Understanding the "*Restriction on Guarantee"

[Bongo Shrimp]

I'm interested in purchasing a Choati wrasse from you. However, I noticed that there is a restriction on the guarantee. So does that mean that I do not have the 7 days after arrival to get credit if it dies?

It would make me extremely nervous to spend $200 on a fish that may die the day after I receive it and I would not receive any credit for it. Can someone explain the whole *Restriction on Guarantee thing to me?

 

[BlueZooAquatics]

Thanks for the question. Yes the Choati wrasse, along with other animals found throughout the site, are guaranteed to arrive alive and in good condition but we do not cover them to stay alive for various reasons. Sometimes it is because the animal has very specific husbandry needs that we have no control over once you receive the animal. Sometimes they have specific food requirements which again, we have no control over once the animal is in your tank.

The Choati wrasse is a delicate shipper and requires specific aquarium conditions to survive. They must have relatively peaceful tankmates, perfect water and a enough small particulate sand for them to bury themselves. If these conditions are not met then the fish will not survive long. If they are met and you have experience keeping leopard wrasses, then you will have no problem with the Choati wrasses we have. Heck, we keep them alive just fine.

Bottom line is, and I tell this to people quite often, if you are nervous about it, then don't do it. Our job is to get you a healthy fish that is eating and fat and your job is to take it from there and keep it alive. If you do not feel confidant that you can do that, then maybe this is not the fish for you. We might recommend some of the lesser leopard wrasses which are much less expensive but still not guaranteed beyond live arrival.

You can also ask questions of your fellow RC members about tips and tricks to keep these types of wrasses alive. That way, if you do like the Choati a great deal, you can get prepared for it when the time comes when you are confident enough to pull the trigger on the fish. You can also ask us via forum, email or on the phone. We are here to help you succeed.

I hope that answers your question. Have a wonderful weekend.

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

I have not kept a leopard wrasse before, however I do have a green mandarin and have heard that the care requirements of the green mandarin are very close to those of the choati wrasse. If this is true, coupled with the fact that the sand is mostly fine with some larger pieces scattered about, and peaceful tank mates, I'm starting to feel that I may be able to keep one successfully. The tank mates include, a helfrichi firefish, a green mandarin, two false percs, and a filamented flasher wrasse which I'm trying to remove. My water is very stable other than a slightly low pH (7.9) that I'm working on raising. I do also have a feather starfish which is very sensitive to water quality and is thriving in my tank.

Would a choati wrasse be tempted to pick on a feather starfish, or will they generally leave coral and larger inverts alone?


And given this info, in your opinion, does my tank sound suitable for a choati wrasse?

 

[BlueZooAquatics]

If you can keep a crinoid alive, you can keep a Choati alive. That is for sure. I don't think the wrasse will bother it at all. We have kept wrasses with feather stars before and they typically ignore them completely. We had a huge wrasse collection in our 250 show tank at one time which included a Choati, Divided Leopard, Black Leopard, Rosey Scale, Tonos, African Exquisite, Lineatus and Australian Scott's and none of them bothered the four crinoids which lived at the top of the rock work.

I say go for it. It sounds like you have the expertise to handle one as well as the ideal tank to house one.