Hoplo Tragedy

[SirHelm]

Well I just got my 6 Hoplos which had been shipped to me. So far 3 have died and the other 3 are 50-50. I am somewhat traumitized. I put them into my established 25 gallon tank with has 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and is a balmy 75 degrees. I conditioned them in the bag for about 20 minutes and then dropped them in. (NOTE: 2 of them did not look to good when they arrived in the first place). 3 of them immediatley went into shock and layed on their sides. An hour later they were dead...

The other 3 are still alive and are moving around.

These 6 hoplos had been shipped from NY via priority express mail (2 day). They were packaged in a styrofoam box, with a heat pad.

What have your experiences been with having fish shipped to you. Did I do something wrong, or are there acceptable losses when gettting fish shipped?

I am hesitant to have fish shipped to me again. Which is too bad, cuz the fish store has great prices, and can get pretty much anything!

Thanks

SH

[Silurus]

I think the loss rate is too high in this case. I've had fish shipped to me using priority mail that would die in about one third of the cases (this always happens in winter/late fall, so I strongly suspect that the cold weather in transit helped do them in), so my advice to you is to have the fish shipped overnight (I've never lost a fish that way yet).

[Rusty]

You didn't do anything wrong, but that isn't an acceptable loss rate. Did the shipper use tranquilizers (e.g. MS222, tricaine)? The only bad experience we've had was when the shipper overdosed on them (and killed a huge S. dhonti and 2 tangainicae). Were the fish in breather bags or normal bags? The 2nd day shipping shouldn't have been a problem. I've gotten fish shipped third day and they were fine. Did the fish have noticable ammonia burns?

Rusty

[SirHelm]

mmmm.. i will check the bodies!

I have kept them to do a post mortem later today. Weird thing is, is the all 3 of the dark colored with black spots hoplos died, whereas all of the light amber ones survivied. That was sorta weird.

They were packaged in a regular large "baggie" that you usually get when you get fish. They were double bagged.

What is a breather bag?

I did some research on how to recieve fish via mail. The articles were pretty adamant that great care is required in acclimating them to the tank. I had left the bags in the water for 20 minutes, but I did not gradually add tank water into the bag.... that could have been my error.

BTW what do ammonia burns look like? I would assume patches/or spots of missing scales/flesh etc...??


Thanks
SH

[Rusty]

Breather bags are bags made out of a porous material that allows gas exchange between the bag and the world. To be effective, they have to be filled to the absoulute brim with water, with no gas inside.

Ammonia burns look like ordinary burns (discolored, odd looking patches). Couldn't find a pic online though.

Rusty

[vulkoq]

I had left the bags in the water for 20 minutes, but I did not gradually add tank water into the bag.... that could have been my error.

That would be my semi-educated guess. There's probably a difference between the pH values of the tank water and the merchant's water, as well as other chemical differences. The fish were acclimated to the temp but not the water chemistry, and the sudden chemical change could have put them into shock. After a long flight they were probably pretty burned out to begin with and perhaps the added stress was too much.

[SirHelm]

Thanks for all of your advise. I have 2 hoplos left. One seems to be doing quite well. The other seems to be frantically swimming to the top of the tank and free fall back to the bottom where he lays on his side. If touched he will do the exact same thing (needless to say I only touched him once...).

Thanks

SH

[manman01]

so sorry to hear

[SirHelm]

Well I am down to 1 hoplo left. I can't find the 2nd surviving guy so I am assuming the worst. The last guy has some missing scales around his head... don't know why....

Anyways the good news is that the fish guy I got them from is sending me 6 more free of charge. This time I will ensure that everthing is done properly!!

SH