I recently went to a LFS for a few things. While I was there, I had a look at their frags. I couldn't help but see a Aiptasia problem in their tank and one of the employees told me to "pay no attention to the bubble algae" while he was treating the tank. I instantly decided that I was using them for dry goods only from now on. My question is would you risk buying livestock from a place like this?
Would you risk it?
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vetteguy53081
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Although I have, you will risk buying 2 frags as an example at $10 and $15 each, then suddenly shopping for kalkwasser or other pest removal adding time and cost
You Could ask the LFS to remove it prior to purchase
You Could ask the LFS to remove it prior to purchase
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ying yang
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I would still buy but scrub or even better remove the frag plug unless a coral has encrusted over it.
I remember when set my tank up earlier this year at a national lfs ( maidenhead aquatics) i said you got an aiptasia in that tank over there incase you didnt know,manager said yeah i know,so i said you don't remove,she then says to me nope as no point keep removing them as they will always find there way in so not bought anything from them since.
Reason being aiptasia is by many a very well known pest and in every " what pest is this description" so i would thought they wouod least make effort to remove occasionally on wc day or once fortnight or whatever.
But i do also think that majority of lfs ( if not close to all ) has the majority of the common pests,and also fish dieseses as the corals/ fish mainly get imported from abroad from a exporter facility so all sharing system or systems then get shipped out to the relative countries and end up in a importer facility mixing with other corals and fish then go to lfs's then to us,and unless we paying a premium for fully pest free or un-diesesed corals/ fish then its our job to quarantine and watch or treat to make sure.
I know argument is from some that vendors shouldn't sell a coral with a pest or fish with a diesese but at prices we buy them at they couldnt do multiply dips and tank transfers and medicate,so other option is buy only from place that qt and treats everything and gives guarantee pest/ diesese free and pay a higher price so to the op if you think they actually care about their livestock and make effort to eradicate pests or give a valid reason why they dont ( i.e got bergie nudi's in tank or copperband they training to eat) then i would buy.
But if you think they neglect tanks and got attitude of cant be bothered then dont.but you could always try negotiate a discount if see pests in system and say you will or may need do more work to not get the pest yourself or can think wont try negotiate less price as want support local lfs as alot people buy more things online these days than we used to do ^_^
I remember when set my tank up earlier this year at a national lfs ( maidenhead aquatics) i said you got an aiptasia in that tank over there incase you didnt know,manager said yeah i know,so i said you don't remove,she then says to me nope as no point keep removing them as they will always find there way in so not bought anything from them since.
Reason being aiptasia is by many a very well known pest and in every " what pest is this description" so i would thought they wouod least make effort to remove occasionally on wc day or once fortnight or whatever.
But i do also think that majority of lfs ( if not close to all ) has the majority of the common pests,and also fish dieseses as the corals/ fish mainly get imported from abroad from a exporter facility so all sharing system or systems then get shipped out to the relative countries and end up in a importer facility mixing with other corals and fish then go to lfs's then to us,and unless we paying a premium for fully pest free or un-diesesed corals/ fish then its our job to quarantine and watch or treat to make sure.
I know argument is from some that vendors shouldn't sell a coral with a pest or fish with a diesese but at prices we buy them at they couldnt do multiply dips and tank transfers and medicate,so other option is buy only from place that qt and treats everything and gives guarantee pest/ diesese free and pay a higher price so to the op if you think they actually care about their livestock and make effort to eradicate pests or give a valid reason why they dont ( i.e got bergie nudi's in tank or copperband they training to eat) then i would buy.
But if you think they neglect tanks and got attitude of cant be bothered then dont.but you could always try negotiate a discount if see pests in system and say you will or may need do more work to not get the pest yourself or can think wont try negotiate less price as want support local lfs as alot people buy more things online these days than we used to do ^_^
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Rick's Reviews
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onlyfans
Community Member
I only buy from places that have a strict quarantine protocol and are also willing to dip my frag for me and give me fresh saltwater in the bag. I don't have a QT so I've gotta be careful.
For fish though, man... thats difficult. Almost everything has some kind of pest. But a properly sized and plumbed UV sterilizer will rid that problem for you.
For fish though, man... thats difficult. Almost everything has some kind of pest. But a properly sized and plumbed UV sterilizer will rid that problem for you.
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rene9898
Active Member
Up here in Sacramento we have Exotic Aquarium. Man that store was scary as hell. Almost every SW tank had aptasia, tanks not maintained at all. The even scarier part was the power cables they had sometimes out on floor with lots of water that leaked on floor from water changes etc. Inso feel bad for the employees because that place caught fire and they lost almost everything. Heard they donated what they managed to save. Store is still not opened up and doubt they will. This is the second store in Sacramento that caught fire.
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Spare time
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Very few LFS do not have aiptasia or bubble algae. They key, and this is coming from someone who works at those places, is to look at these two points:
1. How obvious or plentyful is the aiptasia? If it is right in front of them or easy to remove and there are plenty very visible to customers, this is bad. This shows they don't care or they are lazy. If they don't take care of obvious pests popping out at them, imagine how little they do for not so obvious pests.
2. If you point it out to them, and they don't do anything, that means that they either knew about it and ignored it or don't care enough about what they are giving to customers to remove it.
Aiptasia is the easiest way to judge how much a store cares about their livestock, and even more so about your tank. Sadly, a lot of stores are like this, especially one's run by old guys who lost their passion and drive for the business (this is a pet store issue in general). Another trick is to see if their filter socks or pads are overflowing. This is very easy for them to fix, yet some places have the same sock in for months or years.
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