Fish finally arrived - question on acclimating

[laurie01]

I finally got my first order from SWF.com! I'm excited about my fish (but slightly annoyed at FedEx).

I got a lionfish, foxface, SFE and a coral banded shrimp (I only have a maroon clown and a chocolate chip star right now, who have been alone for almost a year).
I have been waiting since about 11:00 am for the FedEx truck to show up; especially so I have time to acclimate them correctly. Normally, they are here between 12 & 2. Had to do a quick errand; still weren't here when I got back at 2:30, just looked outside (it's 4:00pm here) - and lo and behold - there my fish were just sitting by side door. It seems that FedEx never even bothered to ring the doorbell - you think they could have.
Now, I have to leave again in 30 minutes for 3 hours - it makes more sense to me just to leave the box sitting inside unopened unitl I get back; then drip acclimate the fish properly. What do you all think?
thanks,
Laurie

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by laurie01
http:///forum/post/2680448
I finally got my first order from SWF.com! I'm excited about my fish (but slightly annoyed at FedEx).

I got a lionfish, foxface, SFE and a coral banded shrimp (I only have a maroon clown and a chocolate chip star right now, who have been alone for almost a year).
I have been waiting since about 11:00 am for the FedEx truck to show up; especially so I have time to acclimate them correctly. Normally, they are here between 12 & 2. Had to do a quick errand; still weren't here when I got back at 2:30, just looked outside (it's 4:00pm here) - and lo and behold - there my fish were just sitting by side door. It seems that FedEx never even bothered to ring the doorbell - you think they could have.
Now, I have to leave again in 30 minutes for 3 hours - it makes more sense to me just to leave the box sitting inside unopened unitl I get back; then drip acclimate the fish properly. What do you all think?
thanks,
Laurie
You don't have much choice, acclimation is crucial; but SWF says they should last two days, you should be all right. Next time, have them shipped to a FedEx pick up point; you can get them at 9AM.

 

[laurie01]

thank you - I did decide to wait. It didn't make sense to open the box earlier. I'm now back at home & will start. Unfortunately, my FedEx pick up point is 1.5 hrs from my house.

 

[laurie01]

I have a question - I got my new lion to eat today-frozen (well, thawed) shrimp!!!! I was rather excited...but I have a question, as I learned a couple very quick lessons and I hope it's not too late. I gave the lion a piece of shrimp (soaked in garlic juice & Vitachem); he took it quickly. Not seeing any buldge at all, I offered another, but I think this one was cut too large. He was able to swallow it, but since then has just hung around in one spot in the aquarium, not moving really. He is breathing normally and doesn't look stressed at all - kind of reminds me of a person who has eaten about twice the amount of food they should have at Thanksgiving dinner and can't move from the couch with a bloated stomach.
Lessons learned - 1. Lionfish remind me of dogs during feeding time; they will eat just about all that is put in front of them, whether or not they are hungry (also like my 15 yr old son...). 2. NEVER do this again. Make sure to feed smaller pieces (and of course not too many or too often).
I have been reading threads on here about lions dying from intestinal blockages from overfeeding (before the food can be digested). Now I'm worried that I just signed the death sentence for my brand new fish. Any thoughts?
Also, another question - is it normal for snowflake eels to hide for several days? He was swimming around the tank last night for a while when I first put him in. This morning, I couldn't find him - and I still haven't seen him. I hope he's not laying dead under a rock at the back of the tank or something like that. Does anyone know?
Laurie

 

[laurie01]

Snowflake eel, coral banded shrimp & lionfish are all dead.

- Nevermind-I just went looking for the foxface, because I didn't see him this morning- tank lights are not on yet (he is fine), and found the coral banded shrimp hiding behind a rock!
Anyway, Friday evening, I found the eel out in the front corner of the tank - with a hermit crab sitting on top of it helping itself to dinner. The eel was of course dead. Went looking for the shrimp - found he had also been attacked & was dead. (Now that he has returned fom the dead - he must have molted & it was the old shell I saw. I assumed it was the actual shrimp, because the shell was not out in front where it usualy would be.) My lionfish was acting normal and appeared healthy. Last night, I returned home from dinner and found him lying dead in the back corner of the tank (he was fine when I left - perched on top of the rocks out in front). I contacted Saltwaterfish.com about a credit for the lion & have to mail him back tomorrow morning.
I checked all my water parameters - they are fine:
NH3 - 0mg/L
NO2 - 0 mg/L
NO3 - < 10 mg/L (don't have a low-range nitrate test kit)
pH - 8.2
SpG - 1.024
On a more amusing note - it seems as though the foxface has managed to drag my clownfish out of his hiding spot. My clown now swims in & out of the rocks with the foxface, and they go hunting for food together.