Lionfish - Emergency please read

Amba

Ol' Salty
So I brought home a baby lionfish from my LFS today, acclimated for over two hours. I let him loose in the tank, and he floated to the bottom. It dosen't look like he is breathing, and my water levels are good. He was alright in the store, I watched him eat. So what the crap, is he in shock or scared, or is my damn $40 fish I've waited patiently for two months dead. I'm so upset.
 
Well he isn't moving at all, and I see absolutely no movement from his body (which I assume is how they breathe..) he was literally fine half an hour ago swimming in the bag, I put him in and down he floats. =(
 
I'll take him back to my LFS tomorrow with a water sample, they should be able to tell me what's going on even though my water tested okay. He has a white dangly thing coming from his underside what is that?
 
Wow, sorry to hear that...was there a big difference in the temp between the bag and the tank? Temp, salinity, and ph are all ways to cause a shock and instantly kill him like you've stated.
 
Wow, sorry to hear that...was there a big difference in the temp between the bag and the tank? Temp, salinity, and ph are all ways to cause a shock and instantly kill him like you've stated.

Well I acclimated him for two hours, and used the drip method so the temperature had to be the same. Salinity was in the normal range, and pH was 8.1

I have no idea what is going on, I have a snowflake eel in the same tank and he is fine. I have read that lionfish are very hearty for the most part, so either he was sick or the water at the store was extremely different from mine.
 
Can you post a picture of the white thing? Also with the drip method you can still have a really big temp difference. When i do the drip method, i drip for a few hours and then float the critter for a half hour before introducing him.
 
Can you post a picture of the white thing? Also with the drip method you can still have a really big temp difference. When i do the drip method, i drip for a few hours and then float the critter for a half hour before introducing him.

I can't my camera wont focus good enough to see it, but basically its like a 2cm long white cord coming from his underside. And I dripped while he was floating, so there is no way that temperature is what caused this. I guess I shouldn't have used the word drip, I put in 1 ml of tank water every 5 minutes slowly increasing.

Anyway my eel looks fine, I did a panic water change (20%). =/
 
that white thing really doesnt sound good, sounds like he has a massive case of parasites and you are seeing them come out. freaky . . .
 
Freaky, gross, and frankly annoying that something like this happened. I realize fish dying is part of the hobby once in a while but I don't expect one to die right out of the bag. Oh well, I am going to return him to my LFS first thing in the morning, hoping for a refund. My other tanks are doing great, added a big cluster of zoas, and two feather dusters today as well to my nano reef.
 
LFS said, "If your water parameters were good (which they were) then there are only two likely causes. 1 - Fish died of natural stress from being moved. 2 - The fish had some sort of disease and the move into new waters was a catalyst for the lion to succumb to it. I am really sad, so I went out and treated myself to a new 29 gallon invert tank :p

LFS will order me another lion next week, so I'll try again. The eel is still really happy in there and eating like normal.
 
So sorry to hear of your difficulty with the lion! They are gorgeous fish, and it sucks that you lost one, especially so dang quickly after you got it. Perhaps the next one will go smoother. Keep an eye on your eel, just in case whatever the lion had was contagious.
 
Also, when the new lion fish comes in, have your lfs hold it for about a week or so, that way it won't be as stressed when you bring it home. Doing this also ensures the fish is eating and doing well before you take it home.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice, hopefully in the next couple of weeks when I get my new one he will do better.
 
man to bad you don't live down in south Florida. Someone at work was telling me they are having an open season on spearing loin fish b/c they're nothing that will kill them and they're eating everything down there.
 
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