Originally Posted by
SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2737896
I guess post water parameters... you're doing everything right.
I'm like the others here... these fish are tough as nails. I've had one in my [severely] neglected nano for years.. he's a great little fish.
One thing you might consider... I can't remember the exact science behind it, but when fish are shipped, opening the bag can cause a severe ammonia spike in the water in the bag. Acclimating too slowly can leave the fish in this elevated ammonia environment too long, causing gill burn which results in death within hours to days.
If this is a fish you ordered online, I'd consider placing a few drops of Seachem Prime into the bag or acclimation container immediately to neutralize any ammonia that has built up. I do this with every fish nowadays after losing two Emperor angels in succession to ammonia.
IMO Most of the time acclimating fish is achieved successfully with the drip method. However, depending on how long the live stock has been bagged for, there are things to consider if your live stock repeatedly die from acclimation shock. If the fish has been bagged for longer than 24hrs there is a major reaction that happens the moment you open the bag. The rapid escape of CO2 and the rapid introduction of O2 causing major pH swings along with increasing ammonia toxicity. There were a few articles I read a while back with some tips, pointers and ideas with acclimating fish that have been bagged for certain lengths of time. Methods included the typical drip method for some scenarios and in other instances 20 min temp acclimation and add the fish immediately to your QT was stated too. Weighing out the pros and cons of the fishes health depending on the time spent bagged conclusions were based on what method would increase the fishes success rate. Although none proved to be 100% successful...
