Zionas
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As some of you may have read in my previous threads, I have become acquainted with a guy who lives in a city 3-4 hours away from me my bus. The city is Zhanjiang and it’s a coastal city. He dives and hand collects marine life from the sea near his home, and he keeps them in NSW rather than water with a salt mix. He has never had to deal with a full cycle of any of his tanks because he keeps the livestock in the same water they were collected in (he gets NSW directly).
I am interested in potentially buying livestock from him, and he said that transit times to where I am (Guangzhou) take approximately a day by Shunfeng (the largest Chinese courier service).
I plan to buy the majority of my livestock from the LFS, but my Stripeys will be an exception as I can’t go collect them myself down at the coast. I know there’s always a risk when it comes to buying online because I can’t see the fish myself (he does not allow visitations), but would a 1-day transit time be fatal for the fish? I heard ammonia levels will build up in bags after prolonged periods of transit and that adds further stress to the fish.
I will be instructing him to put the bags horizontally rather than vertically, a trick I learned from Bob Fenner as it gives the fish a bit more swimming room while in the bags.
Furthermore, for acclimating fish purchased online, do you guys follow the same acclimation procedures as you would when acclimating fish from the LFS? I’m wondering whether a 30-45 minute float acclimation with the tank’s lights off will be enough. He keeps his fish with a salinity of 1.025 and at a temperature of about 77-78 degrees Fahrenheit. Not sure about his pH. My own tank’s parameters I’m aiming for a 1.024-1.026 SG (salinity), 78-80 degrees F, pH 8.2-8.3.
Of course the worst case scenario is having them die during the acclimation or shortly after acclimation, or being DOA (which happens frequently with mishandling and prolonged transit times).
Also, he said he feeds his Stripeys fresh chopped seafood almost exclusively because he lives by the sea and is a fisherman by trade. He said they’ll need to be trained to accept dry and frozen captive fare. I hope it won’t be too difficult of a task as these fish are known for being very hardy and easy to feed.
I would appreciate insights and comments and suggestions when it comes to ordering fish online and acclimating them. Is there anything I want to watch out for?
He might run copper in his systems though I am not sure, I will find out.
I am interested in potentially buying livestock from him, and he said that transit times to where I am (Guangzhou) take approximately a day by Shunfeng (the largest Chinese courier service).
I plan to buy the majority of my livestock from the LFS, but my Stripeys will be an exception as I can’t go collect them myself down at the coast. I know there’s always a risk when it comes to buying online because I can’t see the fish myself (he does not allow visitations), but would a 1-day transit time be fatal for the fish? I heard ammonia levels will build up in bags after prolonged periods of transit and that adds further stress to the fish.
I will be instructing him to put the bags horizontally rather than vertically, a trick I learned from Bob Fenner as it gives the fish a bit more swimming room while in the bags.
Furthermore, for acclimating fish purchased online, do you guys follow the same acclimation procedures as you would when acclimating fish from the LFS? I’m wondering whether a 30-45 minute float acclimation with the tank’s lights off will be enough. He keeps his fish with a salinity of 1.025 and at a temperature of about 77-78 degrees Fahrenheit. Not sure about his pH. My own tank’s parameters I’m aiming for a 1.024-1.026 SG (salinity), 78-80 degrees F, pH 8.2-8.3.
Of course the worst case scenario is having them die during the acclimation or shortly after acclimation, or being DOA (which happens frequently with mishandling and prolonged transit times).
Also, he said he feeds his Stripeys fresh chopped seafood almost exclusively because he lives by the sea and is a fisherman by trade. He said they’ll need to be trained to accept dry and frozen captive fare. I hope it won’t be too difficult of a task as these fish are known for being very hardy and easy to feed.
I would appreciate insights and comments and suggestions when it comes to ordering fish online and acclimating them. Is there anything I want to watch out for?
He might run copper in his systems though I am not sure, I will find out.
