How The Heck Could This Fish Have Died So Early In Acclimation?

[eschaton]

So, I stop by the LFS to pick up bloodworms, and see clown killifish, which I've been trying to find for awhile. I decide to buy a pair for breeding. It's cold out here, but the car remained pretty warm. I make two stops before home for holiday shopping, each place staying no longer than 10 minutes.

I get home, and the fish are fine. Float the bags to deal with temperature differential. Begin acclimating some Otocinclus I bought by pouring them into a tank "sidecar" and then slowly adding water (figured they'd go first because I think they generally come from well-oxygenated waters).

After the Otos are done acclimating, I open up the bag. Both the Killies are alive, though the male looks a bit washed out. I pour them into the sidecar, but add no tank water. The male, despite worse color, comes through fine, the female belly-flops, starts doing some half-cocked barrel rolls, and is dead within two minutes. The male has regained his color and is looking pretty good.

I'll probably go back for another female provided the male makes it through the next few days, but I'm just shocked because I can't think of anything here I did wrong - I didn't even have a chance to add water, which could have caused a PH swing or something.

Also, this is a LFS where I'm on pretty good terms with the owner and the staff - do you guys think I should try to get a replacement female for free?

 

[Mikaila31]

It could of been simply from shock. I'm not familiar with killies, but when I was moving my rummy nosed tetras from my quarantine tank to the main tank. Most of them where laying on their side in the bag and I had caught all of them with in 5 minuets. Some where even showing signs of shock before I caught them, luckily I didn't lose any.

I would try again, but head home right away. If the fish starts getting really stressed out, I suggest using a pump and airstone in the bag. Also turning off tank and/or room lights will reduce the stress on the fish.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What is the ph of the petshop tanks and your tank? I guess its posible they could have died from ph shock if the ph of the tanks was a lot different, however i am unsure of how long in general this takes to kill a fish.

Also what is the temp of the petshops tanks and your one? The fishs bag may not have cooled down that much in your car, but if the temp difference between the tanks was a fair amount to begin with, that would not have helped.

Also are you positive that nothing nasty got on the fishs bag or in the tank, like maybe any spilt chemicals or oil in the car which the fishes bag was then accidentally placed upon- if the bag was then floated in the tank, any chemicals the fishes bag came into contact with could then get into the tank if the bag was placed in the tank; some chemicals are very lethal towards fish and can kill them in minutes.

 

[BigC]

Hi,
I have bred these by the hundreds and they can be a bit skitish and prone to sudden shock, also
Ps annulatus can be a little bit delicate when acclimatising. You should alway test the water in the bag from the dealers or ask he/she to present you with an breakdown of their tank stats, then try to replicate them as close as possible. A much slower drip style aclimatising method would probably have worked even better in this case.
Regards
BigC

 

[eschaton]

What is the ph of the petshop tanks and your tank? I guess its posible they could have died from ph shock if the ph of the tanks was a lot different, however i am unsure of how long in general this takes to kill a fish.

Also what is the temp of the petshops tanks and your one? The fishs bag may not have cooled down that much in your car, but if the temp difference between the tanks was a fair amount to begin with, that would not have helped.

Also are you positive that nothing nasty got on the fishs bag or in the tank, like maybe any spilt chemicals or oil in the car which the fishes bag was then accidentally placed upon- if the bag was then floated in the tank, any chemicals the fishes bag came into contact with could then get into the tank if the bag was placed in the tank; some chemicals are very lethal towards fish and can kill them in minutes.

As I said, I didn't actually add any tank water yet. I poured out the Otocinclus, and then poured the clown killie bag into the then totally empty plastic hanging container. There were maybe a few drops of water left in the bottom, but it was inconsequential I would think.

The fish store keeps their tanks at about 78 degrees, same as I do. I wondered if there was temperature shock at first myself (I know that if you don't leave a bag to float the water can suddenly deoxygenate), but when I put my finger into the tank-hanging thing and the tank itself I felt no difference in temperature.

I don't see how chemicals could have gotten into the sealed bag. I had it on my passenger seat regardless.

I did pour the fish into the little plastic hanging thing (what the heck is the name for those anyway?) rather fast, because I find when I'm introducing fish they often get stuck in the bag if I pour too slow. I guess it's possible the fish entered when there was very little water and brained itself against the plastic. It's about the best reason I can figure anyway.