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Many
of us have ordered fish from someone, they finally arrive, you
get them into a tank, and two weeks later
their numbers are down, and you can't figure out why. I can't
address every time a fish dies when introduced to
a new environment, but there are a number of factors that could
be responsible. I'll try to mention a few things that
have worked best for me. See "New Tank Syndrome" below, and also
Keeping Select
Aquatics Fish.
I use
USPS Express or Priority Mail, and other shipping services by
request. The fish are shipped in styrofoam
boxes, carefully impulse sealed in chambers within
breather bags . As of January 30th, 2013, the Postal Service
raised the rates. USPS, however, is still the far less
expensive option. Previously, an overnight box that carried
about 2 pairs could be done for an average of about
$35, it is now an average of about $45. That same box that
could go Priority for an average of $15, now is about
$25. However, we have a policy where if I overestimate
your cost of shipping by more than $6, I will refund
the difference back to you, so that customers are never
overcharged for shipping. In colder temperatures, $2
may be added to cover the cost of a heat pack. As the
overall weight and size of the box increases, the
postal rate increases incrementally. For information
concerning international shipping, see
About
International Shipping.
Shipping
is done when temperatures here and at their destination are
between 35 and 90 degrees.
Heat packs are used in cooler temps, but cold packs
have not been as successful at warmer temperatures,
and generally are not used. When temps are beyond those
limits, I will keep in close touch, and shipping
is postponed until safe temperatures return. Generally
overnight delivery is best in hotter weather.
I care how your
fish do after they arrive. I believe we have a responsibility to
ensure that the fish do well once they
arrive in your aquarium. Much information is provided here
that I strongly recommend you access, particularly the
Care Guides
linked from each species page, as well as the broad overviews at
Keeping Select
Aquatics Fish.
If they don't do well, I want to know, and if it can be
connected to a practice we are doing here it will be addressed.
The shipping process is also constantly being improved upon,
and losses should be the rare exception. I ask that
everyone let me know when a box is received, when it arrived,
and the condition the fish are in to fix any issues,
and ensure shipping quality for following orders.
Please contact me if the fish have difficulty, and specifics
as to the food, temperatures, feeding schedule, etc.
can be provided, as well as an effort to determine where
the fish ran into problems if they occur.
I will generally send an extra or more (depending on the size
of the order) of each species ordered to hopefully
cover any losses that may occur during shipping. There are
some species where extras cannot be sent due to
the type of fish or the numbers here, and that will be
mentioned when shipping is being arranged.
During the shipping process I will keep in close touch. We
will decide how and when to ship, and you will
receive emails as to the shipping progress, including
tracking numbers (on overnight delivery only) upon
return from the post office on the day they are shipped.
Overnight deliveries are generally shipped on Mondays and
Tuesdays, Wednesday by request. Priority Mail
is shipped on Saturday and Monday. Shipping Priority on
Saturday actually will get the package to its destination,
generally, a day earlier than when shipped on Mondays. The
mail still moves, and package travel is lighter on
weekends. During the holiday period package travel is far
greater, overnight guarantees are often suspended
to many locations, and the boxes that are shipped may not
receive the handling care expected the rest of the
year. For this reason, shipping is suspended from November
15th to January 10th. Orders may still be taken,
and following January 10th, when temperatures are above
freezing, the fish can then be shipped with heat packs.
Receiving Shipped
Fish:
1. When I prepare to
receive new fish, I have an empty
tank prepared for them to
acclimate to, with plants
to hide in,
possibly a very thin layer of
gravel, a working
filter, a top that provides
full cover from jumping out, a
heater
(if necessary), and no or low light.
After opening the box, but before I open the first bag or
container, I get a pH and
a hardness test
kit to test the water the
fish have arrived in. That way I will know how far "away" my
water is from what
the fish are
accustomed to. This dictates the speed of the acclimation
process, and my possibly needing to add some
calcium to my water, as I know ahead of time that my water is
particularly soft.
2. Then, when
introducing any fish to a new source of
water, I will drip
acclimate. Drip acclimating is simply this:
Open the bag or container the fish came in and empty it into
another empty open container, such as a "shoebox"
style plastic box. If need be, tip the new container (If new,
rinse thoroughly first- of course, no cleansers), up at one
end to allow the fish to be covered by the water they came in.
Then set up a length of airline tube from an established
aquarium or container of your dechlorinated water to a plastic
air valve, going into the water the fish were shipped in
so that a drop falls in about every 3-5 seconds. I have seen
some fishkeepers that will simply tie the airline into a
loose knot to accomplish this. Be sure to cover
the container so that the fish cannot jump out. Keep an eye on
it, and
watch the fish for any signs of
distress every few minutes. If they begin to act oddly, turn off
drip and wait 20 minutes
or so before
resuming. When you have doubled the amount of water they came in
you can then begin to slowly
increase the flow rate. The entire process should take at least
an hour, for they need to be given time to physically
adapt, particularly if the pH or hardness differ by more than a slight
amount.
If you received
the fish from Select Aquatics, then use this time send an email
or text to let us know what condition the
fish were in when they arrived, (303-204-8662,
selectaquatics@gmail.com ) and whatever information
you can provide
that might help us continue to improve the shipping process.
3. Then I will put them into
a bag to be floated, or float that container, possibly with a
little baby brine shrimp for
them
to eat for 10-15 minutes to even out
the temperatures. If
they are being put into a tank with other fish, I will also be
sure to
feed the other fish well so that they will be less likely to
nip or bother the new tankmates. When one fish meets
another, it has only 3 concerns- Will you eat me, do I want to
eat you and/or can we mate with one another. Feeding
everyone well removes one of those options. If you take this
opportunity to give them some BBS before being released,
be sure to release them after no more than a couple hours, for
the BBS will foul the small amount of water they are in
and possibly kill the fish if left for too long.
Then slowly let them go into the tank, keeping the
light off, a cover on
the tank (fish will be less likely to jump out later,
once acclimated.) Once they settle, introduce the light and
lightly feed some dry food. If quarantining them in a transition
tank, keep them in that tank one week,
then, assuming water
conditions are the same where they are going, float them
about 10 minutes to ensure the
temperatures are equal
before letting them go into their new home.
_________________________________________________________
"New tank syndrome" - What it is
and how to avoid it:
Fish
emit wastes through both digestion and respiration, far more
than what can be seen by looking at the tank. In an
established aquarium, bacteria that have built up over time
process that waste, and as long as waste is not produced
faster than the bacteria can digest it, the tank stays stable.
By stable I mean that toxic substances (such as ammonia,
nitrites, nitrates) do not accumulate. Those substances, when
allowed to develop and build up, will quickly kill fish.
"New tank syndrome" is simply a fresh
body of water being inundated with wastes it doesn't yet have
the bacteria to
process. Lethal
amounts of toxic substances accumulate during normal biological
activity, and the fish die. The
average time for a tank to "crash" is understood to
be15 days. But there are a number of solutions-
The best solution is to start a new tank with water from an
established tank, filling the new tank at least 10%. But
since anyone having that as an option available
to them would not be reading this, the next best option is-
- Get water from a
disease free established
tank at a friend's or from the local fish store. Anyone keeping
fish
successfully must do regular
water changes, so water
should be always available.
- This
next solution works well, without the need to get
water from anywhere else. Before adding the fish, fill
the tank
with dechlorinated water and a
light sprinkling of dry food, and if possible, have it sit for
awhile- a few days- with the
filter or an airstone going. When
everything is ready for the fish (the water is totally clear,
filter is added, heater,
etc.),
go ahead and put them in, and feed
fairly lightly the first few days.
Now here's the important part. Take out and replace about 20% of
the water every 3 days for the first 2 weeks. This
allows the bacteria to develop over those first 2 weeks while
preventing a buildup that will adversely affect the fish. If the
tank ever becomes cloudy, change 10-20%
at those times as well. At about 3 weeks you can then go to a
normal 20%
once a week water changing
schedule. Never get into the habit of simply adding water to a
tank simply to replace water
that had
evaporated. By doing so you are actually concentrating toxins in
the water that need to be removed.
If a fish arrives DOA:
This happens rarely, and I will make
every effort to ensure that your fish arrive healthy. If a fish
does arrive that
has died in transit,
please email me immediately at
selectaquatics@gmail.com or call
or text me at (303) 204-8662.If
you
observe something that could have improved the shipment process,
please let me know. I guarantee live delivery
on overnight shipping by including an extra individual or two on
all shipments and/or by replacing the fish at no
charge that died in transit. (Does not include shipping).
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