Acclimating overseas imported stingrays

[Brandon Beck]

Hey guys, first time importing stingrays from overseas..scary but exciting. Ive been searching for a while to find something very nice.

Im expecting them to be in my hands end of march. They will fly from vietnam to thailand next week. Quarantine for 5 days then ship from thailand to vancouver where they will receive a water change and re oxygenate. Short flight from vancouver to calgary where I will pick them up and haveba 3 hour drive home.

Whats the best way to acclimate these guys? Ive always done drip method but being in bags so long I have a feeling that is not a great idea. But I would love to hear your experiences or opinions.

Thanks!

 

[phreeflow]

I would plop and drop after acclimating for temp. When shipped, ammonium builds up but as soon as you open the bag, it quickly converts to ammonia, which is toxic.

If you want to drip acclimate, quickly add some drops of Seachem Prime into the shipping bags soon after you open them. Prime will convert the ammonia to a less toxic form to give you time to drip acclimate safely

 

[danotaylor]

Agree w P phreeflow . Temperature acclimate, remove from bag & add directly to tank.

 

[Brandon Beck]

I would plop and drop after acclimating for temp. When shipped, ammonium builds up but as soon as you open the bag, it quickly converts to ammonia, which is toxic.

If you want to drip acclimate, quickly add some drops of Seachem Prime into the shipping bags soon after you open them. Prime will convert the ammonia to a less toxic form to give you time to drip acclimate safely

Yeah exactly. I dont use prime, but I do use safe.

I was just worried about potential ph shock. Probably alot less damaging then ammonia burn.

 

[phreeflow]

Yeah exactly. I dont use prime, but I do use safe.

I was just worried about potential ph shock. Probably alot less damaging then ammonia burn.

True, ammonia burn is worse but similar to the ammonia spike, there’s already a pH shift/shock when you open the bag so I still prefer to quickly release fish into better water after transport.

Fish use up oxygen and produce CO2 during transport, which produces carbonic acid, dropping pH. When you open the bag and release the CO2 and reintroduce fresh oxygen, there’s a sudden spike in pH. The effects are much greater when fish are shipped longer distances or stay in transport longer. It may seem reckless but I still think it’s safer to float them and quickly release fish into their new tanks

 

[Roger Mcfish]

Yeah exactly. I dont use prime, but I do use safe.

I was just worried about potential ph shock. Probably alot less damaging then ammonia burn.

Unless you have a large enough tote, not sure how big the ray is, could place it in the tote with bag water after temp acclimating and slowly add you water to it, run to a pet store for a small bottle of prime.

If not, plop and drop and use stress guard