Questioning my LFS

vette.tech · 07/03/2013, 06:56 PM

The owner at my lfs told me they freshwater dip every fish they get in, and they only do a 30 min acclimation right out of the quality marine box. I know its said that ammonia can spike quickly when the bag is exposed to air and some people just toss the fish right in, no acclimation. But the previous owner of the store used to do a 4 hour acclimation and all their fish looked very healthy all the time. I can't say the same about the new owners. Thoughts on this?

Deinonych · 07/03/2013, 07:02 PM

I follow Sk8r's acclimation guide and match my QT salinity to that of the bag water. Float for 15 minutes to temp acclimate, then plop the fish in the tank. Haven't lost a fish due to acclimation yet.

Pet Detective · 07/03/2013, 07:31 PM

In my almost 20 years of experience, 15 of which include online overnight delivery, I have found that only the temperature is critical, sometimes a fish will be near the critical point in the bag & I have dumped it straight in with no ill affects, in fact it has saved more than a handful of fish that otherwise were doomed, especially the misfortunate ones that were not delivered for 48 hours or more, sometimes overthinking this is bad, if you are coming straight from your LFS, then a simple PH, salinity proximity is all that is needed, I regard my tank as a sanctuary, worthy of any recruit, an obvious upgrade from any LFS, online or local.

vette.tech · 07/03/2013, 08:09 PM

i guess i didn't word it right, but what i mean is that is what the store does when they get boxes of fish into the store. I have always done it similar to sk8r's guide but for whatever reason i felt like it should be different for the LFS, don't know why i did but.....anyway good info! oh, what about the FW dip they do?

crsswift70 · 07/03/2013, 08:18 PM

Kills many parasites and organisms that can't handle freshwater for more than a few seconds. People do the same thing with corals. the fish can handle it for a lot longer. http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/hyp.../ht_fwbath.htm

greech · 07/03/2013, 08:25 PM

FW dip seems pretty hash for a fish that was just shipped and needs to acclimate. Would be interested in the success rate with that method.

My lfs has a lot of success with dosing the individual bags with Prime as soon as each bag is opened and then doing 30 minute to hour long acclimation.

Agree with temp being the most important and that getting the fish out of the ba ASAP by having water the same temp and SG ready is by far the best way to go for a fish that has been in a sealed bag for several hours.

Sonyardo · 07/03/2013, 10:21 PM

I do a fresh water dip as part of my introduction/QT process. I haven't added a new fish in quite a while so the process is not fresh on my mind to regurgitate for you. It's always wise to research carefully before attempting such a practice. The biggest mistake is to leave the fish in the fresh water too long. I think 4 to 5 mins is max and that is with filtered fresh water that has been stripped of Chlorine or Chloramine. I've never had any issues with the process. The idea is that the fish can easily handle a fresh water dip but parasites that are not embedded in the fish can not tolerate the dip. It's not the only treatment it's just part of the process to keep parasites out of the DT. Once you've had a couple of run in's with parasites in the DT, then you will appreciate the extra effort

r-balljunkie · 07/04/2013, 05:34 AM

FW dips stress fish. if they dont have anything alarming in appearance, i dont think its warranted. transport is the #1 problem in the hobby, IMHO. a FW dip really adds stress to the livestock.

fishmate · 07/04/2013, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r-balljunkie

FW dips stress fish. if they dont have anything alarming in appearance, i dont think its warranted. transport is the #1 problem in the hobby, IMHO. a FW dip really adds stress to the livestock.

I agree. Float them, and toss them in

Palting · 07/04/2013, 10:46 AM

One of the problems with temp acclimate the bag and then drop the fish into DT is salinity. I keep my reef tank at 1026. My favorite LFS keeps his reef tanks at 1.026, but other LFS keep their fish tanks at 1.020-022. I've had fish from on-line vendors delivered in a bag of 1.015 water. Best case is fish from my favorite LFS, no problems with temp acclimate and add to tank. Worst case scenario is the fish in 1.015 water, with a .011 difference in salinity and can be quite stressful if not deadly to just temp acclimate and drop in.

This is one of the excellent reasons to have a QT. Check the bag salinity, and match your QT salinity to it. Temp acclimate, then drop in fish.

fishmate · 07/04/2013, 10:54 AM

good point, I do know many places that keep lower salinities in the systems because it is supposed to slow down the ich life cycle, even though the higher (1.026) is much more natural for the fish

07/03/2013, 07:02 PM	#2
Deinonych Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 4,191	I follow Sk8r's acclimation guide and match my QT salinity to that of the bag water. Float for 15 minutes to temp acclimate, then plop the fish in the tank. Haven't lost a fish due to acclimation yet. __________________ Chris Hope is not a strategy. Display Tank: DSA 105 w/36gal sump/fuge · 2x MP40wES PHs · 2x Radion Gen2 · Apex w/PM2 · Fish · Corals · Rock · Sand · Water

07/03/2013, 08:25 PM	#6
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	FW dip seems pretty hash for a fish that was just shipped and needs to acclimate. Would be interested in the success rate with that method. My lfs has a lot of success with dosing the individual bags with Prime as soon as each bag is opened and then doing 30 minute to hour long acclimation. Agree with temp being the most important and that getting the fish out of the ba ASAP by having water the same temp and SG ready is by far the best way to go for a fish that has been in a sealed bag for several hours. __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

07/04/2013, 05:34 AM	#8
r-balljunkie Registered Reefer Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Doha, Qatar Posts: 2,059	FW dips stress fish. if they dont have anything alarming in appearance, i dont think its warranted. transport is the #1 problem in the hobby, IMHO. a FW dip really adds stress to the livestock. __________________ ▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀ 58G Oceanic Illuminata rimless with GH overflow , Mazarra LED x 3, Tunze 6095 x 2, Eheim 1260, BM-180 skimmer, TLF reactors, Apex LT .

07/04/2013, 10:46 AM	#10
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	One of the problems with temp acclimate the bag and then drop the fish into DT is salinity. I keep my reef tank at 1026. My favorite LFS keeps his reef tanks at 1.026, but other LFS keep their fish tanks at 1.020-022. I've had fish from on-line vendors delivered in a bag of 1.015 water. Best case is fish from my favorite LFS, no problems with temp acclimate and add to tank. Worst case scenario is the fish in 1.015 water, with a .011 difference in salinity and can be quite stressful if not deadly to just temp acclimate and drop in. This is one of the excellent reasons to have a QT. Check the bag salinity, and match your QT salinity to it. Temp acclimate, then drop in fish. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

07/04/2013, 10:54 AM	#11
fishmate Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 144	good point, I do know many places that keep lower salinities in the systems because it is supposed to slow down the ich life cycle, even though the higher (1.026) is much more natural for the fish __________________ How do I change this?

07/03/2013, 06:56 PM	#1
vette.tech Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Lansdale, PA Posts: 367	Questioning my LFS The owner at my lfs told me they freshwater dip every fish they get in, and they only do a 30 min acclimation right out of the quality marine box. I know its said that ammonia can spike quickly when the bag is exposed to air and some people just toss the fish right in, no acclimation. But the previous owner of the store used to do a 4 hour acclimation and all their fish looked very healthy all the time. I can't say the same about the new owners. Thoughts on this?

07/03/2013, 07:31 PM	#3
Pet Detective Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 328	In my almost 20 years of experience, 15 of which include online overnight delivery, I have found that only the temperature is critical, sometimes a fish will be near the critical point in the bag & I have dumped it straight in with no ill affects, in fact it has saved more than a handful of fish that otherwise were doomed, especially the misfortunate ones that were not delivered for 48 hours or more, sometimes overthinking this is bad, if you are coming straight from your LFS, then a simple PH, salinity proximity is all that is needed, I regard my tank as a sanctuary, worthy of any recruit, an obvious upgrade from any LFS, online or local.

07/03/2013, 08:09 PM	#4
vette.tech Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Lansdale, PA Posts: 367	i guess i didn't word it right, but what i mean is that is what the store does when they get boxes of fish into the store. I have always done it similar to sk8r's guide but for whatever reason i felt like it should be different for the LFS, don't know why i did but.....anyway good info! oh, what about the FW dip they do?

07/03/2013, 08:18 PM	#5
crsswift70 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Spanish Fort, AL Posts: 1,032	Kills many parasites and organisms that can't handle freshwater for more than a few seconds. People do the same thing with corals. the fish can handle it for a lot longer. http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/hyp.../ht_fwbath.htm

07/03/2013, 10:21 PM	#7
Sonyardo Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: OC California Posts: 522	I do a fresh water dip as part of my introduction/QT process. I haven't added a new fish in quite a while so the process is not fresh on my mind to regurgitate for you. It's always wise to research carefully before attempting such a practice. The biggest mistake is to leave the fish in the fresh water too long. I think 4 to 5 mins is max and that is with filtered fresh water that has been stripped of Chlorine or Chloramine. I've never had any issues with the process. The idea is that the fish can easily handle a fresh water dip but parasites that are not embedded in the fish can not tolerate the dip. It's not the only treatment it's just part of the process to keep parasites out of the DT. Once you've had a couple of run in's with parasites in the DT, then you will appreciate the extra effort