Super low salinity from Live Aquaria

[Scurvy]

I would get them out of the shipping water. They have been exposed to ammonia for a long time now.

Right into the tank you think?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Right into the tank you think?

Yes. Salinity swings are like having a hangover, ammonia exposure is like a chemical burn to lungs.

 

[Scurvy]

Thanks, Out they'll come.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Personally, I wouldn't drip acclimate or put the fish right in the tank if the salinity was low. You should be using a QT tank anyway, so when the fish arrives, add freshwater to the QT until it matches the salinity of the shipping water. After a quick temp acclimate, you can dump the fish right in. Over the next few days, slowly bump up the salinity in QT to 35 ppt (or whichever salinity you choose). If the salinity is very, very low, maybe do it a bit quicker. But salinity changes are pretty hard on fish. Take it slow.

If you can't adjust your QT's salinity because there are already animals in it (or you are not using a QT tank), set up a 5 gallon bucket with a heater and water movement (airstone, HOB filter, etc). Lower the salinity in the bucket to match the salinity of the bag, add the fish, then raise the salinity in the bucket over the next few days. Then, add the fish to QT or to the DT.

My last fish (from Unique Corals) came in 35ppt water, so I didn't need to do any adjustment. Had I needed to, though, I would have done the bucket method. I already had corals in QT and couldn't drop the salinity. Thankfully, the salinity was perfect. After a quick temp acclimation, the fish went right in.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Personally, I wouldn't drip acclimate or put the fish right in the tank if the salinity was low. You should be using a QT tank anyway, so when the fish arrives, add freshwater to the QT until it matches the salinity of the shipping water. After a quick temp acclimate, you can dump the fish right in. Over the next few days, slowly bump up the salinity in QT to 35 ppt (or whichever salinity you choose). If the salinity is very, very low, maybe do it a bit quicker. But salinity changes are pretty hard on fish. Take it slow.

If you can't adjust your QT's salinity because there are already animals in it (or you are not using a QT tank), set up a 5 gallon bucket with a heater and water movement (airstone, HOB filter, etc). Lower the salinity in the bucket to match the salinity of the bag, add the fish, then raise the salinity in the bucket over the next few days. Then, add the fish to QT or to the DT.

My last fish (from Unique Corals) came in 35ppt water, so I didn't need to do any adjustment. Had I needed to, though, I would have done the bucket method. I already had corals in QT and couldn't drop the salinity. Thankfully, the salinity was perfect. After a quick temp acclimation, the fish went right in.

Most of this would have worked if it was started upon the arrival of the fish, but due to the exposure to ammonia the fish needed to get out of that water asap.

Without mature biological filtration keeping the fish in a bucket overnight is not a good idea, due to ammonia.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Most of this would have worked if it was started upon the arrival of the fish, but due to the exposure to ammonia the fish needed to get out of that water asap.

Without mature biological filtration keeping the fish in a bucket overnight is not a good idea, due to ammonia.

Agreed. If you don't have this all ready when the fish comes, you're stuck with a hasty acclimation and dumping the fish in.

Additionally, HumbleFish's thread on the Tank Transfer Method contradicts your statement on ammonia buildup. The original post states that using 5g buckets for temporary fish storage is fine for a day or two, and that ammonia buildup generally does not become a concern until day three. With the amount of people doing TTM with no mature biological media, I would not think that overnight would be a problem unless the fish was unusually large.

Ammonia detox (such as AmQuel or Prime) – good to have on-hand in case ammonia starts creeping up in between transfers. 3 days generally does not allow ammonia enough time to negatively impact a fish, however depending on your fish-to-tank size ratio, you could potentially get there. The best thing to do is to simply add the Ammonia detox product at the beginning of the 3rd day of each transfer to neutralize any ammonia build-up to that point. Many people do this as standard procedure since it doesn’t negatively impact the fish to do so even if no ammonia is present.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I would strongly recommend testing ammonia the next. I have found ammonia creeps up faster than that write-up indicates.

 

[Ebbi Flow]

Yes I meant 1.004. Really low. Yes I calibrated to both zero and 35ppt. My qt is at 1.024 and the ttm tank that he is going in is 1.024. Shipping water was at 1.004. Really low. I have been adding 1/2 cup tank water every 5 min til it reached 1.022 and then I put him in the ttm tank. He is moving pretty slow but I have faith for a full recovery.

That's extreme long-term fresh water dip readings, I wouldn't guy from that company . Cause Anthia's are deeper water fish liking Higher End of salinity..

 

[Humblefish]

Additionally, HumbleFish's thread on the Tank Transfer Method contradicts your statement on ammonia buildup. The original post states that using 5g buckets for temporary fish storage is fine for a day or two, and that ammonia buildup generally does not become a concern until day three. With the amount of people doing TTM with no mature biological media, I would not think that overnight would be a problem unless the fish was unusually large.

You also have to consider your bioload vs. water volume. What may be fine for a day or two in a 10 gal QT, may cause ammonia issues in just a 5 gal bucket. Best to test ammonia regularly, and then dose a reducer if needed. Remember, you can always dose Prime or Amquel preemptively to buy you more time, so long as no medications are present in the water.

 

[jasonrusso]

I would get them out of the shipping water. They have been exposed to ammonia for a long time now.

I've been putting a few drops of stress guard in the bags while I am acclimating for this reason. When the pH comes back up the ammonia becomes much more toxic.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I've been putting a few drops of stress guard in the bags while I am acclimating for this reason. When the pH comes back up the ammonia becomes much more toxic.

But if they came from somewhere with meds in the water, adding an ammonia neutralizing agent could become toxic.

 

[hart24601]

Considering that the fish from LA are coming direct from a wholesaler, not owned by Petco. I don't see how the Petco acquisition of the customer service side of things had any change in how fish are handled or cared for from LA.

I was just going to say the same thing. When ordering from the cali location I think fish are shipped directly from quality marine, who previously also was the supplier for most petcos. When ordering from Florida I think they are shipped directly from ORA. Really only Divers Den is what we think of as being "Live Aquaria".

 

[Crashjack]

This happened to me today. My last order was 1.024, which they told me ahead of time. I called this morning due to two DOAs and confirmed 1.024 before I opened the bags. Unfortunately, s.g. was 1.017, and I'm sitting with a QT at 1.024. I wasn't prepared for that big of a difference, and my firefish ended up jumping out of the open bag into 1.024 s.g. water. My yellow watchman goby DOAs were also very "D". I called back this afternoon and the support guy said that it was ridiculous that they sent fish at 1.017, apologized, and said he would contact the right people. He said their shipping spec was 1.024 +/-.001 for fish and 1.025 +/-.001 for inverts.

 

[paphater]

I just got my quoyi parrotfish today and the salinity was right at 1.025. The water was 72 degrees though and its fins were a bit chewed up.

 

[Scurvy]

I just got my quoyi parrotfish today and the salinity was right at 1.025. The water was 72 degrees though and its fins were a bit chewed up.

Did it come in from CA or Florida? It seems to be a Cali trend.

 

[paphater]

I forgot to mention it was from divers den so it was from Wisconsin.

 

[saltyhog]

Two DD flasher wrasse on Thursday were 1.025

 

[cameronh]

Got a shipment in yesterday with a salinity of 1.014. Three doa and one doing backflips and sideflips in the bag. The picture is after I raised the salinity for an hour and a half hoping the cleaner wrasse would maybe come back

 

[Crashjack]

Got a shipment in yesterday with a salinity of 1.014. Three doa and one doing backflips and sideflips in the bag. The picture is after I raised the salinity for an hour and a half hoping the cleaner wrasse would maybe come back

I would definitely let them know about the salinity when you contact them about your refund. I'm pretty much done with LA until I can get fish at 1.021+. However, I've got no problem with Divers Den or ORA, just be prepared for very small fish with ORA.

 

[jasonrusso]

I know that 1.014 is low, but is it low enough to cause a problem if they are acclaimed to it? The last couple times I got fish from LA they were at 1.017 and they were just fine.