low salinity from live aquaria?

[ryanpal]

hey guys.

i just received my new arrivals from live aquaria. i did a salinity test and the refractometer shows around 1.020ish. i tested with RO water to make sure it was calibrated correctly (which shows 0).

anyone else have this experience? if there anything else i should check?

thanks

 

[JohnS_323]

hey guys.

i just received my new arrivals from live aquaria. i did a salinity test and the refractometer shows around 1.020ish. i tested with RO water to make sure it was calibrated correctly (which shows 0).

anyone else have this experience? if there anything else i should check?

thanks

Unfortunately, that is somewhat typical of a lot of LFS's and online stores. Fish are less likely to be symptomatic of a parasite infestation at a lower salinity. Plus, the savings in salt add up over time.

 

[jonathan.]

hey guys.

i just received my new arrivals from live aquaria. i did a salinity test and the refractometer shows around 1.020ish. i tested with RO water to make sure it was calibrated correctly (which shows 0).

anyone else have this experience? if there anything else i should check?

thanks

Unfortunately, that is somewhat typical of a lot of LFS's and online stores. Fish are less likely to be symptomatic of a parasite infestation at a lower salinity. Plus, the savings in salt add up over time.

Very true. I keep our salinity at Petco at 1.020 as well.

 

[blange3]

That is pretty much standard practice to reduce stress.

Make sure you take your time and acclimate the new arrivals to prevent shocking them by a dramtic change in salinity.

 

[mott768]

That's one of the reasons why Liveaquaria highly recommends you drip acclimate. Trop does the same thing, last time I got a fish there and tested the water it was 1.019

 

[NYPDFrogman]

you'll also find the PH is rather low also, 7.8-7.6
this is due to the small quantity of water in the bag and the ammonia waste the fish produces.
I've been told by a couple of wholesalers that fish aren't as active in lower PH.
not sure if I agree, but in any case take your time dripping any fish into your tank!

 

[ryanpal]

i always drip acclimate. as a matter of fact i even dropped the salinity in the QT tanks so the change isn't too dramatic.

i'll slowly increase prior to putting in the main display tank