LFS Dwarf dilemma

[mdstocks]

Short story:

I am setting up a Dwarf tank (my first tank of any kind ever). My husband was duped by the LFS owner. I now have $220 in store credit and no horses. The don't stock Dwarves.

Is it okay to ask the owner to order from a specific breeder and then buy them from the store to use up my credit? I would want to pick them up on the day of arrival when they are still in the original packaging. I don't know if this is appropriate or feasible for a LFS. If not, any suggestions on using the $220? I have everything I think I need and $220 will buy a lot of brine shrimp eggs For more details, see long story below.


Long story:

In November I bought Alisa Abbott's book The Complete Guide to Dwarf Seahorses in the Aquarium. After thinking hard about it, I decided to go ahead on starting a tank. I gave my husband a SPECIFIC list of things to get for me for Christmas: 5 gallon glass tank with 15 watt bulb in hood, 2 air pumps, 2 small sponge filters, salt mix, black sand, seahorse tree, shrimp hatchery, some meds, test kit, etc. My husband is usually a careful shopper, but this time he blew it.

He started the search by calling the pet stores in the area to find out who carries seahorses. Only one did. He went there and showed the owner the list. The owner told him that most of the things weren't necessary and sold him an expensive 8 gallon biocube with power filter, test kit, hatchery, white sand and Prime. The total was over $350 and he didn't have much from the list (everything at the store is 2-3x the price of an online store, but I would like to shop local). He told my husband to come back in 4 days and he would give him water from his tanks(so he didn't need the salt mix, right?!) and he could pick up the seahorses.

My husband wanted to surprise me, but was concerned about the cost, so showed me what he had. I took the tank, the expensive test kit and the sand back to the store and kept the other things.

So my problem ... The store doesn't do "cash" returns. So I had $260 in store credit. The seahorses they had (3 of them) were in with 6 or so different kind of fist and were definitely not Dwarves. One was not swimming, but laying on its side in the tank, and the guy had to push it up to the glass for us to see it (I think you get the picture). I tried to spend as much of the credit as I could, but he didn't carry any smaller tanks, or sponge filters, or methylene blue or formalin or medicines. So I bought some airline and salt.

I have $220 credit at the LFS and I don't know what to buy. My husband wants me to buy seahorses from there to use up the money, so I don't have to spend any more, but I don't know if it is appropriate to ask them to order Dwarfs for me. I am concerned about the quality of the fish. I have never had a tank before, except guppies as a kid.

If I don't buy the seahorses there, but online as I planned, I have to use this money. Any suggestions on what a LFS could have I could use. They didn't have algae paste, only expensive vitamins, for enriching the shrimp. That was my only thought so far.

Any suggestions on how to spend money and if it is okay to ask the owner to buy the horses from a specific place and let me buy them from him (and pick them up in the packaging on the day they arrive).

Thanks!

 

[TamiW]

Can you check out any local reef clubs to see if anyone would buy the credit from you?

I personally would not have them get the dwarf seahorses; who knows what you might end up with them ordering. And then marking them up to god knows what. Based on your description of the seahorses in their care, I would not trust them with any livestock transaction, even if they're just ordering and giving them to you. I could see so many ways a bad LFS could screw that up.

If selling the credit isn't possible, then I would just keep it and use it on supplies; you're going to need more salt at some point. Another good purchase would be a reverse osmosis filter, though I suspect that the LFS will have a huge mark-up. A refractometer is nice for measuring your salt levels. Hydrometers are generally pretty inaccurate. I purchased my first refractometer about 5 years ago and I can't imagine life without one!

You could also consider a second tank for the babies. The babies can be raised with the parents, but many people claim to have better success raising them separately.

 

[mdstocks]

Thanks for the ideas. I didn't know that the reverse osmosis filter would be from a LFS. I was think Home Depot That is how clueless I am (outside of the book I've read three times or so). I don't think I can get a baby tank there because the 8 gallon is the smallest they have.

How do I find a local reef club? There probably is one in Columbia, MO.

 

[TamiW]

I guess it depends how much your store carries; a lot of stores that specialize in saltwater carry reverse osmosis kits; but if they don't have something smaller than an 8 gallon tank, they really don't sound like a well stocked store.

Looks like there might be one right on reefcentral; though it doesn't appear to be very active:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=64

 

[ann83]

Some people from Columbia are members of the board at www.salt-city.org I don't know if there's a specific reef club in the area, but you can ask around on the board if anyone is interested in your credit. That being said, you are going to need salt, an RO/DI, a refractometer, a test kit of some sort, ammonia binder, enrichments like vitachem, selco, etc., extra airlines and battery backups, and more equipment for that new tank you decide to set up once you realize you want more fish You will use up the credit eventually. Sucks they did that to you though, and that they won't do returns on items. Of course, you could have dealt with a bad employee. Ask around and see what their reputation is. If it's any good, you might try to work with Seahorse Source to get the LFS to order your seahorses from them. If picked up still in the box/bag, the LFS really can't do too much to screw it up.

Oh, and while an 8 gallon biocube isn't a great dwarf tank without major modification, an 8 gallon tank isn't too bad size-wise, and a standard 10 gallon tank would actually give you extra room for a 'fuge or other separated off filtration to keep water parameters stable, if they carry that sort of thing.

 

[mdstocks]

I put it on the boards and Craigslist today, but took it off. The more I look into this, the more I see it is going to cost me ... one way or the other. Might as well spend the money, right?

 

[billybobed]

Ugh, backed into a crappy spot sounds like. I guess at LEAST you were able to get credit. Like you say, you'll need supplies no matter what. Seems like most LFS's I've seen are usually lacking when it comes to seahorses, i.e., with what you saw at your store with them. While definatly not true of every store, it seems it's usually best in the end to buy them online from a reputable breader. That way you know your getting a quality captive bread one. Let us know what you end up getting...good luck!

 

[Arkayology]

I would call the BBB on that store if they lied to him.