help quick, cleaner shrimp is very stressed - he may not make it

[jimrawr]

Ok, here is the situation. A friend of mine has a cleaner shrimp that looks like its about to die(he says he is just laying on his side but hes alive). He was selling a lot of stuff from his tank, and he stirred the sand bed a lot, so a lot of nitrites were released into the water. All his inverts died and the cleaner is in serious shock. Now I am going to pick up the shrimp from him in a few hours if it is still alive, but I have a question on how to acclimate him. I know the SG of friends tank is around 1.029 or so, really high, and mine is at 1.025. So when I get the shrimp from his tank, in a bag with his tank water, should I just dump him right into my tank or should I still acclimate him to the salinity?

I want to get him quickly out of that water, but I dont want the SG to shock him now either.. what should I do when i get him??

[jimrawr]

I could make some water right now with a higher SG, but I will have the shrimp in a few hours and dont know if thats enough time for the salt to disolve

[tranman]

You will have to (must) acclimate the shrimp first.
Dumping him in your tank (tho s.g. is lower) will certainly shock and kill him.
Drip acclimate him in another bucket for about 30-40 minutes before placing him in your tank.

[jimrawr]

Hm alright. Is it easier going from a higher salinity to a lower one?

[dippin61]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9191382#post9191382 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tranman
You will have to (must) acclimate the shrimp first.
Dumping him in your tank (tho s.g. is lower) will certainly shock and kill him.
Drip acclimate him in another bucket for about 30-40 minutes before placing him in your tank.

make that 2-4 hours and your on the right track.

that is waaaay to fast for an invert, especially since he's coming from a tank with a very high salinity.

Personally, i acclimate all inverts like this. And sometimes longer. Normally everything in my tank is acclimated anywheres from 4-6 hours

[jimrawr]

4-6 hours? I dont have a dripper to acclimate for so long, needs to be done manually....

[tranman]

If you want to drip acclimate for more than 45 mins. i.e 2-4 hours. you will most likely need a mini underwater heater in the bucket. depending on your climate there.

Heat loss increases very fast.
I notice the temp. in my acclimation bucket drops considerably after 30 so minutes.

"Is it easier going from a higher salinity to a lower one?". - easier in what regards?
As long as the salinity (s.g) drops or raise very very slowly, it should be easy for the invert.

[jimrawr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9191950#post9191950 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tranman

"Is it easier going from a higher salinity to a lower one?". - easier in what regards?
As long as the salinity (s.g) drops or raise very very slowly, it should be easy for the invert. [/B]

I thought that since higher SG = lower oxygen levels, that going from a higher SG to lower is easier on any livestock than going from a lower to higher level.

That may just be 100% false, just asking..

[steri]

I think maybe a 1 to one and a half hour acclimation would be sufficient. I usually acclimate about 1 and a 1/2 to 2 hours, but I think you can be a bit shorter then that if you really want to try and get him in better water faster. It's just my opinon though, and I manually drip. I think a 4 hour acclimation is good, but personally, I think fish are naturally stressed out in the tiny environment they are in when they are being acclimated. I worry about over-killing the acclimation period, so that's why I aim for about a 1.5 to 2 hour acclimation.

One drip per second and take out .25 to .33 cups of water every 20 min or so. You'll be good! Hopefully the shrimp makes it.

[steri]

Well, with the salinity that different, maybe 1 drip every 2 secs.