# Just got my new fish. First fish addition in months!



## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Hello folks. 

I'm excited to say I picked up a HUGE and FAT lawnmower blenny!!! . 

He's acclimating right now and I've named him john deer LOL. Hopefully he will have plenty to eat and accept algae wafers that I don't have a use for. This is my first fish since November when I added my clowns . 

Probably will be it for my Red Sea max 130 as it's only 34 gallons. I don't want an overcrowded tank. 

When I set up my 120 in the future I'll get more . Till now I picked a fun, practical and in my opinion beautiful and under rated fish 


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Very nice !
Congratulations - I love these fish!
Good luck and keep us posted


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Well, I acclimated for 75 minutes and dripped water in. He's in the tank and seems a little stressed at the moment. Unsure, and breathing heavy. 

The cleaner shrimp is REALLY curious to anything new in the tank and he's not excluded from the curiosity of the shrimp. 

I'm hoping that all goes well. I know adding fish can be a stressful time for them so only time will tell. 

Hoping "john Deere" pulls through . My tank is pretty well maintained so should be good 


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Looks as though he's dying. 


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Lights out should help 
See what tomorrow brings


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

It's dead. John Deere didn't make it folks. I did everything I could to make it acclimated. 

RIP.  

I added a emerald crab and he's doing fine. He's already eating away at algae so I'm confused as to what happened. This is partly why I waited so long to add fish. This is exactly what I was worried about. 

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## marblerye (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow that was sudden..? Sorry for your loss.

All within a matter of a few hours.. was it temperature shock or pH shock? How long was it in the bag from when you picked him out at the store til you got him home and floating the bag in your tank?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

sometimes the fish is already stressed from the previous shipment and they can't handle the stress of another move.

It's the chance you take with saltwater


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Wow that is very sad. I'm sorry about that
Yes I agree with other members that it must have been PH, salinity, parameters off or could just be shock which sometimes can happen.
Don't give up. Our marine friends can be challenging sometimes


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## mules (Oct 29, 2013)

That sucks. We've all had losses. Where did you get this fish?


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Well, today made a stop in the LFS and they had a cute little 6 line wrasse and happy to report he's gorging himself on bugs on the live rock and accepted some misis shrimp a couple hours ago. He's a busy fish and seems to be enjoying the caves and crevices in the live rock!!! 

The clowns so far have accepted him and pretty much ignore him as he picks away at the rocks . Even when in there "territory" of the tank he's fine. 

This time instead of 75 drip I did 120 minute drip and than a temp acclimation. Smooth transition and within minutes he was picking away at rocks in the tank . 


So far so good and he's a pretty cute fish !!!! 


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Yay!
Good news!
All the best !!!


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Hopefully my peppermint shrimp doesn't become dinner for the 6 line. 


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

I'm looking for a skunk cleaner shrimp so if you have one and you are worried I can buy from you !


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## uniboob (Dec 29, 2012)

IMO a 75min and definitely a 120min drip is not needed for fish unless it is coming from very low salinity. 

How do you acclimate if I may ask as most ways will cause more stress then good. Sorry for your loss, don't give up  


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

I place the bag in a pale and open it. Than I get air line tube. Put knots in it and drip about 1 drop per second or two seconds. And than make sure the temp is within range.

I've done two clowns and coral with no issues. The blenny was weird. He looked healthy.

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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

We found the temperature drop was an issue doing drips like you do. So 2 suggestions, which you could try. One easy, one not so easy.

First. Get a box from the LFS that they use for shipping the fish. The smallest one you can get. We built foam partitions inside it, and use some large plastic bags for just acclimation inside the foam box. It helps keep the temperature more similar to the tank temp. This is our summer drip procedure, when the house is warm.

In the winter, our house is rarely above 65 degrees. Long story. Vey old, very un insulated. So our preferred drip method is to do this:
Float bag in tank, un opened for about 20 minutes to adjust temp of bag to match tank.
Cut open bag entirely along top with scissors.
Dump 25% of water out of bag and discard water.
Replace the water removed from bag w same amount of tank water, approximately, fold over top of bag, use small compression clamp and clamp bag so that it is still floating inside of tank to keep the temps the same.
Repeat as many times as desired over as long as you want. We do this 4 or 5 times over the course of an hour and a half or so.
Eventually, you will have replaced almost all of the store water w tank water and also kept the temp stable.
I like this method a lot, because it really holds the temp stable. It's a little messier to deal with and a few more towels are required, but now, I just do it with all my new purchases that need acclimation, as I always found the temp drop with the drip method to be really stressful.
Taught to me by the guys at CRS in Burlington.


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

That's a good one too! The temp is the thing that is hard to do and maintain water exchange. 

I worry about proper air exchange as well with drip. Drip I feel really eliminates the LFS water entering the tank. 


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

aquaman1 said:


> That's a good one too! The temp is the thing that is hard to do and maintain water exchange.
> 
> I worry about proper air exchange as well with drip. Drip I feel really eliminates the LFS water entering the tank.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The new water coming into the bag has air in it. And it's only 1 fish in the bag, which has already survived a trip from who knows where in a bag with no air exchange except what's in there.
With either method, no store water goes into the tank.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Awesome advice Crayon - thanks !
I will keep this on file for my next addition
I definitely agree that snails, shrimps etc need longer acclimation but fish should be ok with a float for temp unless there are large salinity swings between LFS and home aquarium - which I think there generally are !
Thanks again and good luck Aquaman ! Keep us posted !


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## UrbnRzqr (May 31, 2013)

Crayon said:


> We found the temperature drop was an issue doing drips like you do. So 2 suggestions, which you could try. One easy, one not so easy.
> 
> First. Get a box from the LFS that they use for shipping the fish. The smallest one you can get. We built foam partitions inside it, and use some large plastic bags for just acclimation inside the foam box. It helps keep the temperature more similar to the tank temp. This is our summer drip procedure, when the house is warm.
> 
> ...


I too quit the drip method, I put my finger in my drip pail one time and was surprised how cool the water was.

Even with styro foam I think it would difficult to maintain temp because of how long the method takes.

I do what Crayon does but don't find it to be that messy. Have my lights dimmed when I acclimate.


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## marblerye (Jul 25, 2010)

+1 for Crayon's second method.

Exactly how I acclimate my new fish since the beginning. However, keep in mind doing these methods skip quarantine which I highly recommend for all new stock. I noticed a big Al's fish bag in Aquaman's pic; no LFS has perfectly healthy and disease free fish and if you are unlucky to bring an unhealthy one home and it does huge issues to the rest of your tankmates then it's a bigger headache.

Also side note a stressed fish can lead to it becoming diseased.

Hope that helps.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*quarantine*

quarantine is the best practice... for those that have the space or set up .or lets face it patience .

im not a supporter of big als , but I will say I have had better luck with big als fish then the reef shops that bring in on thurs and sell for fri.
when I see something I like I will watch it and usually if u talk to the fish room attendant or manager they will put him aside for u for a pick up at a later time .anyways that's what I have done and had luck doing so not necc big als is a bad spot to buy fish ..I choose not to mention the places I have bought from and at full price that drop dead as soon as they get in tank with in a few hours or with in the week ....they are all not perfect .


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Yes I gambled with no QT but last time a did a QT for my planted tank half the fish died when placed in DT tank. So I spent a month cleaning doing WC and really felt like a waste of time. 

I know I really should have done a QT but I made sure the whole tank looked good and they had him for a bit. Also, he looked super healthy and fat so I took my chances and playing with fire. 

Fingers crossed  


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Well after a few days he or she is doing great!!!! Eating tons and really healthy so far. Chasing around pellets and picking at rocks !!! . 

I like when things work out! 


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Great news 
Thanks for the update !


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Finally got a pic! Lol. Fast bugger









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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

He's a beauty
Nice addition !


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