Dying Cynarina in my package

[Terri Caton]

I received a Cynarina today via FedEx. It arrived in horrible condition. I was here to receive the box. It was acclimated correctly. Many parts of the skeleton are showing and the mouth is gaping. As you can see in the photos I am very successful at keeping Cynarinas so my tank is not the issue. I'm very concerned about this coral am an afraid it won't make it. I know you have an arrive alive guarantee but what if it is on the brink of death?

 

[TopShelfAquatics Verified Sponsor]

Hi there,
Sometimes in shipping things get jumbled up a bit. Toothy corals like acanthophyllia and cynarina can look very rough after making a trip. We always suggest giving them a day or two to get happy again. I can completely understand your concern though, its quite upset at the moment.
Go ahead and submit a ticket into the DOA system and keep us updated. If it doesn't make it we'll take care of it.

Reef Guard / DOA Request

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topshelfaquatics.com

 

[Terri Caton]

That would be excellent. I'm pretty sure it is not alive but I'll do my best to make it recover if it is. Such a great color, too bad.

 

[TopShelfAquatics Verified Sponsor]

No worries! We're always here to help

 

[Terri Caton]

Thank Goodness! A decent company Hooray!

 

[Kellie in CA]

I had a similar situation with the same type of coral (but a different vendor) a few weeks ago. It was such a bummer because it was a gorgeous piece too. I guess maybe they just don't ship well? It smelled horrible when I finally gave up and pulled it from the tank.

 

[Terri Caton]

I had a similar situation with the same type of coral (but a different vendor) a few weeks ago. It was such a bummer because it was a gorgeous piece too. I guess maybe they just don't ship well? It smelled horrible when I finally gave up and pulled it from the tank.

As you can see in my photo I have never had problems with receiving them or keeping them alive.

 

[Terri Caton]

Day 2

 

[Terri Caton]

Looking much better!

 

[Terri Caton]

Well, it's back to looking bad. Now I can't even see the mouth

 

[Terri Caton]

I was surprised by the response from your company when this coral didn’t make it. Since I have been following your instructions I feel it is unfair to be penalized. This coral tried its best but just never could recover.

Here is your response.

It seems that after the 11th this piece must have taken a turn for the worst. Normally the doa replacement policy is for the first two hours upon arrival. We extend that policy to 24hrs depending on the situation. In this case when the coral arrived it was looking a bit rough but looked pretty perfect in the updated pictures. Even though you are past the replacement period, I want to go the extra step and provide you with a partial credit. The code will not expire and it will be ready when you are. If you have any other questions or concerns please let me know.

 

[TopShelfAquatics Verified Sponsor]

Good morning,

I wanted to give you some insight on why we decided to provide you with a partial credit.

Our Live Arrival Guarantee (visible here and shipped in every box we send out) states that we provide a 2 hour period after the arrival time for any concerns to be communicated with us to ensure coverage. The package was delivered at 9:39 AM and the original contact we received from you was at 8:34 PM, well beyond two hours. Since cynarina can be rough shippers, we were absolutely fine making an exception and asked to be kept up to date.

We responded to your DOA ticket that same day but received no further contact there in the last 3 weeks. On the 8th the cynarina was still stressed(post #8) and then on the 11th it looked great(picture in post #9 of this thread). The next provided update was on the 21st, 10 days after the coral was photographed alive and well and 14 days after arrival.

While we try to be as reasonable as possible, we cannot DOA a coral that has been in your possession for over 3 weeks. The code we provided is for just over 50% of the coral’s price minus shipping(as this is a service rendered by Fedex) which seemed reasonable after the amount of time that has elapsed.


Thank you,

C. Steele

 

[zafink]

@TopShelfAquatics

I was surprised by the response from your company when this coral didn’t make it. Since I have been following your instructions I feel it is unfair to be penalized. This coral tried its best but just never could recover.

Here is your response.

It seems that after the 11th this piece must have taken a turn for the worst. Normally the doa replacement policy is for the first two hours upon arrival. We extend that policy to 24hrs depending on the situation. In this case when the coral arrived it was looking a bit rough but looked pretty perfect in the updated pictures. Even though you are past the replacement period, I want to go the extra step and provide you with a partial credit. The code will not expire and it will be ready when you are. If you have any other questions or concerns please let me know.

Sorry for your experience Terri, I had to search top shelf aquatics on here before I purchased something from them, and am surprised at your experience. Will not purchase from them after all.

 

[Utubereefer]

I actually think Top Shelf Aquatics went above and beyond their normal policy here. It’s stinks that the coral didn’t make it but buying coral is a gamble even if you already have the same piece in your tank. I will absolutely continue to buy coral from TSA! Great company with gorgeous pieces!