Alright, I know I have been asking a lot of questions lately, but I could really use some advice on this one...
So, when my doorbell rang at 8 a.m. this morning I was super excited to see that my long awaited AB gift had arrived a whole day early! I have skipped class all day today to monitor Diablo's acclimation and something is very wrong. I first noticed when he was in his little bag he was holding himself sideways but thought that was maybe just due to size constraints since the bag was SOOO tiny!
I have been acclimating him slowly- or so I thought? I gradually brought him into the light over about a 20 minute period. That may have been too fast? I then floated him in his tank (which is in the kitchen, fairly well lit, again maybe too much light too soon...) for about 30-40 minutes. Then I opened the bag, clipped him to the side of his tank(7.5 gal, 78 degrees w/ heater, ph and nitrate normal, tetra whisper filter). I added 1 teaspoon of tank water to his bag water ever 20 minutes. When it started to get pretty full, i would remove some of the bag water with a turkey baster and replace it with tank water- again, about a teaspoon worth. I stretched this process out for 6.5 hours. I read on a few sites that only an hour acclimation is required, and then some threads on here that some take a whole day. Maybe 6.5 hours was too fast?
I just released him into his tank, and he is giving me some super mixed signals. When he goes to the surface for air, he darts up so fast I am afraid he he going to launch out like a rocket! He is sooo fast!. He has been exploring and active. But he still holds himself tilted when he swims or hovers (looks like this-> \), and twice now I have caught him just laying on his side on the bottom of the tank! I panic and when he sees me get close he just snaps out of it and keeps swimming around or darts up for air again like a rocket. I turned off his filter because he seemed to be getting worked by it. More concerning to me is his rapid breathing that I have noticed since I unboxed him. It still seems very fast.
Does anyone have any suggestions!? I would be sooo appreciative...
I included a photo of him holding himself sideways.
So, when my doorbell rang at 8 a.m. this morning I was super excited to see that my long awaited AB gift had arrived a whole day early! I have skipped class all day today to monitor Diablo's acclimation and something is very wrong. I first noticed when he was in his little bag he was holding himself sideways but thought that was maybe just due to size constraints since the bag was SOOO tiny!
I have been acclimating him slowly- or so I thought? I gradually brought him into the light over about a 20 minute period. That may have been too fast? I then floated him in his tank (which is in the kitchen, fairly well lit, again maybe too much light too soon...) for about 30-40 minutes. Then I opened the bag, clipped him to the side of his tank(7.5 gal, 78 degrees w/ heater, ph and nitrate normal, tetra whisper filter). I added 1 teaspoon of tank water to his bag water ever 20 minutes. When it started to get pretty full, i would remove some of the bag water with a turkey baster and replace it with tank water- again, about a teaspoon worth. I stretched this process out for 6.5 hours. I read on a few sites that only an hour acclimation is required, and then some threads on here that some take a whole day. Maybe 6.5 hours was too fast?
I just released him into his tank, and he is giving me some super mixed signals. When he goes to the surface for air, he darts up so fast I am afraid he he going to launch out like a rocket! He is sooo fast!. He has been exploring and active. But he still holds himself tilted when he swims or hovers (looks like this-> \), and twice now I have caught him just laying on his side on the bottom of the tank! I panic and when he sees me get close he just snaps out of it and keeps swimming around or darts up for air again like a rocket. I turned off his filter because he seemed to be getting worked by it. More concerning to me is his rapid breathing that I have noticed since I unboxed him. It still seems very fast.
Does anyone have any suggestions!? I would be sooo appreciative...
I included a photo of him holding himself sideways.