- Joined
- Sep 8, 2018
- Messages
- 98
- Reaction score
- 101
I bought a six line wrasse from a store (that I’d told myself I wouldn’t buy fish from, but he was so cheap) and the employee was slammed and didn’t know saltwater fish. I went in just to pick up a few snails since my LFS was out completely.
My husband commented in the car ride home that he thought the guy used the wrong water, since it came from a bin, and the fish definitely looked super stressed out. I thought surely he must have been mistaken, but didn’t notice myself that he didn’t get water from the display. Hubs said he got the water from a big trash bin with a power head in it, but that the next customer who got a freshwater fish also got water from the same bucket. I tested the water when I got home and it was not saltwater in either bag!!! I panicked and dropped the fish immediately into my qt tank, didn’t know if it would be worse to leave it in fresh water and try and acclimate it or just get it back into salt as soon as possible. He spent about 25 minutes in fresh water. He is currently still alive, but obviously having some problems. He was sideways when he went into QT but now is upright 95% of the time, breathing heavy but just started moving around again. Is there any hope he might make it? He is a very small one, 1.5”
As for the snails, 4 seem definitely toast, 1 might survive. Margarita snails, dumped them into a different container of salt as soon as I figured out what happened. Feelers moving around on the one but veeeerrryyyy slow.
I have a receipt and kept the water so I can go back and have them refund or replace.
Anything more I can do at this point for the fish and snails? Did I screw up by not acclimating them or was that the right move? Or does it not matter, the stress will kill everyone anyways?
My husband commented in the car ride home that he thought the guy used the wrong water, since it came from a bin, and the fish definitely looked super stressed out. I thought surely he must have been mistaken, but didn’t notice myself that he didn’t get water from the display. Hubs said he got the water from a big trash bin with a power head in it, but that the next customer who got a freshwater fish also got water from the same bucket. I tested the water when I got home and it was not saltwater in either bag!!! I panicked and dropped the fish immediately into my qt tank, didn’t know if it would be worse to leave it in fresh water and try and acclimate it or just get it back into salt as soon as possible. He spent about 25 minutes in fresh water. He is currently still alive, but obviously having some problems. He was sideways when he went into QT but now is upright 95% of the time, breathing heavy but just started moving around again. Is there any hope he might make it? He is a very small one, 1.5”
As for the snails, 4 seem definitely toast, 1 might survive. Margarita snails, dumped them into a different container of salt as soon as I figured out what happened. Feelers moving around on the one but veeeerrryyyy slow.
I have a receipt and kept the water so I can go back and have them refund or replace.
Anything more I can do at this point for the fish and snails? Did I screw up by not acclimating them or was that the right move? Or does it not matter, the stress will kill everyone anyways?