Fish store let down

mikesilverado8888 · Oct 10, 2015

Anyone feel like the fish store they go to let them down. So I bought a tang from a Fish store it broke out in ick it died my clown fish died royal grandma and damsel all died. Has anyone confronted the fish store how did you do it what did you say

Naiad · Oct 10, 2015

Did you contact the store when the fish first became ill?

mikesilverado8888 · Oct 10, 2015

Naiad · Oct 10, 2015

They should have been willing to help you with things if they were a decent LFS. Mine has gone as far as taking fish and treating them for me. If they were not willing to at least offer help or some refund for the fish purchased there I would not go back if possible.

ebushrow · Oct 10, 2015

I agree with Naiad, but they have no legal obligation to do anything. The good ones tend to do at least something for you...they want you to keep coming back

.

However, this is a true result of no qt....tangs are notorious for ick, Angels for flukes, etc. if it is a reef you really have to do it....nothing you can do but watch the horror unfold in front of your eyes....

if it a fowler....you have a lot of options ... Sorry for your losses

steve&mari · Oct 10, 2015

ebushrow said:
I agree with Naiad, but they have no legal obligation to do anything. The good ones tend to do at least something for you...they want you to keep coming back .

However, this is a true result of no qt....tangs are notorious for ick, Angels for flukes, etc. if it is a reef you really have to do it....nothing you can do but watch the horror unfold in front of your eyes....

if it a fowler....you have a lot of options ... Sorry for your losses

Total agreement with this. If you want to control the chance of this happening you must use a qt. It's hard for a lfs to be able to know if a fish may get sick if it's not showing signs at the store. It's also a fact most lfs don't qt fish before available for sale. I'm lucky we have 2 lfs that qt all fish for at least a month before they go onto the sales floor. I wouldn't risk our other fish to a new one without qt first.

Sabellafella · Oct 10, 2015

dang i qt my fish myself at my lfs before i even bring it home

sawdonkey · Oct 10, 2015

I assume all fish at the fish store have ich and i qt accordingly. Is a matter of fact, I'm going to pick up a fish or two today, so I'm going to go set up my qT now.

mikesilverado8888 · Oct 10, 2015

Ok but that fact is not everyone is $$$$ some of us are Poor so we can't have a Qt so now what???

Naiad · Oct 10, 2015

If you can't qt for whatever reason you need to become well versed in the early symptoms of disease and research what to avoid when picking out a specific fish. How should that type of fish be acting? If a fish is showing abnormal behavior avoid it. Also avoid new arrivals at the store. Be sure the fish has settled in and had time to adapt before purchasing. A good lfs will tell you dates

gidenski · Oct 10, 2015

mikesilverado8888 said:
Ok but that fact is not everyone is $$$$ some of us are Poor so we can't have a Qt so now what???

The alternative is UV lights, but that's also not a guarantee. Tangs are super prone to ich regardless and will often times show signs after multiple tank changes (fish whole seller --> LFS --> Your tank)

MrDJeep123 · Oct 10, 2015

mikesilverado8888 said:
Ok but that fact is not everyone is $$$$ some of us are Poor so we can't have a Qt so now what???

I don't want this to come across as callous, but it may. Just know that is not the intention.

If a person can't afford the upkeep and health of any animal a person keeps, then one cannot afford the hobby as a whole. That's not to say they're aren't great reefs from people on a budget. It's with any expense. You plan and budget accordingly. Part of that expense is...health.
To setup a hospital/quarantine tank doesn't require much in the way of money. A small tank, extra water, meds, HOB filtration or similar. It doesn't need to be grand and it shouldn't.

How to properly quarantine fish

Quarantine tanks

melypr1985 · Oct 10, 2015

mikesilverado8888 said:
Ok but that fact is not everyone is $$$$ some of us are Poor so we can't have a Qt so now what???

Hi. I get your plight. I'm definitely not well off like some here. I'm a stay at home mom whose husband is the main source of income for our family. I love this hobby so i find ways to pay for it. I had to get a QT up and running on the fly because of ick in the tank. I happen to have a fellow reefer friend who was able to layaway a tank and some other equipment for me (I've already paid him back because he's nice and sold it to me cheap). I have also been stalking facebook groups for buying/selling/trading fish equipment. I'm trying to pick up tanks that are just given away because they need to be resealed. You can also find great deals on these groups, or could post a trade for a tank and equipment. You never know who might need that old game system, or that stack of DVD's you dont watch anymore. I hope this sparks some ideas for you on a way to get what you need on a tight budget. I've been there..... heck I'm always there. lol Good luck!

Humblefish · Oct 10, 2015

The bottom line is most LFS are fish flippers. The fish come in from the wholesaler and they get put up for sale that very same day. And since most diseases are waterborne and transmissible, it's only a matter of time before the LFS entire system is infested with one disease or another. Knowing this, you have two options:

Quarantine all livestock yourself before placing in the DT.
Roll the dice and take your chances. Some have success using disease management tools/methods in their DT, but all it takes is one encounter with velvet (which it sounds like you got) to wipe everything out.

1fishjones · Oct 12, 2015

You can usually find tanks for a dollar a gallon at one of the big pet store, add a three dollar sponge filter, an old air pump, heater, and lighting. These things can usually be found at garage sales or Goodwill for a buck or two each. Throw in a big piece of PVC or something else for them to hide in and your done. Just add water from your display tank & top it off with new water. You can throw in a couple pieces of live rock if you like. You'll need to add a pinch of food every week or so to keep up the biological filtration. Make sure to top it off, check and match your salinity & maintain your temperature. For around twenty dollars you can have a quarantine/hospital/jail tank ready at all times.

DeniseAndy · Oct 12, 2015

Local clubs can help you out too. Find a friendly club that can lend equipment (always ask what was in it prior) or maybe fellow reef keepers that have extra equipment laying around will let it go cheap or free.

3dees · Oct 13, 2015

lfs are there to sell stuff. some are better than others. you bought a fish that is known to be an ich magnet and put it into your dt. sorry. but the lfs is not to blame. we all need to research before adding anything to our tanks. I have a very low tech tank. I'm retired and can't afford high priced equipment, but I do have a qt. really doesn't cost much to set up. that said, I still will not add a tang to my 120 gal. reef. not for a four foot tank no matter what anyone says. there are too many other beautiful fish to add without the worries from tangs. if you can't, won't set up a qt, at least pick fish that are hardy. tangs are one of the worse choices to add directly to a dt.

JimDog2015 · Nov 24, 2015

mikesilverado8888 said:
Ok but that fact is not everyone is $$$$ some of us are Poor so we can't have a Qt so now what???

I have found really good deals on craigslist, normally people who are getting rid of their unused tanks and equipment. My 120 tank and cabinet I bought for 200.00 and its in great shape. I see 60 gal tanks all the time on CL for 50 bucks, you might look there for a cheap QT setup.

Breakthecycle2 · Nov 24, 2015

mikesilverado8888 said:
Ok but that fact is not everyone is $$$$ some of us are Poor so we can't have a Qt so now what???

No offense, but this is not a poor mans hobby for reasons like this.

p.pep85 · Nov 24, 2015

the only fs i have around me is petco. so i know what you mean. i try not to use them and order online. i use a 5 gallon tank i fill with water from my tank the hood it came with has a built in filter and light it was cheap and only need to have it up when i get new live stock. plus you have to do a water change anyway so its a win win.