1st time LiveAquaria order, kinda sad...

[gone fishin]

Most of the 'bigger/better' LFSs in my area, all post their shipments before they arrive, and people are waiting at the store for the employees to open the styros... The store is usually 'fishless' by the time they close each night!

The store in Madison I go to does a similar thing.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Be aware that LA ships fish at 1.017 sg and your QT should match that. DD ships at 1.025. Even a slow drip acclimation because of amonia in the shipping bag is dangerous.

This is not totally true.

First of all, most of LA's fish come from Quality Marine in Cali. QM has different sg in all of their holding tanks and there is a range. I suggest if you were to order from LA ask them what the sg is for your particular fish. I had 3 come in a week and a half ago and all three, in separate bags were 1.023. When I called LA to ask they checked a data sheet on each fish individually and told me on all of them from 1.020-1.025

Now this is nonsense saying LA has gone downhill since Petco bought them. They are doing business the same way as always and from the same supplier: Quality Marine for the most part, others come from somewhere in Fla.

DD has their fish in Wisconsin at their own facility and from what I've heard it's worth the tour to see it.

The same people that ran LA and DD before the Petco purchase are still doing things the same way.

ON a side note the royal gramma that they shipped to me was just about dead on arrival but still alive. So he got the fast track acclimation and in the tank it went. I called and told them I got a RG that was smaller than I ordered and it was about dead. She said to call back in a few days if it did pass. well it did and they told me I could have a refund on the fish or they would ship me a replacement at their expense. I'm actually going to get a larger than ordered to replace it. You can't get that from too many places on saltwater fish especially.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Sorry but Miami sucks. Find me a local store with helpful, friendly, knowledgable staff, good husbandry practices and healthy and varied livestock and I'll treat you to dinner.

I can understand your frustration. I've been in the hobby some 25 years, and the LFS's that I've had to choose from went from great, to extra crappy, to non-existent for about 6-7 years, then back to pretty incredible. The one I do my business with now charges about 1.5X - 2X what the same species and size costs from LA or Blue Zoo, but I gladly pay it. The owner gets fish shipped to him from the collectors in Indonesia & Hawaii in "one fish per bag, double the water/air volume" configuration. I've seen a 3" dwarf angel come in nearly 2 gallons of water. Seems to make an enormous difference - there are almost no DOAs, and none of the fish come in malnourished.

 

[reefgeezer]

Some LFSs order from the same supplier(s) that LA uses. Find one, build a good relationship, and talk to them about adding a fish you want to their order. It may take several orders before the fish you want arrives and you might have to ask a few times. This is true particularly if the fish you want is hard to get or in high demand. When it does arrive make sure you pick it up promptly, don't haggle over price, and take it home in the suppliers bag. If the supplier is the one mentioned earlier, the wholesale cost of the fish will be higher and that will be factored into the price. It's all good though... That fish will also be a better quality fish than another from less expensive suppliers. IMO, taking the fish home without going into the LFS's system reduces stress and other risk factors.

Shipping fish around the holidays is difficult. I'd wait until after the new year to ask an LFS or try to order on-line.

 

[shifty51008]

This is not totally true.

First of all, most of LA's fish come from Quality Marine in Cali. QM has different sg in all of their holding tanks and there is a range. I suggest if you were to order from LA ask them what the sg is for your particular fish. I had 3 come in a week and a half ago and all three, in separate bags were 1.023. When I called LA to ask they checked a data sheet on each fish individually and told me on all of them from 1.020-1.025

Now this is nonsense saying LA has gone downhill since Petco bought them. They are doing business the same way as always and from the same supplier: Quality Marine for the most part, others come from somewhere in Fla.

DD has their fish in Wisconsin at their own facility and from what I've heard it's worth the tour to see it.

The same people that ran LA and DD before the Petco purchase are still doing things the same way.

ON a side note the royal gramma that they shipped to me was just about dead on arrival but still alive. So he got the fast track acclimation and in the tank it went. I called and told them I got a RG that was smaller than I ordered and it was about dead. She said to call back in a few days if it did pass. well it did and they told me I could have a refund on the fish or they would ship me a replacement at their expense. I'm actually going to get a larger than ordered to replace it. You can't get that from too many places on saltwater fish especially.

Yes their cs is still great but it seems like the quality of livestock that they ship out is crap lately, ive even read the quality from dd isnt near what it used to be.

 

[chilli_reef]

So how's the tang doing now ?

 

[SouthFla]

On its last legs :-(

Probably will put it down soon...

A few comments to answer a handful of prior comments/questions:

My QT was exactly matched to LA shipping water (1.018SG and 79F) upon arrival, and the fish went directly into the QT once I opened the bag...

I also kept the QT dark once I realized how stressed the fish was, but it just never settled...

I did try live brine, but I'm sure many of you know when you have a fish that's so neurotic and strung out the last thing the fish shows interest in is food of any type...

The point of my post, which I admittedly didn't express well, was just that I was sad to receive a fish in the condition it was in, as I had virtually no shot at acclimating it to captive life. I don't really care about the warranty or getting my money back. I just wish someone would have looked a little closer to the condition of the fish before sending it out, and I feel bad that I couldn't do better for her...