Quality Marine???

[albano]

I would never blame a LFS for 15 dead purchases unless the LFS was putting them in my tank and caring for it. He can't take responsibility for what happens to the animals after they leave his store.

NEVER? if I personally lost 15 fish in a row from a LFS...THEY would have a problem
...but that's due to the fact that with all my years and experience in the hobby, and it's possible I could make a mistake, I know that it wouldn't be my fault 15 times!

Not to mention, I've seen plenty of LFS that do not know (or care) how to care for their fish, including proper acclimation into their own tanks!
IE: a LFS in my area, that makes a FORTUNE on the maintenance...has it's in store employees 'dump' new fish AND the shipping water, directly into their display tanks! When asked about it, the owner said that with all the copper and chemicals in his system, it's not a problem!
With that and the fact that he wants over $100 for a $35 Flame angel...I have not made a fish/coral purchase there in 15 years...despite the fact, that he rents his store from a family member of mine!


*FWIW I probably would have stopped buying from them after the 2nd or 3rd death...

 

[Mr Neon]

If your store is buying from quality marine ask if you can take a picture of the 2D card that each fish ships with. This will allow you to lookup, when, where, how on the exact fish or group of fish.

Quality Marine, is an excellent wholesaler!

First off the owner is not there as much he has a large base of customer he does care and maintenance for. His manager is something left to be desired when it comes to knowledge. She knows only what she is learning and always tells me to ask the owner or I have to speak to the owner. Doubtful I will get any other info in regards to a 2D card. Only resource I was told was to check the company online for my own piece of mind.

What do you use to measure and test your water? I would NEVER add salt water to my tank without checking the salinity @ a temp of 78.

I would never blame a LFS for 15 dead purchases unless the LFS was putting them in my tank and caring for it. He can't take responsibility for what happens to the animals after they leave his store.

Again, as I said before, something is not right. I could be missing something in my tanks alone but given my original fish are alive and healthy after all the other fish died, raises questions. I have lost fish before and it is part of the trade from reputable stores, but 100% of what I bought from this store is honestly not acceptable in my book. If I lost all my fish, then I would be looking more at my system rather than the LFS for answers.

And to add to the fact that the LFS, being about one year old, would at least you think for business purposes, compensate me for something or discount any purchase to just keep me as a customer and work things out. That is just good business sense. Don't know of any store that would want a disgruntled customer to cause problems..not that I would but definitely would give a bad review if asked about it.

 

[Reef1121]

The LFS that I work at part time just started using QM after the company they used for 10+ years quality of fish went to the dumps. And I must say I love the new variety of fish we can get and the quality of each fish. The QR reader static cling cards that come for every fish are amazing too. Just scan it and it tells you when the fish got to QM and then the day it was recieved by the store, along with all the information about the fish. Most fish that we get are held by QM for 3-4 weeks before they make it to us. I've gotten 4 fish from them and they're still going strong 2 months later. The only thing that I wish QM would provide on the reader or the card is how big the fish get at adult sizes.. :/

There's either something up with your tank, or your LFS's water could be jacked or their just plain lieing to you about getting the fish from QM.

 

[Mr Neon]

If your taking about the little bar code cards on the tank specific for each fish, yes this store does have those. But when asked about pricing or anything else, the manager has to get a sheet out to find it. I have asked about the little cards but some times I got that it does not match whats in the tank.

I don't know....I am confused...all I truly know is that all my original fish are prefect, never got sick or stressed through all this crap, so I am done buying from them whether their stock is from QM or not..

 

[Allmost]

I just cant figure out what an LFS can possibly do for their fish to not make it ...

even if they have cyanide and hydrogen sulfate in their water ... which is a fish killer ... it stil would not explain the death of the fish after a week or so ! it would kill the fish on your trip home !

 

[Mr Neon]

Well this evening, I am going re-check my tank for everything I can, then I am going to the LFS and getting some specifics regardless if the owner is there or not..on a mission to figure this out!

 

[Reef1121]

What all are you checking your tanks for? And what type of test kits are you using?

Also Iwould recommend when you go investigating your LFS take a jar or empty container with you that you cleaned out with some RODI water and take a sample of their water home with you and check it with your test kit to see if they have something wrong with their water.

 

[Allmost]

you do have RO/DI water right ?

if LFS has copper in his tank and you use prime for tap water, that can make the copper toxic !
just a thought

 

[albano]

Also Iwould recommend when you go investigating your LFS take a jar or empty container with you that you cleaned out with some RODI water and take a sample of their water home with you and check it with your test kit to see if they have something wrong with their water.

+1...although they may not like that idea!

 

[Allmost]

What all are you checking your tanks for? And what type of test kits are you using?

Also Iwould recommend when you go investigating your LFS take a jar or empty container with you that you cleaned out with some RODI water and take a sample of their water home with you and check it with your test kit to see if they have something wrong with their water.

what would that show ?
Im just curious ...


lets say he does it, and po4 is 3 PPM, no3 is 120 PPM and CA is 250 PPM .... all off ... does it mean anything ? should it cause death for no reason after a couple of weeks ?

 

[E36328i]

I work for a LFS as the main guy for saltwater and we order exclusively from QM. We have ordered from numerous other suppliers and there is not a single one that comes close to the "quality" of fish that they supply. Our mortality rate has gone down significantly and if we do lose fish from them, it is usually in transit and due to shipping stress not due to disease or mishandling on their end.

I would call QM personally and ask if the store you are ordering from is actually getting all their fish through them. They may be misrepresenting the name with old tags. Also, the quality of fish is entirely dependent on acclimation at the hands of your LFS. It may be they are not properly acclimating them to their systems.

 

[Mr Neon]

I work for a LFS as the main guy for saltwater and we order exclusively from QM. We have ordered from numerous other suppliers and there is not a single one that comes close to the "quality" of fish that they supply. Our mortality rate has gone down significantly and if we do lose fish from them, it is usually in transit and due to shipping stress not due to disease or mishandling on their end.

I would call QM personally and ask if the store you are ordering from is actually getting all their fish through them. They may be misrepresenting the name with old tags. Also, the quality of fish is entirely dependent on acclimation at the hands of your LFS. It may be they are not properly acclimating them to their systems.

I have been the LFS when their shipments are arriving and I watch them take the fish in the bag and put it in the tank. I I did see them dump the bag water as well into their tanks by a few helpers..did make me wonder what they were doing and why. I also seen them take a huge order of peppermint shrimp and pour it into a salt bucket and then scoop them up and put them into a main tank right away.

I also did see some fish in the same system that had issues...again..maybe I wasn't really paying attention at times and ignored certain signals...but the owner comes with a good following and has many years background in the hobby; however, the manager that is there 90% of the time supposedly work at box store for pets and fish and had previous knowledge..

Again a lot if things from the shipper, to their tank, to mine...could be the reasons...I do know you can buy the fish one day after they get it in..no really good waiting period..and the sad part is that they do get in some very nice fish but they are scoop up before the week is out..basically the store sells out mostly each week both in fish and corals...

 

[sandwi54]

Someone raised a good point. What is the store keeping their salinity at? Have you ever checked their salinity?

One of the LFS in my area keeps their fish tank salinity at 1.014. I am pretty sure it would kill the fish if I try to acclimate it into my 1.024 QT.

 

[Mr Neon]

Have to see..maybe sneak a test while their not looking...

 

[29reef]

If I'm reading correctly you don't wait for the fish to settle in before you buy them because they sell out too fast?

If that's the case, do your research first and then special order the fish still in the bag from QM/LFS. Take it home and then acclimate as needed.

It still doesn't make sense why something is dying after weeks unless you've got a predator, aggressive fish, or high/low salinity in your tank.

I'd say your a gluten for punishment at this point I would have started ordering from DD or another reputable online source.

 

[nonimmigrant]

Why is that? Reasons being??

They frequently have sent fish that are in poor health. I've personally lost money on QM fish that I had to pre-pay for and they were in horrible health when they arrived. This is not a shipping or LFS acclimation issue either as I was in the shop when they opened the shipping boxes. I've boycotted QM.

 

[Fishfirst]

Some cases of which a fish was in poor condition means very little... what species are we talking about? did you ever ask your lfs to order a different fish? They have great customer service and have never really "denied" a valid reason for a refund on a fish. All places have issues with quality sometimes, however, as someone who has recieved probably tens of thousands of fish from QM and other places, I have to say their quality is top notch and possibly the best in the country.

 

[geaux xman]

They frequently have sent fish that are in poor health. I've personally lost money on QM fish that I had to pre-pay for and they were in horrible health when they arrived. This is not a shipping or LFS acclimation issue either as I was in the shop when they opened the shipping boxes. I've boycotted QM.

Perhaps with you being overseas, their fish quality suffers. Or their quality control outside the U.S is not as good.

 

[E36328i]

I have been the LFS when their shipments are arriving and I watch them take the fish in the bag and put it in the tank. I I did see them dump the bag water as well into their tanks by a few helpers..did make me wonder what they were doing and why. I also seen them take a huge order of peppermint shrimp and pour it into a salt bucket and then scoop them up and put them into a main tank right away.

I also did see some fish in the same system that had issues...again..maybe I wasn't really paying attention at times and ignored certain signals...but the owner comes with a good following and has many years background in the hobby; however, the manager that is there 90% of the time supposedly work at box store for pets and fish and had previous knowledge..

Again a lot if things from the shipper, to their tank, to mine...could be the reasons...I do know you can buy the fish one day after they get it in..no really good waiting period..and the sad part is that they do get in some very nice fish but they are scoop up before the week is out..basically the store sells out mostly each week both in fish and corals...

Well there is the issue... They are not properly acclimating their fish. The chemistry, temperature, and salinity between those bags and their systems may be drastic. We acclimate all of our fish and invertebrates with a drip method in isolated darkened vessels to keep stress at a minimum. Fish get acclimated at least 2 hrs. All invertebrates get acclimation of over 2 hrs. Our losses are very rare since we adopted this methodology.

I would not purchase even "bulletproof" fish from a company that doesn't acclimate and tosses livestock around. Handling determines the majority of the mortality rate on marine animals. These are highly sophisticated and specialized creatures, they should be handled with care and respect.

 

[reefjunkie42]

I've had many qm fish die..they can't control all the issues form collection to distribution but they do a good job imp