Acclimation death

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Jme

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I've been keeping fish 10+ years. Today, I bought 7 Rummy nosed tetras with an hour commute time. I acclimated them as usual and one died. Another is trying to die. I've never had fish die in the acclimation process. Any ideas? Water parameters are good.
 
Always give us the test readings for any tests you take, and the water parameters (GH, pH, temperature here). There could be a significant variation between these of the tank water and the store water, though in my experience this is not usually fatal.

This is a delicate species. It was almost certain to be under stress in the store tank, and/or it may have been injured in netting. There could be genetic issues internally.

During the transport home, were they kept warm? It is winter (assume in Ohio cold) and any substantial chilling can cause fish to weaken and even die soon after. And in the dark during transport--this does make quite a difference as they will be much less stressed if the bag is in a "cooler" that is dark as well as keeping the warmer temperature.
 
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We had rummynose tetras do this in the shop. It was caused by newly imported fish not getting enough time to adjust to different water conditions. They would be kept in really acid water in Asia and put into slightly acid water here but they would either die straight away, or be really nervous and skittish for the next few weeks. If we did a water change within 2 weeks of them coming in, they all went belly up.

We used to hold these fish for about a month before selling them because of this issue.

A slight change in water chemistry (pH, GH or KH) can be enough to kill them.

If the fish had only come in recently, the transport stress is enough to kill them.

If the shop assistant chased the fish around the tank, it can kill them.

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Contact the shop and let them know what is going on. Maybe take the bodies and a sample of tank water to the shop so they can test it.
If you do take fish and a sample of water in, take them in separate containers so the dead fish don't affect the water quality.

Compare GH, pH and KH with the shop tank.

Keep pictures and records of any more deaths.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the responses.

I do not measure GH and KH. Just PH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I do have hard water, but PH is consistent at 7.6. Zero ammonia and nitrite. 30 ppm nitrate. I use the API Master Test Kit. Temp 80.

Four of the seven have died so far. I didn't realize they were so fragile. I wrapped them up in my coat on my way home, but I'm sure that there was some cooling as I didn't transport them with a heater. I guess buying them locally from here on out is probably a good idea. I've just never had losses like that.
 
Your pH might be stable on 7.6 but what is the pH of the shop tank?
How long had the fish been at the shop for?
How long did it take the shop assistant to catch the fish?

Temperature shock doesn't do this, especially if you floated the bag in the tank for 10-15 minutes before releasing the fish. And if the bag was wrapped in a towel or jacket and it was in a car, and the inside of the car wasn't extremely cold, it didn't cause this.

Once the fish have settled into a tank, they are pretty tough, but they either come into the shop good, or they need time to settle in.
 
I don't know the ph of the tank I got them from. Water in Ohio tends to be hard, so it wasn't something I even thought about... I assumed they were like other tetras I have. I assumed wrong. Only one is still alive. I don't intend on trying to mess with the ph. I guess it's a hard lesson learned: pay closer attention to PH.
 
Ring the shop and ask them what the pH, GH & KH of their tank is, and ask them to contact their supplier to find out what the pH, GH and KH of the supplier's tank was.
 
I do not measure GH and KH.
Find out how hard your water is, in numbers not words, before you get any more fish. The water company may publish it in a water quality report on their website.
 

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