liveaquaria experience

[celebrityovernight]

Hey guys, was wondering if anyone jumped on the killer deal liveaquaria had Monday on their purple tangs. I received my medium sized purple tang on Wednesday and I can't help but feel disappointed in the fish they sent out to me. It was a good size but the fish has clear signs of prolong malnutrition. Lateral line was very exposed and the stomach was sunken.

I'm trying my best to get him back into shape by soaking his food in selcon. I guess $98 dollars for a purple tang was too good to be true. I've ordered from liveaquaria before and I've had some bad shipments with anthias, but this was definitely the worst.

 

[Hitman]

Man that’s no good. Well thankfully he is in good hands now and I’m sure you’ll get him/her all fattened up soon.

 

[pecan2phat]

I'd send them a photo and ask for a refund!

 

[JumboShrimp]

I can appreciate your concerns, and they seem quite valid. But the pragmatist in me says that if you can nurse him back to health— which could be rewarding in and of itself— you will still have an $89 Purple Tang, so two thumbs up to that!!

 

[Memoreefs]

I just got mine today and yea it's been laying on it's side in the QT. I am doing my best to nurse the tang but man, maybe that's why it's on sale.

 

[4FordFamily]

If you can get it feeding it’ll recover nicely. I would share with them your feedback.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

my experiences with LA on every order for a while has been disappointing, This fish when start eating will recover and be a good looking fish,

 

[PDR]

I have used LA a lot in the past and generally have been very happy with them, but this last shipment was terrible. I ordered from DD, regular LA, and their coral farm and literally everything had an issue. Two of the fish died within 24 hours (they were in rough shape physically and clearly had an infection of some kind), the other two had nipped fins and overall just looked rough (all 4 were from regular LA not DD). Two of the three corals were broken and the other one was the wrong coral.

I know they will refund me for the losses, but I don't think there is much chance they will do anything about the coral. It is just unacceptable to ship fish in that condition IMO.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Call them, I bet they make it right.

If not, tell everybody!

I agree the tang will be fine. If they wont refund, maybe they will give some selcon?

 

[celebrityovernight]

That sucks to hear others haven't had much better of an experience lately with liveaquaria. I'll send them an email and see if there's anything they can help with.

 

[ca1ore]

Most of the tangs I see for sale are thin (some, like convicts, more than others). I think they just don’t eat much during the stress of collection and shipping. Good news is that they are generally quite easy to get back to healthy weight. FWIW, soaking food in something like selcon is fine, but it’s not a significant source of calories .... which is what a thin fish needs. Nori is the best thing in my experience. Give it as much as it will eat.

 

[TheRealDmorty217]

Your issue should be with Quality Marine since the fish was sent directly from them to you. All fish from the website that aren't from Divers Den come directly from QM. I'm sure that LiveAquaria will make it right for you though. It's a shame that QM is sending fish out that look like that

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

I've ordered just about all of my fish from DD and they have been great. I ordered some fish from LA early on, and every one of them died in QT. I was refunded for the losses, but I will not order from LA anymore, only DD.

 

[Fishfinder]

It sucks getting fish that don't look good. I just wanted to say my recent order from LA was good. 6 anthias and all of them are alive and eating

 

[Captain Quint]

Most of the tangs I see for sale are thin (some, like convicts, more than others). I think they just don’t eat much during the stress of collection and shipping. Good news is that they are generally quite easy to get back to healthy weight. FWIW, soaking food in something like selcon is fine, but it’s not a significant source of calories .... which is what a thin fish needs. Nori is the best thing in my experience. Give it as much as it will eat.

+1

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

quality marine or not OP's vendor is LA. LA is responsible for everything we buy through them. QM does not sell to public nor will take credit or return for you. LA is only party responsible so lets keep the blame where it lies. If QM is shipping such sick and bad shaped fish then LA needs to address that to its vendors nor hobbyist.
If you are going to push the blame on QM because OP bought from LA then QM will push the blame down to their wholesaler or divers that catch the fish for them and then the game begins push the blame down the road.

 

[PDR]

quality marine or not OP's vendor is LA. LA is responsible for everything we buy through them. QM does not sell to public nor will take credit or return for you. LA is only party responsible so lets keep the blame where it lies. If QM is shipping such sick and bad shaped fish then LA needs to address that to its vendors nor hobbyist.
If you are going to push the blame on QM because OP bought from LA then QM will push the blame down to their wholesaler or divers that catch the fish for them and then the game begins push the blame down the road.

Couldn't agree more! LA markets it as their California facility, you have to do research to find out it's quality marine.

On a separate note, does LA make any claim as to the condition of the fish being shipped? I couldn't find any reference to it on their site, but I may have missed it.

 

[ca1ore]

quality marine or not OP's vendor is LA. LA is responsible for everything we buy through them. QM does not sell to public nor will take credit or return for you. LA is only party responsible so lets keep the blame where it lies. If QM is shipping such sick and bad shaped fish then LA needs to address that to its vendors nor hobbyist. If you are going to push the blame on QM because OP bought from LA then QM will push the blame down to their wholesaler or divers that catch the fish for them and then the game begins push the blame down the road.

I fully agree that LA is the 'brand' here and is ultimately accountable for the condition of the fish that they sell regardless of who fulfills the order. I would, however, suggest that as a pictured example, the purple tang that the OP received looks just fine to me. Collection and shipping is hard on fish (which is why so many don't survive the process) but in this case it just looks a little thin and perhaps a bit banged up from the journey. Handled correctly by the reef keeper, it should recover just fine. I have had my fair share of fish arrive from all vendors in conditions I would judge as poor. Most recovered, some did not. In those instances where the vendor made good, I continue to patronize them to this day. In those instances where they did not, I do not.

 

[Fishfinder]

I fully agree that LA is the 'brand' here and is ultimately accountable for the condition of the fish that they sell regardless of who fulfills the order. I would, however, suggest that as a pictured example, the purple tang that the OP received looks just fine to me. Collection and shipping is hard on fish (which is why so many don't survive the process) but in this case it just looks a little thin and perhaps a bit banged up from the journey. Handled correctly by the reef keeper, it should recover just fine. I have had my fair share of fish arrive from all vendors in conditions I would judge as poor. Most recovered, some did not. In those instances where the vendor made good, I continue to patronize them to this day. In those instances where they did not, I do not.

Well said

 

[celebrityovernight]

I'm seeing many post with the sentiment that the condition of the fish is pretty typical. I do think that the picture does not truly convey the condition of the fish. I tried getting a better picture but the color of the purple tang makes it a bit hard to photograph. Having said that, the is extremely thin with its bones protruding on its head and rib area. It also has early signs of lateral line erosion. I would never purchase a fish in this condition no matter what the discount was if I saw it in person.

I emailed liveaquaria and waiting to hear back from them. Any recommendations for other fish vendors? I've been looking at fishybusinessaquatics but haven't seen many reviews.