Petco

[koocmada]

So I just got a royal gramma from petco about 30 minutes ago. I have a 55 gallon tank which has a specific gravity of 1.025 according to my refractometer and my hydrometer reads pretty much the same. As soon as I got home I tested the water in the bag and according to my refractometer, it is reading a 1.015. Is this possible? How am I supposed to acclimate this? I probably should have listened to all of the bad things i've heard about PETCO. I just dont want this fish to die.

[greech]

Definitely drip acclimate the fish. Once you double the amount of water you brought the fish home in scoop out some water from the drip bucket and keep dripping. Do this several times until the SG matches up. This may take a couple hours so you may want to need to keep the temp stable. If you have a small stryo cooler to use as a drip chamber I would use that.

[ReefNutPA]

Quite possible the Petco you purchased your fish from is/was having a parasite problem and lowered their S.G. I'm hoping you put the fish in a QT tank and not your main tank.

[subisti]

I agree with the long slow drip acclimation.

[Lynnmw1208]

psh Petco doesn't treat for diseases, someone probably just read a bad hydrometer and they don't want to fork the money over for a refractometer. Unfortunately I used to work there and I was the only one who knew how to mix salt and I was only scheduled 2 days a week... My guess is this was an employee problem.

Anyway you will have to drip acclimate like everyone else said and keep taking salt readings.

[aday2remmbr]

Originally Posted by greech

Definitely drip acclimate the fish. Once you double the amount of water you brought the fish home in scoop out some water from the drip bucket and keep dripping. Do this several times until the SG matches up. This may take a couple hours so you may want to need to keep the temp stable. If you have a small stryo cooler to use as a drip chamber I would use that.

the stress on a fish just being in the transportation bag with fluctuating water is more stressful than acclimation. drip acclimating just ensure that the fish stays longer in that water. i simply just floa tthe bag for 10-15 minutes then put it in. it is alot better for the fish.

[Sport507]

Originally Posted by ReefNutPA

Quite possible the Petco you purchased your fish from is/was having a parasite problem and lowered their S.G. I'm hoping you put the fish in a QT tank and not your main tank.

There are good and bad Petco's you can't be presumptuous like that. It depend on the people that work there and the manager. QT is without question and would like to know if anyone has a livestock supplier that they just drop them in the DT without the QT part?

[100%hydrophylic]

aday2remmbr, what?? do you see the difference in salinity?

if he bought the fish from a respectable LFS that kept their salinity within reason, then i would agree. just float the bag and acclimate with a few cups of your aquarium water.

actually, some people on this forum say have a qt setup and match the salinity of the qt to whatever the salinity is in the bag, then just acclimate temp and throw them in the QT. this is probably the best thing the OP could do.

[meat1974]

Next time order from Liveaquaria and the problem will be solved.

[aday2remmbr]

Originally Posted by 100%hydrophylic

aday2remmbr, what?? do you see the difference in salinity?

if he bought the fish from a respectable LFS that kept their salinity within reason, then i would agree. just float the bag and acclimate with a few cups of your aquarium water.

actually, some people on this forum say have a qt setup and match the salinity of the qt to whatever the salinity is in the bag, then just acclimate temp and throw them in the QT. this is probably the best thing the OP could do.

my apologies i am not used to buying from petco and usually am used to just throwing the fish in.

[david1983]

Wheres the QT police?

[100%hydrophylic]

no need for apologies aday2remmbr

acclimation and quarantine:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1939508

[owdee]

Originally Posted by Sport507

QT is without question and would like to know if anyone has a livestock supplier that they just drop them in the DT without the QT part?

I consider myself incredibly lucky to have a very reliable LFS. I have never QT'd a fish in my life and the only acclimation I do is floating the bag to get the temp right and I will put a little bit of my water in over about 10 mins or so (until the temp is right) and just basically dump the new fish in. Of course I know when they get their shipments in and take a good look at the overall health and behavior of the fish in the store before purchasing it. Never had an issue. I guess I am lucky.

My opinion on the OP's issue is that the Petco was likely just trying to keep salt costs down by using the bare minimum amount to just keep the fish alive until they were sold. Over enough time and volume, they save a lot of money on salt that way.

[bnumair]

i would watch for ich. do QT for 3 weeks atleast. i have NEVER bought fish at PETCO without ich. prices are low, labor is cheap, quantity matters not quality. by the way drip over hour is the only way to go for u then QT..

[PRDubois]

Alot of LFS (not just Petco) use lower specific gravity for a number of reasons:
1. parasites & ick are easier to control
2. It is cheeper to not use that extra bit of salt

[Chris27]

Originally Posted by david1983

Wheres the QT police?

Right here smartypants.....

Many fish stores will run lower salinity for a variety of different reasons, sometimes to keep parasites down, sometimes to save money, sometimes a lazy *** careless employee.

This is where a QT becomes very beneficial. By having a small tank that one can alter the salinity on rather quickly, you could have the fish in the tank in less then an hour. Without one, you're stuck acclimating for a good long time. With your tank at 1.025 and the fish store's water at 1.015 you really should acclimate it for the better part of a day...

[The Velvet Sea]

Another reason to keep salinity low in fish only is because the fish doesn't have to work as hard to osmoregulate. Just take the acclimation slowly. Good luck

[rpresto@hotmail]

Hopefully your royal gramma is ok

[MrTuskfish]

Originally Posted by Chris27

Right here smartypants.....

Many fish stores will run lower salinity for a variety of different reasons, sometimes to keep parasites down, sometimes to save money, sometimes a lazy *** careless employee.

This is where a QT becomes very beneficial. By having a small tank that one can alter the salinity on rather quickly, you could have the fish in the tank in less then an hour. Without one, you're stuck acclimating for a good long time. With your tank at 1.025 and the fish store's water at 1.015 you really should acclimate it for the better part of a day...

I can remember when many hobbyists, including me, kept fish-only tanks at around 1.017. The thinking was that the 'lighter' water was easier on the fish. I know that a couple of very reputable members of this forum think their fish are more active at this SG. I won't say what I'm keeping my FOWLR tanks at now; because I don't want to mess with the CW. However, before moving, I kept several very difficult fish for about 10 yrs at 1.017.
All this drivel aside; I would still never buy fish at PETCO.

[cornychick]

Saw this header and thought I would chime in what I know as far as our local Petco goes. I purchased a damsel about a month ago and inquired on thier salinity so I would know what I was dealing with from an acclimation stand point. I was informed by a manager that the company requires them to keep the salinity low. BTW, I also stopped by there last week and thier tanks looked to be in the process of a major crash. Dead fish in the displays, major ich outbreak as well as several of the tanks were just covered in red slime. Quite a shame when you live in a one lfs town.

[Ethan_W]

Petco, along with many local fish stores and other fish retailers, typically keep their specific gravity at no more than 1.020 or sometimes less. So low SG levels shouldnt surprise you.

Ideally you shouldnt be putting any fish strait into your main tank, they should always be quarantined specifically if you are buying from petco. then you can start them off by matching the SG in your quarantine with that of your LFS and gradually increase while keeping an eye on the fish.

if a fish you buy infects your whole tank, you've got no one to blame but yourself

[Ethan_W]

Originally Posted by owdee

My opinion on the OP's issue is that the Petco was likely just trying to keep salt costs down by using the bare minimum amount to just keep the fish alive until they were sold. Over enough time and volume, they save a lot of money on salt that way.

and as an old employee of petco i would like to let you know your opinion is completely off based. they really dont care about the amount of salt you use, the money means nothing. my old manager was also a reef enthusiast and liked to keep SG at around 1.017 because there really was nothing that corporate would let us do to treat the system unless we wanted to kill off all the invertebrates and take the heat for it. so he did his best to try to help the fish

[deangelr]

Lots of petco bashing here.. I would just like to say that its not fair to blaket all petco's as the same.

If the aquatic manager know what they are doing then the fish and livestock can be very healthy and in good condition.. much better than my LFS for example

Also, ammonia will not build up to toxic levels during a 10 minute ride home from the fish store. No need to worry about opening bag and getting fish out ASAP because the water qualtity in the bag is still the same as it was at the store

[stingythingy45]

Originally Posted by Ethan_W

Petco, along with many local fish stores and other fish retailers, typically keep their specific gravity at no more than 1.020 or sometimes less. So low SG levels shouldnt surprise you.

Ideally you shouldnt be putting any fish strait into your main tank, they should always be quarantined specifically if you are buying from petco. then you can start them off by matching the SG in your quarantine with that of your LFS and gradually increase while keeping an eye on the fish.

if a fish you buy infects your whole tank, you've got no one to blame but yourself

Very good advice.
It's not the LFS responsibility to keep you tank pest free.
+1

[whilb]

I've E-mailed on line vendors, and asked several LFS and the highest answer I've gotten is 1.019 most are 1.017 1.018. Always ask before you buy and make sure you've got a QT tank at least for a week to bring up the salinity and make sure they are feeding. A lot easier than getting dead fish from behind the rocks.
by the way you are in the newby forum read the stickey ***Acclimation: Any NEW FISH or INVERT: NEW: CHECK THIS OUT