Adventures in Elmira's "City Zoo" -- or the story of how I sentenced my fish to death

[Newreeflady]

Adventures in Elmira's "City Zoo" -- or the story of how I sentenced my fish to death

As some of you know, I had a sixline wrasse that I hoped to catch using a bottle trap or other means. Well, I got a longnose hawkfish in today and decided, after seeing how unbelievably ridiculous the bottle trap was, that I would remove all of the rock and catch the sixline before acclimating the new fish. So it begun...

After a struggle, I did catch him. I did the right thing and called ABC reef in Syracuse to ask if they'd take him. They said they would. Great! But, it got later in the day as I acclimated my new arrival and my significant other didn't want to make the haul to Syracuse so we decided we'd head to Elmira instead. I knew there were two stores there, so I called one (City Zoo) and cleared it with them that they'd take the fish. Off we went...

On arrival at City Zoo I told the first woman I saw that I'd spoken to someone on the phone and they'd said I could bring in my Sixline Wrasse. I opened up the styrofoam box to hand her the bag and she said "Oh, it's saltwater!". "Yes" I exclaimed. In hindsight, I should have taken back the fish and found someone else. But, I figured she'd go back there and hand it to someone who knew what they were doing... I WAS WRONG!

I followed her back and by the time I got back there she had, get this, dumped the fish into her system. No acclimation at all. I'm not sure what their salinity runs at, but I'm assuming as it's a fish system with no coral that it's around 1.018. I run my reef at 1.026. I said to her "You already put him in?!".. She said, "yes, the temperature seemed fine". :eek1: I told her that the salinity in my tank is run high for a reef and I hope theirs is high. No reply.

As I walked around the facility I saw sick, dying and starving marine fish in abundance. I got back to the tank she had dumped my wrasse in and still did not see him.

So, there you have it, I feel like I might as well have flushed the fish down the toilet rather than bagging him carefully, packing him in styrofoam and driving him 50 minutes away to a death trap.

:hmm5:

 

[Newreeflady]

Oh, I should add that I made a stop at Tropical Fish Outlet after City Zoo. I WISH I had stopped there first. Their fish all seemed rather healthy and the system well cared for.

----
For anyone wondering what to eat in Elmira/Horseheads, we stopped at a Japanese restaurant called Tuna II that was oddly placed in a town that doesn't appear to eat Japanese food (we were the sole customers until another out-of-town couple came when we were leaving), but which actually serves very good food!

 

[rjmayes34]

sorry to hear! Nice you tried to do the right thing!! I feel to bad flushing a fish also and would have been in the same boat, as soon as it left your hands it was too late but who would have known that a store employee would not know right from wrong!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

playing devil's advocate

playing devil's advocate

I'll bet that 6-line is just fine today.

The species is difficult to kill.

You didn't sentence it to death.

 

[Newreeflady]

I'll bet that 6-line is just fine today.

The species is difficult to kill.

You didn't sentence it to death.

I hope you're right. I felt really terrible, but had some hope because the fish was in very good health of course. Still, that's quite a salinity change, at least it was going lower. Thanks for the reassurance, Gary.

I have learned my lesson, I will not be stepping foot in that store again. I hope someone buys him before he deteriorates to the health of many of their other fish. Their system looks like a death trap housing emaciated tangs, an adorable puffer with some sort of white film all over him, and a starving mandarin with a bleaching head among other sorry sights. :/ It was an awful experience.

 

[saltyscotsman]

thanks for the warning will never go there