As dedicated hobbyists, you strive to offer the best care for your marine fish. You expect the same from your live fish provider. Drs. Foster and Smith LiveAquaria.com takes your concern seriously. All aquatic life offered in our Diver's Den® section of LiveAquaria.com are housed and maintained in our state-of-the-art
Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Under our strict supervision and extensive quarantine procedures, we offer you quality aquatic life that is second to none.
Proper Acclimation
The first step we take to ensure quality marine fish is our detailed acclimation process upon receipt of a new shipment. Proper acclimation is crucial during this difficult period directly after transport. As part of our stress-free acclimation protocol, acclimation of all new arrivals takes place in a separate room to control lighting and ambient temperature. We utilize a custom acclimation table featuring drip valves for new water and built-in drains to discard wastewater. The fish are released from the bags and placed in special acclimation units. Slide-in dividers allow us to separate fish during this time to further reduce potential fish stress. Water is dripped over the fish for an extended period to slowly adjust them to the water chemistry of our fish quarantine system.
Contrary to conventional practice, new arrivals at our facility are not kept in a hypo-salinity (low salinity) state. We maintain our salinity close to natural seawater, since overseas suppliers and export stations ship livestock in natural seawater (salinity of around 35 ppt depending on the locale). This practice reduces fish stress during initial acclimation and also allows us the flexibility to receive shipments from suppliers from around the world, on any day of the week. Most importantly, keeping our salinity close to natural seawater means minimum acclimation stress when you receive them for your home aquarium.
State-of-the-art Quarantine System
Once properly acclimated, new fish are then housed and maintained in our special quarantine system. To provide superior filtration and water quality, our quarantine system employs an independent filtration system with biological filtration, UV sterilization, ozone, and a large foam fractionator (protein skimmer). Unlike conventional glass quarantine aquariums, our advanced system is made up of compartmentalized acrylic cubes and tanks so fish can be separated based on size and temperament to reduce aggression and stress.
Stress Reduction Period
Directly after acclimation, the fish are kept in reduced- or no-light conditions for 12 to 24 hours. This is accomplished by placing blackout covers over the cubes and tanks. The specific species, origin, and transit time (overseas or a distributor in the U.S.) determines the duration of this stress-reduction period. Once the fish exhibit normal breathing and behavior (i.e. swimming properly), the tanks and cubes are uncovered and each fish is given a thorough inspection.
Disease Prevention
Fish, such as clownfish, prone to common parasitic ailments like Brooklynella hostilis, are given repeated freshwater baths that contain anti-parasite medication. Clownfish are quarantined for a minimum of four weeks at our facility before we offer them for sale. Other fish such as Angelfish, tangs, certain genus of wrasse, and several other specific species are given therapeutic saltwater baths. These baths contain praziquantel or other medications that eliminate flukes, protozoan, and parasites commonly found on wild fish.
To combat common bacterial infections such as Vibrio, therapeutic baths containing antibiotics such as kanamycin, nitrofurazone, Neomycin and other commercial antibiotics are given. Open wounds on fish are treated and healed with a special topical treatment. In addition to the baths, all quarantined fish are treated with copper sulfate and a 37% formaldehyde solution to combat Amyloodinium ocellatum and Cryptocaryon irritans.
Once they start feeding, all new fish that enter our facility, and can be successfully weaned onto prepared foods, are de-wormed, via frozen food soaked in praziquantel, metronidazole, and piperazine. After the de-worming process, we offer a variety of vitamin-enriched foods to all of the fish. These foods include frozen mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, live ghost shrimp, frozen krill, silversides, roe, dried seaweed, cockle, and even pellet foods. Some species of Anglerfish, Frogfish, Leaffish, Scoprion Fish, and certain species of wild harvested seahorses that require live foods, such as Ghost Shrimp, will be listed with this information in their description when they are posted on the site.
Quarantine and Observation Period
The quarantine period for each fish ranges from a minimum of two weeks to several months for more delicate species. Throughout the quarantine period, all of the fish are monitored closely, with particular attention to breathing rate, swimming behavior, and overall appearance and demeanor. Once the fish have passed a thorough inspection, they are ready to be acclimated and moved into our main fish system.
Final Acclimation to Captive Conditions
Our main fish system is over 3,000 gallons and utilizes a giant fluidized sand bed filter, a 12 ft tall by 24" diameter foam fractionator (protein skimmer), 1000 mg ozone generator, 960 watt UV sterilizer, and three dedicated pumps to facilitate the operation of the system. With additional individual fish boxes, divided cubicle sections, 24" and 48" acrylic aquariums, and 48" x 48" holding vats to supplement our main fish system, we are able to comfortably house a variety of fish - from the smallest gobies to gorgeous show-size specimens.
The fish are then acclimated from our quarantine system to our main fish system. Employing the drip acclimation method further reduces any potential fish stress. Only when the fish have settled into their new environment in the main fish system are they photographed. By the time the images are loaded onto the
Diver's Den® section of LiveAquaria.com and offered for sale, these marine fish have passed a strict quarantine, treatment, and acclimation procedure. When you select these exquisite specimens from Diver's Den®, you are simply receiving the healthiest marine fish available anywhere.
