just to add to the post....I was in there and found a small anemone for my tank, the first guy thought I would have enough lighting(I wasn't sure) but after he bagged it, asked someone else before I bought it, just as he was checking me out. And he said honestly it will be fine for a month or two but will then die. I was very grateful to save 50 bucks on something that would die in 2 months. So in this case they saved me.....just wanted to add this because I'm sure it happens both ways at ALL stores at one time or another.
Opinions Wanted
- Thread starter Dizzy1831
- Start date
ARLO
Premium Member
This is a great lesson for me a "Newbie" to reef keeping. I think until I have a few years under my belt my best plan would be a to keep only "hardy" corals, so I will probally stick with softies. Sorry for the loss. I have always had pretty good advise from them at MS "Knock on wood".
Arlo
Arlo
Dizzy1831
New member
Spoke with the person I bought the coral from at MS. Seems that it was all a misunderstanding. The day that I bought the coral the store was very busy. Evidentally the person I bought the coral from said that it was not hardy. He was at the water filling station when he said this while I was at the display tank. With the distance and all the noise of the store I heard hardy.
Anyway I am going to talk to them this week and work something out. Thanks for all the input everyone. And thanks to MS for responding to my thread.
Anyway I am going to talk to them this week and work something out. Thanks for all the input everyone. And thanks to MS for responding to my thread.
Sorry to hear about your Elegance, I can relate. I've had an Elegance for 2 months now. I kept one of the old hardy ones for 5 years 10 years ago that grew into a monster. The one I have now is a lime green and was a Premium Aquatics Cherry Pick. They told me they also had bad luck with them for a while but they found a new supplier that they have been able to get healthy ones from.
Like my other Euphyllids, I feed it small pieces of chopped krill 2 or 3 times a week. I also have 4 Goniopora in the same tank. Two are doing well and two aren't. I add some DT's Phytoplankton, Liquid Life Marine Plankton and some DT's Frozen Oyster Eggs 2 or 3 times a week for the Goniopora. This tank is run as a "Lagoon" type tank, light skimming w/refugium and the only fish is a lone Purple Firefish. Any other fish (Flame Angel, Copperband Butterfly and a Mandarin Dragonet)I have put in this tank die unexpectedly within a week, so I quit buying fish for this tank.
In my 75 I've tried Acropora several times, but I think the other corals in the tank are producing too many toxins for any new corals to have time to adapt to the allelopathic compounds present in the water. The first Acropora ( a large $175 purple branching one) I tried in the tank lasted 3 months and then slowly RTNed in a week. I've tried 2 more small Acro frags since then and neither one even made it through a night, so I've given up on them. I have a good skimmer (Aqua-C EV-180 with an Iwasaki 30RLT) and a refugium on the tank and everything else is thriving in there.
Anyway, you will always have some good and bad luck/experiences in this hobby and unfortunately the bad ones are usually expensive. IMHO one of the best investments you can make is to purchase Eric Borneman's book "Aquarium Corals" as a reference to assist you in any future purchases. Bottom line is you never can predict if an organism will adapt to the conditions in your tank or not and there is always the chance that it won't. Even if your water parameters are good, there are many allelopathic compounds that your corals put in the water that we can't test for. Basically every tank is a "Chemical Soup" of unknown and toxic composition.
Like my other Euphyllids, I feed it small pieces of chopped krill 2 or 3 times a week. I also have 4 Goniopora in the same tank. Two are doing well and two aren't. I add some DT's Phytoplankton, Liquid Life Marine Plankton and some DT's Frozen Oyster Eggs 2 or 3 times a week for the Goniopora. This tank is run as a "Lagoon" type tank, light skimming w/refugium and the only fish is a lone Purple Firefish. Any other fish (Flame Angel, Copperband Butterfly and a Mandarin Dragonet)I have put in this tank die unexpectedly within a week, so I quit buying fish for this tank.
In my 75 I've tried Acropora several times, but I think the other corals in the tank are producing too many toxins for any new corals to have time to adapt to the allelopathic compounds present in the water. The first Acropora ( a large $175 purple branching one) I tried in the tank lasted 3 months and then slowly RTNed in a week. I've tried 2 more small Acro frags since then and neither one even made it through a night, so I've given up on them. I have a good skimmer (Aqua-C EV-180 with an Iwasaki 30RLT) and a refugium on the tank and everything else is thriving in there.
Anyway, you will always have some good and bad luck/experiences in this hobby and unfortunately the bad ones are usually expensive. IMHO one of the best investments you can make is to purchase Eric Borneman's book "Aquarium Corals" as a reference to assist you in any future purchases. Bottom line is you never can predict if an organism will adapt to the conditions in your tank or not and there is always the chance that it won't. Even if your water parameters are good, there are many allelopathic compounds that your corals put in the water that we can't test for. Basically every tank is a "Chemical Soup" of unknown and toxic composition.
achillestang2002
Member
They are 10 k's and look terrible. We replaced them last night around 5 or 6 p.m. I sure hope they burn in to a brighter white because they are currently terrible.
rgpennell
New member
I think everyone agrees that we each have an obligation to be informed to some extent in our purchase decisions. Having said that, it is entirely reasonable to expect that those at reputable stores selling these items be one possible source for information. Obviously I don't know the specifics of what took place at MS and am not making any comments about the store or its personnel or methods of making sales. My comment is general in nature. I can tell you that a business that offers goods in a relatively specialized field such as SW or Reef aquaria will be deemed to be representing itself to the public as having an enhanced level of knowledge about the products it sells and can be held legally accountable if they give advice in connection with selling an item. From a practical standpoint, it is hardly cost effective to file a lawsuit over a $125 coral but the store is theoretically liable for the loss if you can make a credible claim that they gave poor info in those circumstances. Obviously it is possible for the seller to protect itself with a sales policy disclaimer but most don't do so. I will also admit that it depends on the store as I can't imagine anyone on this list would be the least bit surprised to get bad information from a chain store like Petsmart. Once again not commenting on anything specific alleged in this thread but if you truly feel that the information provided you was substantially incorrect or misleading - not just a mere difference of opinion - then I think you are well within your rights to approach the store with your concerns and ask that they provide you store credit for the lost coral assuming you do so promptly and it has only been a short time since the purchase. I wouldn't recommend going in guns blazing with accusations but talk to a manager/owner and explain that you spefically inquired about the ease of caring for this species before purchasing and understood that they were very hardy but have since been consistently told quite the contrary and you regrettably lost the coral soon after introducing it into your tank. If you approach them with the proper frame of mind they will either acknowledge that these are very difficult to keep and work with you on some sort of store credit - maybe only half the purchase price - or they will insist that their employee is dead on and that these are easy to maintain and that the loss is entirely your problem. In the latter case, you should be sure to update us as to the outcome so that we all know that this store is not to be trusted. Good luck.
Rob
Rob
drgabe
Premium Member
One, MS has lots of coral books on their shelves (or did, I haven't been there in a couple of months), a quick look through most books will give the basics on keeping them. Add that to the knowledge of the staff and you should have some knowledge warfare at your side.
Secondly, any coral that I am going to pay $100+ for I'd ask to put a deposite down and let them keep it for a couple of days or a week. It gives you time to come back here and find out about the coral and get your tank ready for the crown jewel. If the coral doesn't make in the shop tank, you haven't lost your dough and might be able to work somthing out with the store. At least your hands aren't stained red with coral blood. (Wait, do coral even bleed?
)
Secondly, any coral that I am going to pay $100+ for I'd ask to put a deposite down and let them keep it for a couple of days or a week. It gives you time to come back here and find out about the coral and get your tank ready for the crown jewel. If the coral doesn't make in the shop tank, you haven't lost your dough and might be able to work somthing out with the store. At least your hands aren't stained red with coral blood. (Wait, do coral even bleed?
)Article on allelopathic chemicals in our aquariums:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/cw.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/cw.htm
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