theclearblue
New member
To be clear from the beginning - I feel like I've given LA adequate time to respond to this situation before bringing them to public scrutiny.
LiveAquaria's pride in its quarantine and treatment procedures (particularly the Diver's Den) sold me on their products. I'd been checking the Diver's Den each and every night for weeks looking for a pair of picasso clownfish. While they're not plentiful right now, there were several opportunities for me to purchase them from other sources, yet I chose to wait and purchase them from LA due to their impressive QT and treatment regimen.
I ordered and received two ORA grade "B" picasso clownfish. I have to give credit where it's due - the packaging was superb. I honestly thought I'd been sent tangs by accident based on the size of the bags the fish were sent in. Tons of water - 6 or 7 bags around each, heat pack, etc. Very impressive.
I received the fish at 12:30 PM yesterday and acclimated/added them as the first non-invert inhabitants to a nano tank which is functioning as a QT for my larger tank.
After two hours I turned on the actinic light to get a look at the fish and was surprised to find the smaller of the two clowns had a sunken belly. Somewhat concerned, I fed the fish. Twenty to thirty minutes later I noticed white stringy feces coming from the smaller of the two clowns. I took pictures and immediately sent them to customer support for their opinion (3:26 PM - 3 hours after receiving the fish) . An hour later (4:33 PM) I received a reply where they agreed it was likely that the fish had internal parasites and suggesting a medication to use. At this point I had observed the other fish to be exhibiting the same symptoms.
I sent a reply at 4:59 PM asking that someone from their veterinary staff call me and advise me on how to treat these fish (and hopefully give me an idea of the severity of the clowns' condition).
18 hours passed and at 11:30 AM the fish are still showing the same symptoms and I have still not received any response. I sent another email requesting a phone call.
LA has failed to deliver, as I see it, in three ways.
1) The fish were shipped to me with internal parasites. Somehow they managed to infect two ORA captive bred fish with parasites. The smaller arrived with, in my opinion, a sunken belly. How did this happen with fish going through the glorified diver's den system?
2) LA/DFS suggested I purchase a $20 medication for fish sent to me with this condition. I purchased this from another supplier (wouldn't you?) with overnight shipping, since I couldn't find the medication locally. This should have been sent to me as soon as they had reason to suspect that they sent me fish with internal parasites.
3) Someone should have called me to advise me on the treatment of these fish as I asked, or someone should have called/emailed to tell me this wasn't possible. It seems like a reasonable request. As of this posting I still have not received any response. In the meantime, DFS has had the time to comment on RC about the variation in color between two different types of wrasses to a tire-kicker and congratulate someone else on their purchase. Unbelievable!
When I bought these fish I accepted responsibility for their well-being. This really isn't a financial issue - while the medication should have been sent to me no questions asked, it's really about the fish. I don't want these fish to die or suffer under my care and outside of a suggestion for a medication I've gotten no support from LA in helping me bring the fish back to good health - the condition in which they should have been sold to me.
I don't want compensation, I want the support that these fish deserve.
LiveAquaria's pride in its quarantine and treatment procedures (particularly the Diver's Den) sold me on their products. I'd been checking the Diver's Den each and every night for weeks looking for a pair of picasso clownfish. While they're not plentiful right now, there were several opportunities for me to purchase them from other sources, yet I chose to wait and purchase them from LA due to their impressive QT and treatment regimen.
I ordered and received two ORA grade "B" picasso clownfish. I have to give credit where it's due - the packaging was superb. I honestly thought I'd been sent tangs by accident based on the size of the bags the fish were sent in. Tons of water - 6 or 7 bags around each, heat pack, etc. Very impressive.
I received the fish at 12:30 PM yesterday and acclimated/added them as the first non-invert inhabitants to a nano tank which is functioning as a QT for my larger tank.
After two hours I turned on the actinic light to get a look at the fish and was surprised to find the smaller of the two clowns had a sunken belly. Somewhat concerned, I fed the fish. Twenty to thirty minutes later I noticed white stringy feces coming from the smaller of the two clowns. I took pictures and immediately sent them to customer support for their opinion (3:26 PM - 3 hours after receiving the fish) . An hour later (4:33 PM) I received a reply where they agreed it was likely that the fish had internal parasites and suggesting a medication to use. At this point I had observed the other fish to be exhibiting the same symptoms.
I sent a reply at 4:59 PM asking that someone from their veterinary staff call me and advise me on how to treat these fish (and hopefully give me an idea of the severity of the clowns' condition).
18 hours passed and at 11:30 AM the fish are still showing the same symptoms and I have still not received any response. I sent another email requesting a phone call.
LA has failed to deliver, as I see it, in three ways.
1) The fish were shipped to me with internal parasites. Somehow they managed to infect two ORA captive bred fish with parasites. The smaller arrived with, in my opinion, a sunken belly. How did this happen with fish going through the glorified diver's den system?
2) LA/DFS suggested I purchase a $20 medication for fish sent to me with this condition. I purchased this from another supplier (wouldn't you?) with overnight shipping, since I couldn't find the medication locally. This should have been sent to me as soon as they had reason to suspect that they sent me fish with internal parasites.
3) Someone should have called me to advise me on the treatment of these fish as I asked, or someone should have called/emailed to tell me this wasn't possible. It seems like a reasonable request. As of this posting I still have not received any response. In the meantime, DFS has had the time to comment on RC about the variation in color between two different types of wrasses to a tire-kicker and congratulate someone else on their purchase. Unbelievable!
When I bought these fish I accepted responsibility for their well-being. This really isn't a financial issue - while the medication should have been sent to me no questions asked, it's really about the fish. I don't want these fish to die or suffer under my care and outside of a suggestion for a medication I've gotten no support from LA in helping me bring the fish back to good health - the condition in which they should have been sold to me.
I don't want compensation, I want the support that these fish deserve.
