does this sound right??

[jthomas0385]

I just bought a six line wrasse about 2 days ago. I was at the LFS while they were adding new fish to their tanks and saw that the only acclimating that they did was temp. acclimate the fish in the bag they were in. Anyways, the fish is now dead (after being drip acclimated) water tested, and its fine. The LFS told me they wouldn't give a refund. Is that the normal way to acclimate fish at a pet store? Do the stores usually guarantee the livestock??

 

[natclanwy]

Most of the stores that I have been to do it that way and my LFS plans on losing 10-15% of his livestock on every order. It takes them too much time to try and Drip acclimate each fish that comes in. I have yet to find a store that will guarantee their SW livestock.

 

[lecithin]

its not the right way but its the most common way for them.

 

[renogaw]

which is the reason you should never buy a fish they put in their tanks for at least a week of watching the behavior of the fish. next time, ask them to give you the fish before they put it in their tank, it should come in its own bag.

 

[natclanwy]

Originally Posted by renogaw
http:///forum/post/2471374
which is the reason you should never buy a fish they put in their tanks for at least a week of watching the behavior of the fish. next time, ask them to give you the fish before they put it in their tank, it should come in its own bag.
I wouldn't even do it this way because you have no idea how the supplier treated the fish before it got to you. I have seen some fish come in in pretty bad shape. The best is to let the LFS keep them for a week or two before you add them to your tank.

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by natclanwy
http:///forum/post/2471452
I wouldn't even do it this way because you have no idea how the supplier treated the fish before it got to you. I have seen some fish come in in pretty bad shape. The best is to let the LFS keep them for a week or two before you add them to your tank.

Oh definitely, this is ideally the best way.
but, say you special order a fish and you want it the day the fish comes in, or say you want one of the fish they are acclimating, you're better off grabbing it in the original bag than letting them "acclimate" it then acclimating into your own tank. i'll be honest, the wholesalers/shippers are probably handling the fish better than the lfs 75% of the time.

 

[m0nk]

I wouldn't buy a fish from a store that doesn't offer a guarantee of some kind, unless you are able to have the fish put on hold and go back day after day to see it for at least a week or so. Personally, I'd consider the $20 loss as a cost of learning and start shopping somewhere else.
To answer the question, most stores that care about their livestock and/or customers would drip acclimate, and you should drip acclimate as well. Many stores only do temp acclimation, though, which is why my previous points are very important.

 

[pcircle85]

There is a reef store near where I live that drip acclimates everything they order, really top-notch place, but they are OMG expensive. Cheaper to order online.

 

[morval]

many of the fish stores around me will gaurentee there fish only after they have been in the store for a week that s why they put the date the fish came in next to the price, i can buy it b4 its been there a week but at my own risk.

 

[renogaw]

depends on the store. lfs near me has 48 hour 1/2 warranty on fish, nothing on coral/live rock. yet another has 24hour replacement warranty on fish. really sucked to have a jawfish jump after 36 hrs after buying from the 24 hr one