New Fish Died

jazonPartij · Feb 5, 2016

I purchased this leopard wrasse yesterday along with a flame angel. The flame angel is doing fine, but the wrasse died only after a couple hours. I drip acclimated him for over an hour. At first I thought the flame might have beat him up, but he looked untouched. Any ideas?

ImageUploadedByREEF2REEF1454715917.017383.jpg

jsker · Feb 5, 2016

Did you purchase the guy online or LFS?

SantaMonicaHelp · Feb 5, 2016

Oh man.. so sorry! I hate loose them ((( Maybe he was already sick...

jazonPartij · Feb 5, 2016

Duke4Life · Feb 5, 2016

What else was it with? And when was last fish added before these?

jetmaker · Feb 5, 2016

I only drip for 30 min I don't like them to be in bag water that long but lfs it may been sick.

jetmaker · Feb 5, 2016

Duke4Life said:
What else was it with? And when was last fish added before these?

+1

Duke4Life · Feb 5, 2016

The pic doesn't show anything clearly to me, maybe a pinched belly. How big is your tank? Do you know how long your LFS had before you got it? Crazy questions but can help narrow a bit.

Breakthecycle2 · Feb 5, 2016

did you QT?

jetmaker · Feb 5, 2016

Should qt any fish from lfs.

cracker · Feb 5, 2016

sorry for the loss of such a beautiful fish. Most likely he was a goner before You brought it home. Hope the LFS will work with You.

kangadrew · Feb 6, 2016

Beautiful fish, sorry for the loss!

eatbreakfast · Feb 6, 2016

Losing a leopard in the first few days, is unfortunately not unusual. These fish are notoriously bad shippers, often take awhile to start eating, and often have internal parasites. Also, long acclimation leaves them susceptible to damage from ammonia toxicity.

jazonPartij · Feb 6, 2016

She died in QT. she was with a Flame Angel. Both fish where in QT for about 12hrs before she died.

Diesel · Feb 6, 2016

Probably died from stress as @eatbreakfast already mentioned.
Leopards are sensitive fish but once thriving it's a awesome fish.
I ordered 3 at the same time and only one survived but it's a beautiful asset to my tank.

ReeferBob · Feb 6, 2016

You shouldn't drip acclimate more than 20 to 30 minutes. Your 1 hour definitely exposed it to ammonia which was probably a contributing factor. As soon as you open the bag, ammonia starts to form. What was the salt level at the store and in your QT tank? For future purchases. I suggest you take your refractometer to the LFS, get their level, set your QT to that level, then go back and buy your fish. Float the bag CLOSED for 10 minutes and let the fish out without drip acclimating. If the salt levels are the same, you do not need to drip acclimate.

Rockhead · Feb 6, 2016

Did you have a sand bed for it to hide in? when I put mine it the tank that's the first thing it did is hide and and stayed hiding for 2 weeks before she came back out
+1 for everything above

cracker · Feb 7, 2016

All good info on this delicate fish, Reefer Bob could you tell us more about opening the bag and ammonia starts? Iv'e not heard that . Thanks

eatbreakfast · Feb 7, 2016

cracker said:
All good info on this delicate fish, Reefer Bob could you tell us more about opening the bag and ammonia starts? Iv'e not heard that . Thanks

When the bag is sealed CO2 respirated by the fish cannot escape. CO2 lowers ph. When ph is below a certain point the ammonia is not toxic. But as soon as the bag is opened the CO2 is released and the ph comes back up to levels where ammonia is toxic.

Isaac_P._Martinez · Feb 7, 2016

Before you buy always check to see if it eats.

Let your LFS hold it before you take it home. Ask if they are willing to let it acclimate there for a week or so before you take it home. I would pay a portion of the price as a sign of good will.

Have an established tank.

Do your homework. Some fish just have a higher mortality rate.

Learn how to QT your fish. It is always smart to have a QT setup.