Shipping Damage!!

[flowerslegacy]

Hi Everyone,
I just bought a beautiful girl from Aquabid and the packaging did not indicate that the contents was a live fish (animal)! Therefore she was temendously tossed around by the USPS. I can only imagine the horrible treatment she endured!! She looks very dazed and a few scales are missing. The shipper put a tannis leaf in her bag, and she was protected by styrofoam, etc. but what should I do to assist with her survival? I'm really worried about her. AQ salt? Epsom salt? Another tannis leaf? Right now she'll go in a 2.5 with a heater and a betta log for quarantine. Low lights and solitude. Current water temp is 80. All other water parameters at 0. I didn't know where else to look on the forum so I'm posting here. Thanks!

[TheBlueBettaFish]

I would do AQ salt. Also, give her yummy foods like frozen bloodworms (remember not to over feed). Make her feel comfortable because she had a dramatic ride over!

_____________________________

Fishy Friends-

Betta's: Tom, Sarah, Shark, Red

Guppies: Trouble, Molly, Claire

Algae Eaters: Avon (snail), Sprite (sucker fish)

Fry: 16 guppy fry

TheBlueBettaFish

[Pitluvs]

Just give her some clean water, quiet space with low lights and let her settle in, then asses the situation. Did you slowly adjust her to light when you opened the box? I was instructed to take 30mins of letting light in slowly before having the fish out of the box.

If you have IAL, then add them. If she's used to having them, she should appriciate something familiar.

I know what you mean, I saw the bus man drop my package with Carnage and miss it by an inch with the trolly wheel. Carnage was in rough shape by the time I got him into a tank. Poor baby. I'll probably never buy off AB again.

[flowerslegacy]

I'll get a little AQ salt in her tank right away. I'll offer her a worm too. A little comfort food should do good! This is my first shipping experience and I had NO IDEA about the lighting. I was so concerned about her condition that I just opened her up to get her out of that awful box. I thought about the lighting situation after I had her bobbing in the new tank - dang it! She's in her tank and we're leaving alone. I'll see if I can get some IAL. I'd never heard of it until I joined this forum. Any ideas where I can purchase such a thing? I agree about buying and shipping. This was a stressful situation for all of us! Thanks for responding so quickly!

[dramaqueen]

I know it's been over a week but how is she doing now?

[flowerslegacy]

Dramaqueen, thank you so much for checking in on her - I just love this forum. She's doing GREAT. I added a little AQ salt and allowed her to rest, without activity, for a couple of days. I fed her a worm or two in the morning and in the evening. It took her about 3 days of hiding in her log, but now she is active, happy and loooooves attention. When you walk in the room she gets all excited and her coloring is now just beautiful. She's still missing a bunch of scales. I posted some pics of her in Betta Chat under the thread "Doubletail Female?" I was having issues with her breed and I'm still confused about the sex. You'll see it all in my thread if you're interested. But thanks again for checking in. I *really* appreciate it! I got a great fish with an incredible personality!

[dramaqueen]

You're welcome. I'm glad she's doing better. :)