Shipped fish?
- Thread starter alter40
- Start date
Most everything I have heard about him has been good. I may have said something negative about him last night but if I did it was out of disappointment. He has been extremely helpful as far as working with me goes and I'm sure I will be extremely happy once I get my fish. 
I'm just looking forward to next week now
I'm just looking forward to next week now
I don't think I've ever gotten a shipment in that the fish hadn't been doped. It's called Bag Buddies, and it really just chills the fish out from the shipping and helps them not be so stressed. This can cause the fish to look dead, or close to dead, and the best thing to do is get them out of the bag water ASAP and into clean, fresh water. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with what happened to your shippment, but this is the first thing that popped into my head.
I also agree that's generally best to try to plan your day around the fish when they are coming. And it's a good idea to see what the upcoming weather is going to be like in the area where the fish are leaving, and around you so you can at least have and idea of what to expect the fish to go though, and if it's bad enough don't be afraid to call it off and wait for the weather to get better.
I also agree that's generally best to try to plan your day around the fish when they are coming. And it's a good idea to see what the upcoming weather is going to be like in the area where the fish are leaving, and around you so you can at least have and idea of what to expect the fish to go though, and if it's bad enough don't be afraid to call it off and wait for the weather to get better.
Thats good information Orion and I did suspect that they would have put something in there to calm the fish or something. Even with this though I would the fish be floating belly up? I also took a long hard look at the fish when I got home and they were not moving at all; no gill or mouth movement at all.
Well they weren't right side up when I got them. They were like tail up or kinda on their sides when I initially got them. I did look at the gills on both of them for a minute or so before I left and I didn't see any movement either but it was kinda wishful thinking on my part that they were just really doped up and that was the explanation for them being that way when I got them. I really suspected that they were both dead on first inspection. When I got home I was able to give them a much closer examination and they had been sitting in one spot at that point for awhile so the water wasn't moving and thats when they were belly up.
Thats my big goal is to have them lay eggs so I can breed them and raise some of the fry. I hope to sell them to the LFS or maybe share them with other members of the forum once I figure out exactly what I'm doing.
This is going to be my first attempt at breeding anything so I'm not sure what to expect. I have had guppy and molly fry in the past but they are pretty common and easy to breed I think. I never actually tried to raise the fry properly before and I am going to do it with these in their own 10g fry tank.
This is going to be my first attempt at breeding anything so I'm not sure what to expect. I have had guppy and molly fry in the past but they are pretty common and easy to breed I think. I never actually tried to raise the fry properly before and I am going to do it with these in their own 10g fry tank.
Ok since I will be getting more fish later this week what is my best option as far as acclimating them? I'm pretty sure I can't put them from the bag water straight into some tank (clean fresh) water. I was going to drip acclimate them but that seems like kind of a slow process to get them in the clean fresh water.
What is my best way to get the fish from the bag water they were shipped in to nice fresh water?
What is my best way to get the fish from the bag water they were shipped in to nice fresh water?
I'm a big fan of the bucket method. I use water bucket or a 2 G fish bowl and fill it 1/2 with tank water, then float the bag in that for about 20 min, drip into it till the water is 50/50 and then let them loose in the bowl/bucket and monitor their behavior closely. A lot of fish find the bucket method easier cause it's darker too. The light can be really upsetting to new fish especially ones that have been kept in the dark a while.
If after an hour or so in the bucket they're not showing signs of stress some times I'll offer a bit of food and see if they'll take it. If they do that's super awesome and they can go into the tank, if they don't I'll scoop the food out (a lot of fish won't take anything within 24 hours of getting to a new home any how) and continue to watch them and give them usually another hour (and more tank water). Still no signs of stress - into the tank they go. Lights off for 24 hours though.
This is of course the: If you don't have a QT method. If you had a QT you could do all that in there. And of course while doing all this it's a good idea to take a sample of the bag water to make sure there's not any massive differances between it and your tank's perameters.
If after an hour or so in the bucket they're not showing signs of stress some times I'll offer a bit of food and see if they'll take it. If they do that's super awesome and they can go into the tank, if they don't I'll scoop the food out (a lot of fish won't take anything within 24 hours of getting to a new home any how) and continue to watch them and give them usually another hour (and more tank water). Still no signs of stress - into the tank they go. Lights off for 24 hours though.
This is of course the: If you don't have a QT method. If you had a QT you could do all that in there. And of course while doing all this it's a good idea to take a sample of the bag water to make sure there's not any massive differances between it and your tank's perameters.
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Since they will have been in a bag for several days, to me it's best to get them into clean fresh water ASAP. I keep a clean 5 gallon bucket for the drip method to use. What I've done in the past is take about 50% of the bag water and immediately put it with the fish in the bucket, along with some water from the tank. Then I start the drip. If they did use Bag Buddies, I would normally leave the fish in the bucket longer than normal to let the fresh water volume build up to help the fish 'come out of it'. Once the fish seem normal, I'll then think about adding the fish to the tank if I think it's ok then. Always keep the lights off in the tank, this will help the new fish, as well as any existing fish as well.
This is just how I do it though. But the drip method is always your best way of starting.
This is just how I do it though. But the drip method is always your best way of starting.
I really look forward to getting them and hopefully having them lay some eggs