Lessons learned

[wildbunch]

I have bought most of my fish from *****. I have lost approx. (5 fish) $100 dollars in fish, due to bringing them home.
Set up a quarntine tank, and watch the fish at the pet store for at least a week before purchasing. The other local pet store is double the price of ***** so it could be worth the trouble.
Just bought a snowflake Moray eel from *****. The salesperson was clueless and couldn't get the eel out of the barnicle so she let me have the barnicle for free. Got the EEl home and there was 2 eels in there. Hey one for each of my tanks. All for $13.
Now one of the eels ate my Percula clown.
I am getting ready to purchase fish on line and try that. Has anyone out there had luck with online purchases?

 

[mithrax]

That's the nice thing about getting your fish online. Many online stores are reputable and honest. They will probably think twice about giving you a lousy specimen if they have "arrive alive" and "stay alive" guarantee. But be sure to read their policies before you order. The only thing is you pay for the shipping and box charges but considering what you've been thru I won't mind if I were you. And if you're not in a rush, sit back and wait for nice sales/specials. My experience with online shopping has been great. Good Luck.

 

[gobylover]

I recently found a ***** in my area I got a scooter blenny from that didn't make it through the quarantine.Maybe they have you know what fish.They are cheap though.He was only $4 and my lfs wanted $20.I guess they must be priced based on quality!!LOL

 

[goofieones]

I have ordered fish online about 90% of the time, and so far so good. I like to order online, because you get exactly what you want, not just what the pet store has in stock at the time. (except for my recent order, where I ordered a midas blenny, and got a sailfin/alge blenny...oh well) So far none have gotten ich or died. Knock on wood.... my oldest online fish is about 3 1/2 months old. There are many good online fish stores, sw.com is good too.

 

[charmin_fatcat]

I have not had very good luck with buying fish from *****....most of the one's I have bought from there have ick. I think that they cycle their water from one tank to another which transfers the disease to the other tanks. I am not sure of this, but that is what I suspect. The store in my area seems to get sw fish in and out very fast. I don't know if they acclimate the fish long enough, or if they are just in a hurry to get them into the tanks. A lot of their clowns are swimming upside down and the tangs look pale, which is VERY upsetting to me! I am NOT buying my fish from there anymore and have moved to buying either online or from a local man's shop. He is very knowledgeable and will not sell a sick fish, which the other will do. I bought a tang from ***** (which of course had ick which I found out later) went into the store, talked to the manager, told her about the ick and that they need to treat the clowns that were in the same tank. Went back 4 days later to check and asked an assocate if these clowns were being treated for anything and she said no. That is just my experience with the ***** in my area, maybe other stores are better. Thankfully, I was able to save the tang and he is doing great.
Sorry for the long post, but this is a subject that I have been waiting for! Be Careful!!!!

 

[dugan]

I have had a similar experience at *****.
They are so cheap I've gotten suckered in a few times. But it's not a bargain if the fish dies!
I've gotten a few fish with ick and also a few that I suspect were cyanide-caught. There's nothing sadder than watching a beautiful Naso Tang waste away because he's been poisoned.
Now I spend the extra money and go to my reputable LFS or order online.
If you must go to ***** I'd suggest that you ask them to feed the fish so that you can see it's eating. If it won't eat, don't buy it. Also make sure to quarantine the fish when you bring it home.
Katie