New fish are dying...can't figure it out.

I go to my local ***** store every Friday, they did acclimation exactly as what here want you to do, but not two hours+. No shipping water going into the tanks.
 

jay0705

Well-Known Member
***** tanks are not a good example lol. In general when u add fish , u only add the fish. After, temp, sg, water chem have been equaled no issues should occur
 

smfoister

Member
Aggression. That tang is slicing up folks when you're not looking. 36 gallon + blue tang = that entire tank is "his" home.

Edit: You could double the size of that tank and it wouldn't be enough room for that tang. Remember there are many reasons why a best practice on tank size is defined. Sometimes it's the amount a fish will swim, sometimes it's because of territorial issues, sometimes it's because of the adult size of the fish. Tangs are territorial, swim quite a bit and do get rather large.
 

john suh

Member
What are you testing for salinity? Stay away from those plastic 7 dollar gadgets where you pour water in and read the floating needle. Even the tiniest of air bubble will throw it off. I made the mistake of buying one and wasn't out of the norm to get 3 different readings on 3 tries. Suggest to google up Refractometer and use those instead.
 
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What are you testing for salinity? Stay away from those plastic 7 dollar gadgets where you pour water in and read the floating needle. Even the tiniest of air bubble will throw it off. I made the mistake of buying one and wasn't out of the norm to get 3 different readings on 3 tries. Suggest to google up Refractometer and use those instead.
I will still use to compare to Refractometer once a while.
 
The best way to compare a refractometer is with another refractometer. Or just calibrate the one you have.
I have both the swing one and refractometer, both are always come up the same, if one day I decided to check and see my always use retractometer is in good condition, should I going get a new refractometer, or use swing to compare. I will use the swing, if it is off, than I will do calibrate.
 

smfoister

Member
I've never owned a refractometer. *shrug* So far so good.

There's no magic bullet in this hobby. Sometimes "just ok" works.
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
I've never owned a refractometer. *shrug* So far so good.

There's no magic bullet in this hobby. Sometimes "just ok" works.
I have both, and I'll take a refractometer over a hydrometer ANY day! Even little bubbles on the swing arm can throw it off. Refractometers are far more accurate, and most will compensate for temperature... which can also affect accuracy. There's really no comparison...
 

silverado61

Well-Known Member
I have both, and I'll take a refractometer over a hydrometer ANY day! Even little bubbles on the swing arm can throw it off. Refractometers are far more accurate, and most will compensate for temperature... which can also affect accuracy. There's really no comparison...
One of the best investments I've made is buying a refractometer.
 

john suh

Member
Why is everyone so persistent that fish need a 2-3 hour acclamation time? I've never done it that way and never lost a fish due to my acclamation process. I think the 2-3 hours you keep them in that bag just adds more unnecessary stress.
I agree with Beth that it's most likely aggression. Especially since the tang is doing fine and I'm just guessing that the tang was acclimated the same way so why didn't it die?
Have never soaked a bag for 2-3 hours with fresh or salt and never had any issues. I suppose if the fish were being shipped from overseas sure...but all my fish are had locally, less than 20 minute drive.
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Have never soaked a bag for 2-3 hours with fresh or salt and never had any issues. I suppose if the fish were being shipped from overseas sure...but all my fish are had locally, less than 20 minute drive.
Once arrived, the most time any of my new critters spend in the bag is 15-20 minutes... just enough time for the water in the bag to acclimate to the temp of my tank water. Then it's drip acclimation time, which never goes over 1 1/2 hours for sensitive fish, and 2 1/2 - 3 hours for (highly) sensitive invertebrates.
 
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