We pack all of our animals with plenty of oxygen and care so that they could survive in transit for many days if necessary. All animals are provided with fresh full-strength saltwater that includes stress reducing and ammonia detoxifying additives to reduce the amount of shipping stress in transit. Even if an animal appears to be deceased, please attempt to acclimate and revive it, as the darkness of the shipping box can induce lethargy. For the health of our animals, please use our quick, simple acclimation guide below:
*Do not drip acclimate fish shipped directly from our Biota facility. This will VOID the guarantee*
1. Open box and inspect animals for immediate health.
2. Turn off lights on aquarium.
3. Float bags in aquarium for 10-15 minutes making sure to avoid clogging overflows or filtration. Do not add tank water to the bag water.
4. Open bags and using a net introduce your new aquatic life to your tank. Be sure to avoid high flow areas and for smaller specimens make sure they are not predated on before they find the rockwork.
5. Always discard the shipping water and never add shipping bag water to your aquarium.
6. Leave lighting off for at least an additional 20-30 minutes, preferably overnight.
7. If you're acclimating new coral or clams, please follow the steps above plus the Light Acclimation Procedure.
Straying away from this guide may invalidate our DOA/DAA policy. Other acclimation methods could be harmful for our live animals.
New additions may be shy for the first day or two but should accept pellet and frozen foods once adjusted to their surroundings. Do not feed them on arrival, feed them the next morning after the lights turn on in the morning. Please be sure to monitor their health and behaviors for the first week.
If a fish is shipped in a mesh tube, please do not try to remove the fish from the tube. Add the entire tube with the fish inside to the tank.
An acrylic acclimation box is a great tool for introducing new fish or invert to your existing fish in safety. It also allows you to keep a close eye on your new pet to ensure they're eating well and to allow them to recuperate after travel.
If you have any questions or concerns please send over an email to support@thebiotagroup.com
Why shouldn't I drip acclimate your fish or add tank water to the shipping bag?
Biota fish shipped directly from our facility are housed and shipped in full strength seawater. It's normal/expected for ammonium to build up in the shipping bag overnight. As the ammonium rises, the pH naturally drops. As pH drops, toxic ammonia is converted to the safer ammonium. We also use additives in the shipping water to convert toxic ammonia to ammonium. When you introduce higher pH tank water to the shipping water, that causes the pH to rise and also dilutes our additives, which causes the ammonium to convert back into toxic ammonia. It's much less stressful for a fish to have a small osmotic change than acute ammonia poisoning which can cause damage to sensitive gill tissue, tissue atrophy, appetite loss, and death within hours or days. If you drip acclimated or added tank water to the shipping bag already, prompt treatment with methylene blue can help relieve symptoms of ammonia poisoning in an emergency.
Do I need to quarantine your fish, corals, clams, and inverts?
Although we practice strict biosecurity in our facility, we do suggest all hobbyists quarantine livestock regardless of vendor as good practice (you can find more info on how to quarantine here). Quarantine and conditioning ensures you're only adding the healthiest and most ready livestock to your display aquarium. We do advise against prophylactically treating with harsh treatments as some of our livestock is sensitive to specific treatments.
We highly advise against immediately treating our animals when they arrive. Please give them plenty of time to allow them to acclimate to their new surroundings before prophylactically treating if you do decide to treat.
Regularly scheduled maintenance, water testing, proper life support equipment, and regular feedings of appropriate foods are absolutely essential to keeping fish healthy whether in the quarantine or display aquarium. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
If you have questions about quarantining our livestock please do not hesitate to reach out to our support email at support@thebiotagroup.com