New fish late arrival/DISTRESS

G Santana

Hospitality Elf
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2020
Messages
8,352
Reaction score
45,556
Location
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/this-little-pigg
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well this was the first time that I ordered fish online and low and behold, they were held up at Fedex.
They arrived this morning a day late and the Flame Angel was in deep distress, he was in the bag bobbing out of the water and the first thing I thought about was amonia burning. So rather than a slow drip acclimation I poured both fish into the shipping box and slowly changed out the water a cup at a time.
Initially the angel was flipping and bobbing out of the water but after 4 cup changes over the hour or so, he calmed down and is swimming mostly normal
I feel pretty confident that he will make it...I hope.
The other guy is an algae blenny, he was fine, nothing bothers the inexpensive fish lol
My daughter was quick to name them so Chilli and Ranboo
20210408_103006.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
G Santana

G Santana

Hospitality Elf
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2020
Messages
8,352
Reaction score
45,556
Location
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/this-little-pigg
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well after 3 hours of swapping box water for tank water a cup at a time, his breathing settled down. I was able to transfer him and his buddy to a holding tank and watch them carefully.
I've no doubt that he would have died if he were delayed much longer and I attribute that to amonia build up in the bag. But we dodged a major bullet... for now anyway.
 

Mikedawg

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 27, 2016
Messages
2,893
Reaction score
4,195
Location
Atlanta
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well after 3 hours of swapping box water for tank water a cup at a time, his breathing settled down. I was able to transfer him and his buddy to a holding tank and watch them carefully.
I've no doubt that he would have died if he were delayed much longer and I attribute that to amonia build up in the bag. But we dodged a major bullet... for now anyway.
Good work on stabilizing conditions; see from your avatar you got a good hug, lol.
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,278
Reaction score
25,180
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well after 3 hours of swapping box water for tank water a cup at a time, his breathing settled down. I was able to transfer him and his buddy to a holding tank and watch them carefully.
I've no doubt that he would have died if he were delayed much longer and I attribute that to amonia build up in the bag. But we dodged a major bullet... for now anyway.
Here is a trick - when fish arrive after a delay, the ammonia is very high, but the pH is very low. This renders the ammonia non-toxic to fish. However, as you acclimate, the pH of the shipping water rises faster than the ammonia is being diluted. This causes the ammonia to shift to its more toxic form and it can harm/kill the fish. What you should do is measure the pH and salinity of the water the fish are in when they arrive. Then quickly change some tank water to match those two parameters and move the fish immediately over. You can now acclimate for pH and salinity without fear of the ammonia killing the fish.

Jay
 

DeniseAndy

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
7,802
Reaction score
10,677
Location
Milford, Ohio
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
As Jay said, I do this with any long shipped fish. I make a bucket with matching pH and salinity and temp and move immediately to it. Then I bring it up to normal levels over time.
Glad they made it so far. Hope they do great!
 
OP
OP
G Santana

G Santana

Hospitality Elf
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2020
Messages
8,352
Reaction score
45,556
Location
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/this-little-pigg
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Here is a trick - when fish arrive after a delay, the ammonia is very high, but the pH is very low. This renders the ammonia non-toxic to fish. However, as you acclimate, the pH of the shipping water rises faster than the ammonia is being diluted. This causes the ammonia to shift to its more toxic form and it can harm/kill the fish. What you should do is measure the pH and salinity of the water the fish are in when they arrive. Then quickly change some tank water to match those two parameters and move the fish immediately over. You can now acclimate for pH and salinity without fear of the ammonia killing the fish.

Jay
Lesson learned, thank you. This will be something I won't soon forget!!!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 73 38.2%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 64 33.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.1%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.7%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
Back
Top