Grrrrr.....ordering from flaky vendors (rant warning)

barry cuda

barry cuda

Member
I took this weekend off (my job involves being available 24/7 at a moment's notice) so I could be home to take delivery of a shipment of LR and LS from another vendor I won't mention here. This source has been reliable and very professional in the past, and has given me great prices on high-quality stuff. I called the owner today to verify that the shipment had gone out on Wed. as we'd agreed, and he told me he'd forgotten.
GRrrrrrrrrr. He *did* charge my credit card, but then forgot to ship my stuff. What's more, he had already seen the email I sent yesterday to ask if he had a tracking number, but waited until I called him today to do anything about the problem. I'm not very pleased right now - this will probably be the last time I do business with this outfit. I wound up arranging to burn a vacation day so I can be home Monday, as he said he would 2nd-day the shipment today. Now, if I find out that it didn't go out today, I'm going to be REALLY upset.
Anyway, sorry for the rant. I'm just disappointed and highly annoyed at the moment. I think next time I'll just buy from SWF.
 
dockery07

dockery07

Active Member
Hey Barry I think I know who your got your stuff from... I know another guy who was treated the same way. He actually has not gotten his stuff from January. Anyhow if you need some help we're in dallas and could be willing to meet on the weekend.
 
barry cuda

barry cuda

Member
Hmm, I hope it's not the same outfit. I ordered a bunch of equipment from these guys in Feb. and was very pleased with how they handled the transaction. I'm curious, though, to find out who that vendor was. If you feel like it, email me at flankerbait@<remove this part>hotmail.com and let me know who it was...
Update on the LR situation - still not sure what's going on. I called the owner back to verify that it was going out today and he said yes, it would, but he was concerned about it sitting in the shipping packaging for 3 days until Monday. I asked if shipping tomorrow for a Monday delivery would be preferable and he said he could do that, and yes he thought that would be wiser as less would die. Long story short, he was going to call me back tonight to let me know once he confirmed he could ship in the morning, but I haven't heard anything. If nothing else, the communication is lacking here. He did say he's going to ship a higher grade of rock than what I ordered to make up for the screwup, but right now I'm not counting anything until the rock is in my hands. Next time, I think swf.com gets my money, even if it costs more.
 
barry cuda

barry cuda

Member
Aquatic Warehouse? By the airport? Never heard of em...I'll have to check them out. I'm a little tired of going into Alamo Aquatic Pets and seeing things like Moorish Idols and blue ribbon eels in the stock tanks...even some of the employees seem to be disappointed in whoever's making the stock decisions there. If Aquatic Warehouse is at all a responsible outfit, they'll be my new choice of local supplier. Much closer to Cibolo, too :)
 
barry cuda

barry cuda

Member
Just in case anybody's still reading this thread, let me put in a big "thumbs up" for Aquatic Warehouse. They're hard to find and only open a few hours a day on weekdays, but I was really pleased with their service and the quality/quantity of livestock they had. Their stock tanks were full of good-sized, vibrant, active fish. I only saw one yellow tang with some ragged fins...everything else seemed healthier than I've seen in other stores in San Antonio. No ich, no hard-breathing fish, nothing obviously in distress.
They had a very nice selection of fish, and the widest variety of inverts I've seen in any LFS. Plus, they're marine-only which counts for something in my book...I like a shop that can pick one thing and do it well. I wound up buying 50# of Tongan rock from them after canceling the other order, and I'll be back for livestock when the tank's ready.
 
blue steel

blue steel

Member
i visit san antonio often, and was wondering if you could give me directions to the marine-only store by the airport. The only one I have visited in SA was Texas aquatic or something like that and they seemed to have a larger variety than my town, but still not the best.
 
barry cuda

barry cuda

Member
They're on Gulfdale at the west end of the airport. I'm doing this from memory here, but if you go south on San Pedro, then take a left on Sandau, that brings you to Gulfdale. Turn right there and they're kind of hidden in a small office complex on the left, right after you turn onto Gulfdale.
Obviously I can't link to their page here, but if you Google the name "Aquatic Warehouse" along with "San Antonio" you'll find it. It's best to check the site if you're planning to stop there, as they have very limited hours.
 
ross

ross

Active Member
Glad i could help you Barry. I buy all my livestock from Aquatic Warehouse. They blow Texas Tropical and Alamo Aquatics away in everything. They will even match on-line prices on dry goods. They dont' get any fish from phillipines. Almost all their fish come from hawaii or christimas islands. If you are interested in the local SA/Austin club email me at
bassmaster15(at)hotmail.com
 
barry cuda

barry cuda

Member
Cool. I joined MAAST a while ago but haven't been active in any way... was waiting until I had a tank :)
The more I examine the rock from AW, the more impressed I am with it. Lots of nice coralline in different colors, halimeda, and a few things I can't begin to recognize. I just hope some of it survives the cycle :eek: I'm skimming and already it's pulling out some really nasty gunk, so I know we're better off than we would have been without. In any event, I'll definitely be back to AW for livestock. I'm glad to find a local small business that I can confidently support.
One of these months I'll have to make it to a MAAST meeting and get to know the local folks. My own email is flankerbait <at> hotmail dot com.
Thanks again!
 
dockery07

dockery07

Active Member
I am glad things worked out. I hope you got a good rock price. Our tonga is $4.00 a pound...
But it is good that you have someone to work with.
 
thedraven

thedraven

Member
After reading this post I decided to try AW instead of Alamo, but I wasnt all that impressed honestly. Weird hours and location aside (4-8pm only?), I saw a few dead/dying/paralyzed fish in tanks that only had a piece of pvc pipe for decor at most. Certain tanks were definitely unkept. No sand in most of the tanks, much less rock, just bare tanks with lethargic fish. They had some nice big coral tanks, and a few nice fish, but Ive seen some of the fish in better shape at *****.
I was out to buy some live rock (alot of it), and I checked out their few pieces of tonga which an employee claimed to be two weeks cured... all I saw were black patches where film was still falling off. The water was gross too... looked like sewer water, with a slight smell still present. The rocks they had were either spotty/patchy or devoid of color. Ive seen better rocks at Alamo, but I stopped by and they didnt have much to choose from either. How frustrating... I think Ill just order my lr here at swf.com and cure it myself. Wish we had some better lfs in the area. Too bad I didnt see any nice rock like Cuda saw, you mustve gotten the pick of the litter.
:confused:
 
barry cuda

barry cuda

Member
Weird. All the fish I saw looked very active & healthy. Yes, there were a number in bare or minimally-equipped tanks, but in my experience that isn't all that unusual. Personally I view that approach as not being all that different from not having substrate in a QT at home. I can see a lot of advantages in not having much or any substrate in stock tanks that are intended to host fish for a short time until sale, then turn over to another fish. It's my opinion that decor in a tank is mostly for the aquarist's benefit, not for the fish. Yes, they need some shelter/cover, but that's what the PVC is for. If these were long-term habitation tanks I'd agree, but for store stock tanks this strikes me as less risky than having sand/cc to become breeding habitat for parasites.
The rock situation doesn't surprise me...the employees never represented that rock to me as fully cured. The owner made a point before he rang up my sale of being sure I realized this. It wasn't an issue for me as I'm cycling a new tank anyway. And it's very possible the pieces I got were some of the best ones. Had a good deal of coralline in different colors, noticeable encrusting sponges, etc.
Just my $.02...I'm not saying you're wrong, just that my impression differed markedly from yours.
 
thedraven

thedraven

Member
Hey, you pointed out something I didnt consider... I guess Im just used to seeing at least some sand and a coral skeleton or two (like ***** or Alamo) in each tank. Still, I cant get over seeing a number of dead fish decomposing or being eaten by crabs in display tanks. Not to mention paralyzed clowns. I dont consider that a sign of healthy fish, but hey, Im just a newbie. Perhaps theres a ratio of sick to healthy fish that any given dealer should have. The only other spot Ive seen dead fish is one of the local petcos.
:sleepy:
At least they leveled with you about the rock not being cured, instead of outright lying. The guy said "its been cured by the owner in a kiddie pool for two weeks." Somehow I doubt that, as that rock was still peeling and the water disgusting for only having a small handful of rock. Arent you supposed to clean it? Is there any other spot you might recommend to aquire live rock? Thanks Cuda.
 
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