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Sounds Fishy?
The following question was forwarded to the FOSS staff at
the Lawrence Hall of Science by Susan Hardy, a FOSS Regional
Sales Manager.
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Has the specter of death reared its ugly head regarding
any of your living materials when they get to the classroom?
I am specifically asking about guppies. Lately, we have been
shipping fresh, healthy guppies to our schools from a reputable
local vendor. Within a day or two, they are dead, while the
remaining fish back at the store are still happily swimming
about.
Our prime suspect right now is contamination of the aquarium
tanks, which we ship out in the modules. It's possible the
residue from a cleaning agent remained on the tank walls and
spelled imminent doom for any fish placed in them.
Sound familiar? Plausible? I'd like to hear from anyone who
has dealt with this or has ideas.
Thanks.
Greg Calvetti, Manager
ASSET Materials Support Center
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Larry Malone responds:
Guppy problems are not new; I've been around them for
three decades. From their reputation you'd think they would
be bullet proof, indestructible little critters. But, quite
to the contrary, they are sensitive to changes. Once established,
they are forever, but I don't know what your specific problem
might be, so let me suggest several variables to consider.
Your suggestion of contaminant residue in the containers sent
out to the schools is possible, but I would guess that routine
attention to rinsing during the cleaning process would make
this a very low probability variable.
Guppies are on the edge of tropical. They are sensitive to
temperature change, particularly cooling. A chilling of several
degrees over a short period of time may be enough to cause
a mortal shock.
Water purification (chlorination) can be deadly. What chemical
is used in the Pittsburgh area? Traditional chlorination is
relatively easy to manage. Open exposure (aging) for a day,
or boiling and cooling eliminates chlorine. If, however, you
have chloramines in your water, chemical treatment is required.
Chloramines do NOT dissipate with time and must be neutralized
chemically. If local water is a problem, I recommend bottled
spring water, at least for starters at the time of delivery.
Oxygen requirements go up during times of stress, like relocation.
It is desirable to keep the time in transit to a minimum,
and it might be a good idea to have an air bubbler in the
new container for a period of time to insure good oxygen saturation
right after relocation.
Relocation shock is a catch-all category for mortality due
to no identifiable cause. Sometimes it seems like all due
attention has been paid, but the fish still fail. We need
a fish psychologist to look into the subject, interview a
few of the survivors, and generate a profile of the Relocation
Stress Syndrome. Maybe a little Prozac in the water just before
shipment...
I'd recommend that teachers anticipate the arrival of the
fish by having aquaria filled with treated water sitting around
for at least three or four days before arrival. Then use the
standard precaution for reducing temperature shock--float
the shipping container, fish and all, in the new aquarium
to equilibrate the temperature over a period of an hour or
so. Then dump them into the new abode and watch them do their
fishy thing.
If you haven't already, set up some containers, hike off to
your vendor, purchase five batches of guppies, and experiment.
Have some treated, four-day-old water ready in several containers,
straight tap in another, and bottled water in one. Let one
batch get cold during shipment, and do an immediate transfer
of one batch when you get them to your "lab." Use
a bubbler in one. You get the idea. Have some fun with it,
and let me know if anything seems to work. We'll put it in
the FOSS Newsletter.
You might try contacting some local experts if all else fails.
You have the NY-PENN Council of Aquarium Clubs in your neighborhood.
Here's their website:
http://members.aol.com/nypennfish/file.html
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