bad tank sitter

[sdcosta]

Im not sure if this is the right place to post this but I needed to get opinions on this.

I hired someone (not going to say where or who), they have been to my house before, to come and take care of my tanks.
I was gone for 10 days, I come home to 1 dead fish in QT which had been at cupramine therapeutic level when I left, it was now suddenly not at therapeutic level so could have been the reason the fish died. A missing urchin which was claimed to have been seen the morning of the day I came home (was not there when I arrived that evening and I know its missing since its in a tank all by itself with a rock, no sand) and 1 dead sps colony (this Im not too stressed about but disappointed).

This is a place that I go to frequently and trusted and now I dont know how to feel. Did they even come everyday to feed the fish? I had frozen food prepared for 5 days but was told it would be fed everyday, they had access to my freezer with more fish food. One of the prepared containers, by me, was not used.

How do you approach this situation? I don't want to burn any bridges but its still a bit disappointing. Should I just let it go and put up cameras for the next time I go away? They have also not been paid yet.

 

[Taylor]

In this situation, a camera or home monitoring system would have been a great help. If you have a feeling that it did not go well, then do not hire them again I'd say.

 

[Stanzo13]

Offer to pay them some amount minus the cost of what died, did you have an Apex running on anything?

 

[marvelousone]

I would at least let them know how you feel. I would not hire them again.

 

[Saveafish]

Its hard. But clear head, confront them and ask questions. There might be reasons things happened. But yes, talk to them and give them the chance to explain.

 

[sdcosta]

I have a home security system that logs when anyone enters or leaves the house so I know of at least 4 days no one showed up. Def going to invest in some cameras now though. I have an apex running on my DT but not the QT.

 

[dugthefish]

I have a home security system that logs when anyone enters or leaves the house so I know of at least 4 days no one showed up. Def going to invest in some cameras now though. I have an apex running on my DT but not the QT.

If you can prove they missed 40% of the days, that is enough to refuse payment or ask for a refund. You paid for daily care and didnt get it. The cost of lost livestock is probably not recoverable but worth making a bit of fuss over. Good luck.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

If you can prove they did not do what you paid them for then that is definitely grounds to make a stink about it. Cameras would definitely help, and also automation. If you already have an apex, you can automate most tasks and login to the cameras and verify everything is okay. I try to leave as little as possible for another person to do when I am away from my tank. My ATO is actually set up to a timer and does not monitor water level, doses a specific amount everyday and that is it.

 

[sdcosta]

If you can prove they did not do what you paid them for then that is definitely grounds to make a stink about it. Cameras would definitely help, and also automation. If you already have an apex, you can automate most tasks and login to the cameras and verify everything is okay. I try to leave as little as possible for another person to do when I am away from my tank. My ATO is actually set up to a timer and does not monitor water level, doses a specific amount everyday and that is it.

thats actually a good idea to set the ato on a timer rather than a monitor, ill use that idea for next time