Little emergency here Lee!

[csababubbles]

Lee,

I bought several fish online which were shipped yesterday morning to my house. Fedex says the package got delayed due to ice storms and it will not arrive till tomorrow. Can you please tell me what I have to do differently in acclimating the 4 fish tomorrow as opposed to what someone would normally do upon getting a fish delivered within 24 hours or less?

I would assume the heat packs will not provide enough heat over such an extended amount of time so I would think that I should float them in the tank much longer then usual to get them temp acclimated. Right?

Then what would be some good tips after that? Do I use ammonia detoxifier so when the pH starts shifting they won't be poisoned by ammonia converting? The vendor advised doubled the acclimation time but that seems counterintuitive, to me at least. I would think it would be best to get them out of that nasty water asap. They said I can acclimate them however I feel is best and won't hold my warranty to their methods.

Basically I am humbly requesting all the steps I have to do to give the fish the bet chance for survival. (Fish are copperband butterfly and three nano gobies).

I know a few week ago I posted asking if you could possibly write a post detailing this procedure (because your acclimation post says you have to do something different when its a long shipment like this), and you said you would write it when you got the chance, so I am really sorry to ask you again but its kind of emergency and if you would be so kind I would really really appreciate it if you could at least give me the basics.

Thanks a million!

 

[returnofsid]

Getting them out of that nasty water quickly is a good idea. Hopefully, the fish went through a fasting period before being shipped, which would cut down on the amount of ammonia building up in the bags. However, even with getting them in "cleaner" water quickly being so important, the temperature acclimation is also going to be very important. I would recommend a very slow drip acclimation. Another option would be to mix up clean SW to the same temp and pH as the water in the bag. Getting the fish out of the nasty water and into that water quickly. Then you'd still need to acclimate to your tanks temp and parameters with a drip acclimation period. I would agree with a longer acclimation period because there will most likely be a larger temperature swing than in a normal shipment.

 

[azgard1]

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27023

"For the e LONG haul. Fishes obtained from overseas that have been bagged or boxed for 30+ hours are in really bad water after that time. There are special ways of handling those fishes, which are not given here. If the aquarist is interested, I have a procedure to follow for acclimating those fishes and all you need do is post your interest to this thread"


Checkout the above link and I know Lee, has commented on the long haul method some where in the last few months. Do a search you may find it before he is able to get back to you.

 

[leebca]

I was asked to provide that information and I haven't had the opportunity to get to it.

What you have asked about, has hit upon my preferred method. Currently there are a few good products which, when added to bag water, tie-up the ammonium ion that has been created by a low pH environment and the ammonia wastes.

The cold will slow the metabolism and reduce the production of wastes. So that is slightly of benefit. Although not all fishes like or will survive the cold.

First, set the QT pH at 7.8. The process in essence is to: Proceed as a regular acclimation. At the point the bag is open and floating, take a pH measurement. Then follow the product's directions for adding to the bag water. Take another pH measurement.

Begin adding water from the QT as in the regular process, but monitor the pH. If the pH is below 6.5 you should artificially add pH+ adjuster to the bag in very small but routine adds (with the new water additions). When bag water is above 7.0, proceed to make the water changes as in the regular process. When the bag water is within 0.1 pH units of the QT water, put the fish into the QT. Do not give the fish a FW bath. Instead, do the bath before the fish is put into the display system.

 

[ret25yo]

not to jump the thread ...but does shipping time dictate the emphasis on pH level control for accclimation?

....Is so much emphasis on pH needed during acclimation before I add a fish to QT,if I picked up the fish.. lets say .. an hour ago?

or should I just do regular temp and slow drip acclimation to QT?

 

[leebca]

You'll find, if you read the referenced thread, that the acclimation procedure varies depending in part the length of time the fish is in the bag.

 

[csababubbles]

Well its been over three months. The Copperband is doing amazingly well. he is eating everything I put in the tank and lots of it. Although the regal does not like him very much and sometimes chases him for a half second, the copperband does not seem to care. He has grown quite more then I expected in three months but thats a good thing.