Received Fish Order..Drip Accl...QT..Fish Dead

[mako417]

I received my first ever Live Fish Order yesterday and unfortunately all the fish have died...2 overnight and the third sometime today while I was at work.

They arrived Fedex late in the afternoon on a hot humid day...when I got them home the water in the bag was at 82 degrees, I placed the bags in tank for 15min and then drip acclimated for around 1 1/2 hours...during which time the 3 fish swam around normally.

I then moved them to QT Tank, a few hours later I offered a little Mysis shrimp to them when I fed my main display tank and all 3 ate very aggressively. I checked on them before going to bed and all 3 were swimming just fine...but in the morning 2 were dead. I removed them and when I came home from work the third had died sometime during the day.

The fish were absolutely beautiful and I am heart broke they all died....I'm not sure what happened. I wonder if they were just to stressed after a full day in the Fedex truck in mid 90 degree weather? The ice pack included in the packaging was completely melted and at room temp.

I am reluctant to try again during such warm weather...maybe I should pick up at Fedex Terminal in morning to avoid a day bouncing around in the heat?? Or would it be advisable to go for bigger fish, med or large, rather than small? The fish are very small...around an inch....hmmmmm.

Not sure how to proceed....I love the fish (the clowns were stunning) but I hate have more die. Please contact and advise.

Thanks

mako417

Order #A2567542

 

[dfs/la2]

mako417,

We are sorry to hear about the losses on your order. The health and well-being of the aquatic life we ship is our primary concern, and we apologize for the problems with your order. Cooling packs are added to orders to help keep the water temperature from changing too quickly during the summer months. We determine if heat packs are needed by looking at each state’s two-day weather forecast. If there are low overnight temperatures then we will ship the order with heat packs which will regulate the temperature inside the box overnight. Ice packs are included if there are high temperatures in the shipping destination area.

We certainly provide our customers with the option of picking up their packages at their local FedEx hub and we can arrange this when we speak with you. We would be happy to discuss all of your options with you if you would like to either call or PM us with your current phone number. Please contact us either by telephoning our Live Aquaria Department at 1-800-334-3699, e-mail at customerservice@liveaquaria.com, or PM us so we can resolve this situation for you.

Mike S.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[GoingPostal]

Did you check your qt for ammonia and nitrite, qt maybe had a spike from the sudden increase in waste or maybe one died and that spiked it, three fish dead that quick seems strange especially if they looked fine before and eating.

 

[snorvich]

Yes, tell us more about your quarantine. Is it always set up and running? How long has it been since it cycled? Live rock and live sand? Chemistry parameters?

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Why would you not just call them first, before posting a long diatribe with a title like that?

 

[pupfish]

Just wanted to point out that I had the same thing happen on a F&S order (not Diver's Den), that shipped from SoCal to Phoenix. Even though the low temps were only in the mid 70's, they put a heat pack in a (rather small) box of 2 Percula's. When the fish arrived the larger one was on her back barely moving and the bag water was 96F!! The smaller one was stressed, but doing somewhat better.

Needless to say the acclimation was expediated (12 minutes total). That's one of those cases were you have to quickly adjust QT water to bag water, chuck 'em in and cross your fingers. I just say this in the original poster's defense: I LOVE F&S, but mistakes DO happen.

Btw, that was a couple of years ago and the clown pair are fine (keep trying to spawn around my goniopora).

 

[dfs/la2]

Pupfish,

Thank you for adding to this thread and for your compliments. We apologize for the way you received your past order. If you have any further concerns please do not hesitate to contact us.

We would also like to say that we would not recommend adding the fish with out properly acclimating them first. Adding them too quickly, as well as rapid temperature changes, may cause a large amount of stress on the fish.

We are happy to hear the pair of clownfish are thriving in your aquarium.


Stacie R.
Technical Support
Drs Foster and Smith

 

[underpar]

Hi mako,

I, for one, appreciate your "...long diatribe...". When so many posts are so poorly written, it is refreshing to read one that provides intelligent, clear and thoughtful information.

Thanks, Fred

 

[Freed]

Why would you put them in the main display first and then move to QT? QT should be the first step and then kept there for at least 4-6 weeks.

 

[snorvich]

The problem with the initial post was that it was not full of clear and thoughtful information. QT parameters would have been nice and a clearer definition of what a "new" tank meant would have been nicer still. The information that was provided was ambiguous and did not provide enough for thoughtful problem solving.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

My problem with this whole post is that there is no reason to post a potentially harmful posts about a company or anyone, without trying to resolve the issue personally here. This whole thing smacks of "If I post something negative, I'll get something to avoid a debate". That's BS. Call the company, they would make it right, and then you have no reason whatsoever to make this post.

 

[snorvich]

I totally agree with jmaneyapanda. DFS/LA is always highly responsive when contacted about an issue or problem. Still, it is not obvious that it is a DFS/LA issue at all from the information provided.

 

[underpar]

Hi snorvich,

Perhaps what was reported was incomplete and ambiguous, lacking details to help with problem-solving. But my observation related to how the post is written. I found it to be very understandable and easy to read. This cannot be said for many posts listed on this forum.

Peace, Fred

 

[D-Rod]

Mako417
No need to explain yourself to fellow reefers, You only need to explain yourself to LiveAquaria.com

 

[alcmaeon]

Also, spring for the extra 10 bucks that priority costs. Even if you have to take delivery at work, at least than you can control the conditions the fish are stored in until you get home. In my opinion the weak link in the chain is Fed Ex/UPS. Give them the least amount of time possible in that chain.