Bad luck with fishes. Why buy from LFS?

[vivek]

OK i am having real bad luck with fishes.

Three weeks ago i bought two fishes from liveaquaria. both were wrasses (scotts fairy wrasse- cook island and a mcosker wrasse) both were acclaimated for 3 hrs and added to my tank. they were dead in 24 hrs. my flame angel and maroon clown did not bother them at all.One of the two came in lying on its side and breathing heavy. Liveaquaria promptly refunded my money.

With that experience in mind i decided not to order fish online and buy from a lfs. LFS i thought having the obvious advantage of getting the fish in my tank with less travel time though a bit more expensive. So i went to Two turtles in Akron and bought a naso tang 5inches long and a blue hippo. The blue hippo is doing fine but the naso after three days started to lose interest in eating and looked starved. talked to the guys at Two turtles who agreed to put the fish back in their tank to see if they could rehab it. Well the fish died in less than 24hrs in their tank. The LFS guys said sorry and said that they would do me a favor by refunding 50% of the price of the fish ($ 150 was the price of the naso). They said they do not normally refund any money but were making it a special case for me !!

So here i am having a dilema. Get sicker fishes online and a guaranteed refund or healthier fish from a LFS and lose all the money.

What is your experience of ordering fish online?

 

[Old Crusty]

turned out after a few years of experience that the only fish that ever survived in my tank were fish that I got when they were very small as like 1 to 2 inches long anything I bought bigger eventually died. regardless of were the fish was purchased and of course make sure your water is up to par and you have NO Electrical stray seepage in your tank

 

[Esquare]

I've had great luck with The Salty Critter in Vermillion. A bit of a drive for you but might be worth a try. I have 2 black clowns, a longnose hawk, 2 cleaner shrimp and a full cuc plus 4 Rics, a Pavona and a Sinularia from Salty that have done great in my tank. My only bad luck was with 3 Zoas that didn't make it.

 

[serpentman]

That sucks. I can second what Old Crusty said. I have much better luck with juvenile fish than adults. I once tried a very large Naso. He looked perfect at the store. By the next morning, he was covered in lesions and died shortly after.

Personally, I recommend purchasing fish locally. Salty or AT both have nice livestock that is healthy and eating. Also, you may want to consider QT if you are having the trouble you say you are. Normally I am not a big fan as QT can be quite stressful in its own right. However, in this case, it might improve your odds.

 

[Tswifty]

I use www.reefhotspot.com and couldn't be happier. Everything I have ordered from them has done extremely well, and they usually have pretty good specials going.

That being said, I usually QT new additions for 2 weeks minimum for observation, and to make sure they are taking prepared foods on a regular basis before adding them to the display.

I say "usually" because I don't QT jumpers as my QT tank is not covered.

Like Jeff said though, QT can be stressful, which is why I don't use a barebottom stripped to the bones setup. I like to try to make the environment as close to the display tank as I can, to try and make transition as stress free as possible.

Here's a picture of my old QT setup:

 

[Jeff Trout]

I have never ordered anything to my house,but I like beening able to see what Im buying.I agree about small fish doing better.
I've been to two turtles once!they were crazy prices.1 golfball sized acro of nothing special($150)!!!A LFS here in elyria that you can get a 6-8inch blond naso for $80

 

[Aadler]

i doubt the mccoskers would live with a flame angel and a maroon clown anyway, dont try that again. They are a passive fish and with two aggressors like that he would not have lived long. Wrasses are the worst shippers but far, they will come in looking dead half the time, but if you take your time and put them in a tank by themselves while they get used to you and your schedule you will be fine. If you buy from LA maybe try the divers den, yea the pics are under 20k lights, but the fish ARE 100% healthy and eating, now the stress from the shipping can cause problems but if you qt them or put them with small/non aggressive fish you would be fine.

imo the wrasses died d/t the shipping combined with the maroon and flame, whether you saw them being aggressive or not.

 

[the budman]

i have had no problems with aqautic technologies, salty critter or liveaquaria. i will not touch RMS or ANY chain store for fish though i do buy snails and crabs from the mentor petco.

 

[rbd0331]

I've bought from Drs Fosters & Smith a couple times and was very pleased with their fish. All were juvenile. But I was very happy to see how brightly colored and perfectly healthy they were.

 

[vivek]

Does salty and or AT offer any guarantees or store credits if the fish does not do well. My flame angel was from salty and is doing well. so now i think before i buy another fish i need a quarantine setup. i am thinking of feeding the qt from my return pump and get some cheap lights. Do i need additional flow? i will throw in some live rock in there too to give them some hiding places. Anything else to the setup?

 

[serpentman]

Although what you are suggesting will provide a good acclimation set up, its not a true QT if its connected to your system. Any disease a newcomer brings will be shared with the rest of your fish. Plus any meds necessary to treat a sick fish we be equally shared with your main tank. As far as a QT setup, you need a tank, heater and possible a small circulation pump. The light (NO) should really be used minimally to observe the fish. Ammonia, etc. can build up so I recommend taking a filter sponge and letting it sit in your exiting tank/filter for a couple weeks to colonize with bacteria, then move it over the QT when you add fish. However, frequent PWCs are typically still necessary.

As far as AT and SC, you may want to check them out directly regarding guarantee. Dan (salty) is an RC sponsor so you can post this question in their forum. Both Dan (Salty) and Greg (AT) stand by their livestock and have always done right by me if there was a problem. However, most companies that offer guarantees, do so for the first 24 hrs. After that, its kinda the luck of the draw.

 

[vivek]

thanx serpentman

i will follow your guidelines and set one up accordingly.

 

[vivek]

do you think i should periodically check ammonia levels in the QT while the fish is in there. i do not have the kit for that but concerns me that i might stress out the fish. How long do you suggest i quarantine the fishes if they look healthy and eating?

 

[Jeff Trout]

AT dont guarantee anything!unless he is doing your set-up&maintance,Salty is real good about that type of stuff.Most places I know of do 24hrs guarantee.I always make the employee feed the fish that Im interested in.

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13183155#post13183155 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vivek
thanx serpentman

i will follow your guidelines and set one up accordingly.

I agree that your QT should definitely NOT be hooked up to your display tank water supply.

If you need help setting up a QT, just shoot me a PM. There fairly simple, and shouldn't take long at all to set up.

They sell Ammonia Alert badges that I have seen a lot of people use in QT setups. I also have a Salifert Ammonia test kit that still has a good amount of tests left in it if you would like it... (I no longer test for it).

 

[Fdfiremedic]

I gotta say I have the same problems trying to buy and keep larger fish especially NASO's for some reason. In the last 2 years I have been unable to keep a Adult Naso alive more then a week or so and I have tried quite a few from different stores. They just wont or stop eating. I bought a juvenile one a 5-6 months back and he has been eating like a horse and happy as can be so I am in the same boat as the guys above and no longer purchase large fish. It took me a few $150 fish to realize this!!!!!!!!!