Is it worth the risk.

[longranger]

I am questioning my judgement earlier today. I passed on a pair of hawaiian flame wrasses at one of my LFSs for a price of $180. Problem is they were in a tank with several fish having severe Crypto and very cloudy eyes so maybe flukes too. Of course the flames looked and acted as perfect as they possibly could in a LFS cattle tank surrounded by diseased friends.

This particular LFS almost always has a lot of disease. They also have the best prices in town for some of my equipment needs. I have purchased fish from them before but always straight out of the styrofoam shipping box and still in the bag.

This was as nice a pair as I have ever seen. I have a qt tank up and running. Am I exercising good judgement or being too picky? What y'all think??:headwallblue:

 

[Curious George]

I think you made a smart decision and have good instincts for passing. That's a substantial amount of money and if the LFS doesn't take pride in keeping quality fish, then that's their problem to deal with. They won't change a thing if people continue to patronize their business and buy fish that are just barely hanging on.

I know the experience and have a fish store in my area that is known to do the same thing. It's gross and irresponsible. Tanks after tank full of diseased fish and more often than not, dead fish at the bottom being picked and eaten by tankmates.

 

[longranger]

Thanks Curious George. That makes me feel a little bit better about my decision. I will probably feel that way all the way until I see a much less impressive pair at twice the price or more. No worries on those. Cannot afford them any more than I could afford paying $180 for a pair I know has had heavy exposure to multiple pathogens. Really a shame. Why bring in gorgeous specimens only to put them in display tanks filled with toilet water and dead fish?

 

[jjk_reef00]

I assume every fish I buy has ich and flukes. As long as the fish appears healthy, is eating, and you actively treat with copper I would say it is ok to get the fish. If your LFS offers 2 week guarantee then your risk is reduced even more. The longer my LFS holds the fish the less likely it is to live so my philosophy is that if the fish just came in and is eating I would consider buying it. Otherwise I usually order from reputable online retailers.

 

[SushiGirl]

Why bring in gorgeous specimens only to put them in display tanks filled with toilet water and dead fish?

I'll guess they incorrectly think the cleaner wrasses will "cure" the other fish of the ich and/or other parasites.

 

[tmz]

Depends on your confidence level in your observation capability and preventative treatment and how badly you want them. If you do get them even if they look healthy, I'd do the tank transfer method for ich prevention/treatment (some wrasses show sensitivity to copper, ime) and follow up with prazi pro for potential flukes. No way to tell about internal parasites though. If they are symptomatic when you get them,ie lethargic, breathing heavy ,scratching, twitching, not eating etc. the there is a good chance the infestation will kill them even with treatment. Personally,I'd probably pass. I try to get my fish in the shipping bag before they are exposed to the congregations in the retail shops. But if I had a bad itch to get them , I might take a chance.

 

[Charley Diesing]

I assume every fish I buy has ich and flukes. As long as the fish appears healthy, is eating, and you actively treat with copper I would say it is ok to get the fish. If your LFS offers 2 week guarantee then your risk is reduced even more. The longer my LFS holds the fish the less likely it is to live so my philosophy is that if the fish just came in and is eating I would consider buying it. Otherwise I usually order from reputable online retailers.

+1... As long as you do your precautions with QT. PraziPro, Cuperamine/hypo, and whatever added medications you may do. I'm sure they would be fine. Almost all fish from your LFS is carrying some disease. They just don't always show signs of it. And some LFS are better at hiding it. Often its masked with small dosage of copper, etc.