday, I drip acclimated her and when it was time to put her in my tank I must've taken too long to transfer her and she seemed to be dead the water was carrying her and she wasn't swimming at all I almost cried because I thought I killed her!! I walked away and came right back and she was on the sand bed and I saw her swim a little bit. This morning I checked on her when it was still dark she was sleeping but seemed to be a little white so I turned on the aquarium lights so I could see better but I startled her and went under a rock! I didn't get a good look at her.. could her gills be damaged? Can I do anything to help her?

 

[ihavecrabs]

I received my very small less than 1" mandarin goby yesterday, I drip acclimated her and when it was time to put her in my tank I must've taken too long to transfer her and she seemed to be dead the water was carrying her and she wasn't swimming at all I almost cried because I thought I killed her!! I walked away and came right back and she was on the sand bed and I saw her swim a little bit. This morning I checked on her when it was still dark she was sleeping but seemed to be a little white so I turned on the aquarium lights so I could see better but I startled her and went under a rock! I didn't get a good look at her.. could her gills be damaged? Can I do anything to help her?

Was the mandarin shipped to you? If so, drip acclimation can cause ammonia that is in the bag to become toxic. Always best to move them to new water in a container where temp and salinity match in the bag they were shipped in and then slowly drip acclimate in the new container to match the final tank.

If she was shipped to you and you drip acclimated in the bag, then it is possible to have ammonia burn

They turn whitish when they sleep due to their slime coat so that shouldn't be an issue

 

[davilahope]

Yes she was shipped to me I used the water that she came in and my tank water to acclimate her.. and I didnt know they could be whiteish although I did know about the white slime.. thanks a lot I feel some relief now!!

Was the mandarin shipped to you? If so, drip acclimation can cause ammonia that is in the bag to become toxic. Always best to move them to new water in a container where temp and salinity match in the bag they were shipped in and then slowly drip acclimate in the new container to match the final tank.

If she was shipped to you and you drip acclimated in the bag, then it is possible to have ammonia burn

They turn whitish when they sleep due to their slime coat so that shouldn't be an issue

 

[Cment]

When getting fish shipped to you, try and call the place to speak with a person there and find out the salinity they ship the fish in. Preferably, have a qt tank ready with that same specific gravity or at the very least a bucket so you can just float temp acclimate then transfer the fish straight into it.