As dedicated hobbyists, you strive to offer the best care for your marine fish. You expect the same from your live fish provider. LiveAquaria takes your concern seriously. All aquatic life offered in the Diver's Den® WYSIWYG Store Store section of LiveAquaria® are housed and maintained in our state-of-the-art Coral Farm and Aquatic 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. The system water is dripped over the fish for an extended period to slowly adjust them to the water chemistry of our fish quarantine system.

During acclimation process, the fish are kept in red light (dark room) conditions for 12 to 24 hours which has a calming effect and reduces stress. Once the fish exhibit normal breathing and behavior (i.e. swimming properly) each fish is given a thorough inspection.

New arrivals are acclimated to our quarantine system in low salinity water. We maintain a lower salinity of 1.018 specific gravity in our quarantine system to be aligned with our overseas suppliers and export stations who ship fish in lower salinity water. This practice serves two beneficial purposes, the first benefit of low salinity is that it aides in the fishes’ osmoregulatory process. Osmoregulation in marine fish is the process of regulating the water and electrolytic balance which expels salt from the fishes’ body via the kidneys. The osmoregulatory process can be inhibited or disrupted when the fish are stressed, which in turn puts additional stress on the fishes’ organs. When fish are kept and shipped in lower salinity water the kidneys don’t have to work as hard to expel the salt. The second benefit of keeping fish in lower salinity is that it reduces the potential for parasitic and protozoan infections. In conjunction with lower salinity water, we also use a therapeutic (0.15ppm) amount of ionic copper sulfate in our quarantine system which eliminates and prevents parasitic outbreaks and attacks.

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.

Disease Prevention
Fish, such as clownfish, prone to common parasitic ailments like Brook (Brooklynella hostilis), are given freshwater baths (as needed) that contain anti-parasite medication. Clownfish are quarantined for a minimum of two weeks at our facility before we offer them for sale. When required, Angelfish, Tangs, certain genus of wrasse, and several other species are given therapeutic baths or dips. These baths contain praziquantel or other medications that eliminate flukes, protozoan, and parasites commonly found on fish collected from the wild.

To combat common bacterial infections such as Vibrio, therapeutic baths containing disease specific antibiotics are given. Open wounds on fish are treated and healed with a special topical treatment. As mentioned previously, all quarantined fish are treated with a therapeutic level (0.15ppm) of ionic copper sulfate along with a 37% formaldehyde solution to combat Marine Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum) and Saltwater Ich (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, or piperazine. After the de-worming process, we offer a variety of vitamin-enriched foods to all of the fish. These frozen 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, Scorpion Fish, and certain species of wild harvested seahorses that require live foods, such as Pods, Ghost Shrimp or feeder fish, will be listed with this information in their description when they are posted for sale on the Diver’s Den® WYSIWYG Store.

Quarantine and Observation Period
Throughout the quarantine period, all 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. When moved into the main fish system, the fish are slowly drip acclimated up to the specific gravity of natural seawater which is 1.025.

Final Acclimation to Captive Conditions
Our main fish holding 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.

As previously mentioned, the fish are then acclimated from our quarantine system to our main fish system with a specific gravity of 1.025. Employing the drip acclimation method further reduces any potential fish stress. The fish are photographed only when they have settled into their new environment in the main fish holding system. By the time the images are loaded onto the Diver's Den® WYSIWYG Store section and offered for sale, these marine fish have passed a strict quarantine, treatment, and acclimation procedure. When you select these exquisite specimens from the Diver's Den® WYSIWYG Store, you are receiving the healthiest marine fish available anywhere.