New fish = quick death

[ajmckay]

Yeah that's frustrating. I guess I'm going to try again and see what happens. Parameters look fine.

 

IMO that is exactly what we as reefkeepers need to stop doing. Don't just "Dump & Hope". It's a waste of money and sea life to just keep adding fish until one happens to survive - not to mention it gives the hobby a bad reputation and encourages collectors, exporters, importers, LFS, etc.. to use whatever means to keep large quantities of livestock moving through their tanks.

 

Obviously you're concerned because you started this thread - I would at least recommend:

- Using a dark, insulated container for transport

- Having some basic meds on hand

- Testing the LFS water (using your device) either at the LFS (from the same system as the fish you're getting) or using bag water

- Either adjust your tank to exactly the same levels (specifically salinity & pH) as your LFS before adding the fish or use a gentler acclimation process suitable for the difference in salinity you measure

- Leave the tank lights off the first day or so as this helps keep stress down. Also try to limit the activity right by the tank.

- Finally (rather firstly), only purchase from LFS that you believe to have good animals. There's a difference between a fish that goes through the cheapest (harshest) route to your LFS vs. a fish that goes through quality channels. It's tough to know which is which though so you might be able to get some feedback from locals or possibly by asking directly about their supply chain.

[Canadianeh]

 

IMO that is exactly what we as reefkeepers need to stop doing. Don't just "Dump & Hope". It's a waste of money and sea life to just keep adding fish until one happens to survive - not to mention it gives the hobby a bad reputation and encourages collectors, exporters, importers, LFS, etc.. to use whatever means to keep large quantities of livestock moving through their tanks.

 

Obviously you're concerned because you started this thread - I would at least recommend:

- Using a dark, insulated container for transport

- Having some basic meds on hand

- Testing the LFS water (using your device) either at the LFS (from the same system as the fish you're getting) or using bag water

- Either adjust your tank to exactly the same levels (specifically salinity & pH) as your LFS before adding the fish or use a gentler acclimation process suitable for the difference in salinity you measure

- Leave the tank lights off the first day or so as this helps keep stress down. Also try to limit the activity right by the tank.

- Finally (rather firstly), only purchase from LFS that you believe to have good animals. There's a difference between a fish that goes through the cheapest (harshest) route to your LFS vs. a fish that goes through quality channels. It's tough to know which is which though so you might be able to get some feedback from locals or possibly by asking directly about their supply chain.

I have some questions on your points

-can you please recommend some basic meds that I need to have ready at all times?

-If I leave the tank lights off would it not affect the other live stock (fish and corals) that already in the tank?

[ajmckay]

I have some questions on your points

-can you please recommend some basic meds that I need to have ready at all times?

-If I leave the tank lights off would it not affect the other live stock (fish and corals) that already in the tank?

 

I like to keep praziquantel (prazipro is commonly available), cupramine (a Seachem copper based med effective against crypto/ich and mostly suitable for copper-sensitive fish), and a broad spectrum antibiotic/anti-fungal such as TMP Sulfa or similar. I also keep some metronidazole around that I use in conjunction with Seachem Focus to "medicate" food as a more targeted approach for other parasitic infestations - I haven't used it in a while though so it's probably expired... Obviously not everyone is going to agree with this list - it's just what I've found useful but availability and other factors may play a role. Also note this is for fish - Some iodine and some Coral rx/revive are good to rid new corals of things that may destroy the coral or spread to other corals in your tank.

 

Those first 3 meds, IME, enable you to deal with the most common issues with new fish. The next level IMO would be something like formalin/malachite green which expands your treatment capabilities to brooklynella & other parasites & fungi. Those last 2 fall under a unique category where they're either too dangerous to be used routinely or too specific that it doesn't make sense to keep them around. On the same ticket though Formalin isn't as easy to get so any fish which does end up needing a formalin treatment probably wouldn't survive.

 

Finally - know how to do a proper FW dip as anyone can do this and it can be extremely effective in giving immediate, though temporary relief to infested marine fish.

 

As for the lights - leaving them off for a day won't mess anything up really as long as your system is stable (and if it isn't you probably shouldn't be introducing new animals anyways). Also I'm not talking total black out - there will still be some ambient light in the tank which is fine.