lionfish died

sadmancausemyliondie

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Hello, I don't know if I'm setting this up right as I just made an account but yea my little guy died. I purchased him two days ago and now that I remember he wasn't actively moving in the display more or less just laying, on my ride home he continued just laying unless his bag was provoked, when I acclimated him he was showing movement clearly wanting to explore his new home. After I released him I didn't really see him move but he continued to move to different spots on my rock formation to lay. This morning I was going to start feeding him but I saw him dead which was upsetting and confusing as my domino damsel is still alive on a side note I kept the damsel in a breeder square for the lion to adjust. My tanks salinity was at .28 which is high but I tested his bag water and it was at .27, I did drip the tank water slowly as he acclimated.The only things to note was he died with his mouth open if that means anything. I've had his tank ready since February and in the future I do want to try this so please if anyone can give me a reason I would greatly appreciate it.


Forgot to add but he was a Zebra lion
 

vetteguy53081

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Hello, I don't know if I'm setting this up right as I just made an account but yea my little guy died. I purchased him two days ago and now that I remember he wasn't actively moving in the display more or less just laying, on my ride home he continued just laying unless his bag was provoked, when I acclimated him he was showing movement clearly wanting to explore his new home. After I released him I didn't really see him move but he continued to move to different spots on my rock formation to lay. This morning I was going to start feeding him but I saw him dead which was upsetting and confusing as my domino damsel is still alive on a side note I kept the damsel in a breeder square for the lion to adjust. My tanks salinity was at .28 which is high but I tested his bag water and it was at .27, I did drip the tank water slowly as he acclimated.The only things to note was he died with his mouth open if that means anything. I've had his tank ready since February and in the future I do want to try this so please if anyone can give me a reason I would greatly appreciate it.


Forgot to add but he was a Zebra lion
Dying with mouth open suggests low oxygen and what is your tank temperature?
How did you acclimate fish and for how long?
How are you testing salinity?
 
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sadmancausemyliondie

sadmancausemyliondie

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Dying with mouth open suggests low oxygen and what is your tank temperature?
How did you acclimate fish and for how long?
How are you testing salinity?
I acclimated him for 4-5 hours temp wise around the 3 hour mark I would put a squirt of my tanks water into his bag every 40 minutes, I tested my water a refractometer and my tanks temperature is at 79 degrees.
 
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sadmancausemyliondie

sadmancausemyliondie

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Sorry for the loss.
I'm just chiming in to say you may have trouble adding fish with a domino damsel. They are nasty buggers. I had one in a 6ft tank that was a terror. I ended up have to remove all of the rock to get it out.
it was pretty difficult to get him out but as said he was kept in an area where he couldn't interact, I was honestly debating whether or not to keep him or separate the tank.
 

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I acclimated him for 4-5 hours temp wise around the 3 hour mark I would put a squirt of my tanks water into his bag every 40 minutes, I tested my water a refractometer and my tanks temperature is at 79 degrees.
Thats extremely long and would have some impact on oxygen. You want to equalize temperature floating the bag, then add water by cups until salinity and even Ph equalized with intended tank for lion.
Here is How I acclimate and what we as Medics suggest also:

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.

 

Twitch PhD.

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Hello, I don't know if I'm setting this up right as I just made an account but yea my little guy died. I purchased him two days ago and now that I remember he wasn't actively moving in the display more or less just laying, on my ride home he continued just laying unless his bag was provoked, when I acclimated him he was showing movement clearly wanting to explore his new home. After I released him I didn't really see him move but he continued to move to different spots on my rock formation to lay. This morning I was going to start feeding him but I saw him dead which was upsetting and confusing as my domino damsel is still alive on a side note I kept the damsel in a breeder square for the lion to adjust. My tanks salinity was at .28 which is high but I tested his bag water and it was at .27, I did drip the tank water slowly as he acclimated.The only things to note was he died with his mouth open if that means anything. I've had his tank ready since February and in the future I do want to try this so please if anyone can give me a reason I would greatly appreciate it.


Forgot to add but he was a Zebra lion
Hi, I will share with you my thoughts. The most important thing you can do is buy a well fish. Buy a fish without parasites, breathing difficulties, a small mark in between the fish's scales. And as you suspect, since the fish didn't act well in the beginning of your experience with it, it was because the fish was sick. I have been doing this on and off for over 50 years, and even have an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology. So I am happy to pass along some of my experience to you. Most of the fish we buy today are bred in tanks. When I started they were caught in the ocean and sold. Blessings to you,
 
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sadmancausemyliondie

sadmancausemyliondie

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I usually acclimate for less time but in this case since the salinity was a more then a little bit off I wanted to keep him in his own water where I could drip it in slowly, I did open the bag after an hour. Im experienced in freshwater and since this was the first time I encountered this issue I wasn't aware I could drip the water in faster.
 
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sadmancausemyliondie

sadmancausemyliondie

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Hi, I will share with you my thoughts. The most important thing you can do is buy a well fish. Buy a fish without parasites, breathing difficulties, a small mark in between the fish's scales. And as you suspect, since the fish didn't act well in the beginning of your experience with it, it was because the fish was sick. I have been doing this on and off for over 50 years, and even have an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology. So I am happy to pass along some of my experience to you. Most of the fish we buy today are bred in tanks. When I started they were caught in the ocean and sold. Blessings to you,
When I was at the store I kinda brushed it off since I spent so long looking for a dwarf, I had called most of the stores in my county but none where willing to order them.
 

ZC aquatics

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Mine to
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20250716_171146_09BCEB27-3779-46FA-AD29-0046FBF8CA03.png
 

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