Qt salinity advice. Fish arriving at different salinities.

[Gophish1982]

So I started my first QT tank for some fish I have arriving later this week. I set up the tank like I did my display. I mixed the water to my DT salinity of 1.025 because I hadn’t read anything different in my research at that point that said anything different. Then I came across info that said many people use a lower salinity for their QT, and most vendors keep their fish at a lower salinity. The fish are coming from LiveAquaria, but from 2 different locations. 1 fish is coming from their CA location that says they keep their fish at 1.019-1.020, and 4 fish are coming from their WI location that says they keep them at 1.025-1.026. I understand the benefits of lower salinity for pests and lowered stress and would like to follow that protocol. I had planned on following the plan in the sticky from @Jay Hemdal of predosing CopperPower to 1ppm and releasing the fish after a 30 min temp acclimation but I don’t know if that is possible with the fish coming it at 2 different salinities. I have a few days to mess with the QT salinity before I dose the copper and the fish arrive, but not sure what I should do. Should I lower the salinity of the QT to 1.020 where I’d like it and try to drip acclimate the 3 fish coming in at 1.025? Or should I leave the QT at 1.025 and drip acclimate the 1 fish coming in at 1.020? I remember seeing something somewhere that said lowering the salinity of the environment is easier on the fish then raising it, but I can’t find it and it was brief without much explanation. The 3 fish coming in with 1.025 salinity are wrasses, and the 1 fish coming in at 1.020 is a whitetail bristletooth tang. I’m already a little worried about the wrasses because I read that they are more sensitive to copper and I don’t want to stress them out any more then necessary. Setting up another QT tank before Friday when they arrive isn’t possible, and since this is my first attempt at QT, managing two of them might be a little overwhelming. I’m already a nervous wreck about potentially losing fish!

 

[threebuoys]

So I started my first QT tank for some fish I have arriving later this week. I set up the tank like I did my display. I mixed the water to my DT salinity of 1.025 because I hadn’t read anything different in my research at that point that said anything different. Then I came across info that said many people use a lower salinity for their QT, and most vendors keep their fish at a lower salinity. The fish are coming from LiveAquaria, but from 2 different locations. 1 fish is coming from their CA location that says they keep their fish at 1.019-1.020, and 4 fish are coming from their WI location that says they keep them at 1.025-1.026. I understand the benefits of lower salinity for pests and lowered stress and would like to follow that protocol. I had planned on following the plan in the sticky from @Jay Hemdal of predosing CopperPower to 1ppm and releasing the fish after a 30 min temp acclimation but I don’t know if that is possible with the fish coming it at 2 different salinities. I have a few days to mess with the QT salinity before I dose the copper and the fish arrive, but not sure what I should do. Should I lower the salinity of the QT to 1.020 where I’d like it and try to drip acclimate the 3 fish coming in at 1.025? Or should I leave the QT at 1.025 and drip acclimate the 1 fish coming in at 1.020? I remember seeing something somewhere that said lowering the salinity of the environment is easier on the fish then raising it, but I can’t find it and it was brief without much explanation. The 3 fish coming in with 1.025 salinity are wrasses, and the 1 fish coming in at 1.020 is a whitetail bristletooth tang. I’m already a little worried about the wrasses because I read that they are more sensitive to copper and I don’t want to stress them out any more then necessary. Setting up another QT tank before Friday when they arrive isn’t possible, and since this is my first attempt at QT, managing two of them might be a little overwhelming. I’m already a nervous wreck about potentially losing fish!

You might consider splitting the difference for the QT. Be sure to check the salinity yourself when the shipments arrive. Set your QT at 1.22 then acclimate the Tang up to 1.22 and the wrasses down to 1.22 and go from there, .

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So I started my first QT tank for some fish I have arriving later this week. I set up the tank like I did my display. I mixed the water to my DT salinity of 1.025 because I hadn’t read anything different in my research at that point that said anything different. Then I came across info that said many people use a lower salinity for their QT, and most vendors keep their fish at a lower salinity. The fish are coming from LiveAquaria, but from 2 different locations. 1 fish is coming from their CA location that says they keep their fish at 1.019-1.020, and 4 fish are coming from their WI location that says they keep them at 1.025-1.026. I understand the benefits of lower salinity for pests and lowered stress and would like to follow that protocol. I had planned on following the plan in the sticky from @Jay Hemdal of predosing CopperPower to 1ppm and releasing the fish after a 30 min temp acclimation but I don’t know if that is possible with the fish coming it at 2 different salinities. I have a few days to mess with the QT salinity before I dose the copper and the fish arrive, but not sure what I should do. Should I lower the salinity of the QT to 1.020 where I’d like it and try to drip acclimate the 3 fish coming in at 1.025? Or should I leave the QT at 1.025 and drip acclimate the 1 fish coming in at 1.020? I remember seeing something somewhere that said lowering the salinity of the environment is easier on the fish then raising it, but I can’t find it and it was brief without much explanation. The 3 fish coming in with 1.025 salinity are wrasses, and the 1 fish coming in at 1.020 is a whitetail bristletooth tang. I’m already a little worried about the wrasses because I read that they are more sensitive to copper and I don’t want to stress them out any more then necessary. Setting up another QT tank before Friday when they arrive isn’t possible, and since this is my first attempt at QT, managing two of them might be a little overwhelming. I’m already a nervous wreck about potentially losing fish!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

What @threebuoys said is the way to go...split the difference. Remember, fish can handle a drop in salinity much better than they can handle a rise.

You'll want to keep an eye to the weather. Your location says Columbus - is that Ohio? You could get 11" of snow on Thursday. Also, if the fish are shipping via overnight carrier, you need to watch the weather at any airport hubs, like Memphis. I'm not a fan of overnight carriers in the winter. They won't guarantee the shipment if there is bad weather along the route, and once they miss their deadline, they often don't seem to care about rushing it to you...

Jay

 

[Gophish1982]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

What @threebuoys said is the way to go...split the difference. Remember, fish can handle a drop in salinity much better than they can handle a rise.

You'll want to keep an eye to the weather. Your location says Columbus - is that Ohio? You could get 11" of snow on Thursday. Also, if the fish are shipping via overnight carrier, you need to watch the weather at any airport hubs, like Memphis. I'm not a fan of overnight carriers in the winter. They won't guarantee the shipment if there is bad weather along the route, and once they miss their deadline, they often don't seem to care about rushing it to you...

Jay

It is Columbus, OH. I was a little worried about the weather a bit too. Hopefully LiveAquaria is checking the weather and make sure all is well. So if I make the QT tank 1.022 do I need to drip acclimate them? What about possible ammonia exposure after the overnight shipping? I have a whole bunch of questions posted on another thread reguarding an old QT protocol I was planning to do until I just saw the new one listed on r2r.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

It is Columbus, OH. I was a little worried about the weather a bit too. Hopefully LiveAquaria is checking the weather and make sure all is well. So if I make the QT tank 1.022 do I need to drip acclimate them? What about possible ammonia exposure after the overnight shipping? I have a whole bunch of questions posted on another thread reguarding an old QT protocol I was planning to do until I just saw the new one listed on r2r.

I would follow the Live Aquaria acclimation routine. If I give you different advice and you run into problems, they won't guarantee the fish (grin). I'd follow their floating method:

Acclimation Procedure for Aquatic Life: Welcoming Home New Arrivals

You've invested valuable time and money researching the habitat requirements of the fish and corals you wish to house. Naturally, you want to protect this investment by executing a proper acclimation process once the specimens arrive at your door.

www.liveaquaria.com

Jay