I'm in the buy lots of fish and coral stage of my new tank. I had been having some bad experience with fish from Hidden Reef, and not so much from a lot of other places. Thankfully Everything is going into qurantine which minimizes my losses and increases my ability to treat diseases before introducing into my tank. Here is what I Found.
Hidden Reef
In my Sneak Test their fish systems are running at 1.008-1.009ppm to 1.015 in the fish Banks - 1.024 in the Coral Systems. 1.024 in the Invert Sytems
No where in the store is this advertised. Say your the average reefer and you go buy a new fish drip it for a hour and then add it to your tank. You just went from 1.009 to 1.025 in your display in 1 hour. Your almost guaranteed to kill the damn fish. I know I lost over 200 Dollars in Fish from them
Potters
Flame Angel
Mimic tang
Fairy Wrasses
In this scenario you HAVE use a qurantine system.
Feng Reef
Systems Running at 1.015. I was told of the Low Salinity and Therapeutic levels of copper in the water before purchasing. I was also advised to introduce the fish into a qurantine system with the same salinity and use the water I replaced to lower the salanity in the quarantine to top off the quarantine system over the next few days slowly raising the salinity back which is a sharp way of doing things.
The long and short of it is that I test the water my fish come in now 100% of the time. Its the smallest of things that cause MAJOR issues and Losses. In a Hobby where there is no Gurantee that a 5000 Gem Tang is going to survive its shipping, the little people like me get hurt loosing that 150 dollar Purple Tang in qurantine. Many shops are now adpoting this Lower Salnity, Formalin Medicated Water (Aquarium Center), or in some cases Quinine Sulfate to reduce disease or appearance of disease in their systems.
The Plus
Diseases are not Visible on Fish in the Store. (Good for Them)
Prolonged Use of Disease Killing Chemicals will sterilize a Fish system over time and lead to reduced fish diseases.
Lower Salinity means more Oxygen For the fish and better disease fighting abilities
The Cons
If your treating with copper you are slowly poisoning a fish. Studies have shown that copper by itself will reduce the lifespan of our fish. Prolonged use is not reccomended.
Quninie Sulfate is Great and is removed and broken down easily. Theres no test readily available for it though. Too Much and you Burn your Fish too Little and its not effective.
Its not being advertised about low salinity situations because if it was that could lead to uncomfortable questions about diseases, what kind of diseases the store has, and the origins of the shipment.
Consumers are not being told the dangers of rapid salinity shock and pH swings.
For reefers.. it means that a qurantine system is as important as the skimmer and return pump for your system. It shouldn't be optional. It should be a requirement.
Hidden Reef
In my Sneak Test their fish systems are running at 1.008-1.009ppm to 1.015 in the fish Banks - 1.024 in the Coral Systems. 1.024 in the Invert Sytems
No where in the store is this advertised. Say your the average reefer and you go buy a new fish drip it for a hour and then add it to your tank. You just went from 1.009 to 1.025 in your display in 1 hour. Your almost guaranteed to kill the damn fish. I know I lost over 200 Dollars in Fish from them
Potters
Flame Angel
Mimic tang
Fairy Wrasses
In this scenario you HAVE use a qurantine system.
Feng Reef
Systems Running at 1.015. I was told of the Low Salinity and Therapeutic levels of copper in the water before purchasing. I was also advised to introduce the fish into a qurantine system with the same salinity and use the water I replaced to lower the salanity in the quarantine to top off the quarantine system over the next few days slowly raising the salinity back which is a sharp way of doing things.
The long and short of it is that I test the water my fish come in now 100% of the time. Its the smallest of things that cause MAJOR issues and Losses. In a Hobby where there is no Gurantee that a 5000 Gem Tang is going to survive its shipping, the little people like me get hurt loosing that 150 dollar Purple Tang in qurantine. Many shops are now adpoting this Lower Salnity, Formalin Medicated Water (Aquarium Center), or in some cases Quinine Sulfate to reduce disease or appearance of disease in their systems.
The Plus
Diseases are not Visible on Fish in the Store. (Good for Them)
Prolonged Use of Disease Killing Chemicals will sterilize a Fish system over time and lead to reduced fish diseases.
Lower Salinity means more Oxygen For the fish and better disease fighting abilities
The Cons
If your treating with copper you are slowly poisoning a fish. Studies have shown that copper by itself will reduce the lifespan of our fish. Prolonged use is not reccomended.
Quninie Sulfate is Great and is removed and broken down easily. Theres no test readily available for it though. Too Much and you Burn your Fish too Little and its not effective.
Its not being advertised about low salinity situations because if it was that could lead to uncomfortable questions about diseases, what kind of diseases the store has, and the origins of the shipment.
Consumers are not being told the dangers of rapid salinity shock and pH swings.
For reefers.. it means that a qurantine system is as important as the skimmer and return pump for your system. It shouldn't be optional. It should be a requirement.
