LFS has STUPIDLY caused another potential DEATH

[saul t. waters]

Well, stocked my recently started 10 gallon... ammonia-0 ph-8.2 trites-0 trates-10... anyway i go to the lfs today in hopes of buying a damsel and a condy anemone... well i pick out the anemone i want... took awhile to get em off of the rock... but i got em...healthy looking by the way... and i pick out the best looking BLUE damsel i have ever seen there before... well i go off looking at the crabs... thinking the store keeper would take care of the fish... any way i pick out a hermit crab... he puts him in the bag... THE "BAG" is the main point of this story... well i look at the "BAG" and i see that he has put the damsel in the same BAG with the anemone... the damsel was going CRAZY... being stung by the anemone... anyway, me, also being STUPID, thought nothing of it, and just took him home... well i acclimate him to my tank, put him in, and a few hours later i turn on the lights and he his covered with a WHITE FILM, and it was all in the water... i assumed this was his slime coat he was losing due to the anemone stinging him.... well now he has completely lost the slime coat and the right side of its body is pink to a white color and the back end of the body is white on both sides... going to get some stress coat to see if this helps, but if you have advice please let me know asap...
thanx

 

[nacl-h2o]

I guess they also pack gobies with lion fish. Looks like its time to put out the help wanted sign. But change it to GOOD help wanted sw/reef experance required.
Hope your fish makes it.

 

[saul t. waters]

, looks like i may be TOO late... the fish is now lying on its side breathing hard...can i have a moment of silence........................ well i am going to turn out the lights to reduce the stress on it.... D@MN fish store

 

[tiffbritty]

bring him back to the fish store and make them give you a new damsel .it was their mistake not yours bring him back tell them what they did they owe you a new fish

 

[saul t. waters]

too late tiff... down the toilet it went... they don't have guarantees on fish... they will not give me another and the reason i know this is because the first firefish i bought from them died before i even set it free into my tank... i took it back... one of the store keepers was going to let me get another fish... so while i was back there trying to pick one out... the same one comes back there and says "i'm sorry, i talk it over with so and so, and she said that we can not allow you to get a fish b/c we have no guarantee on them" so i am there like... u should've told me before i came back here to look for one, and before you told me that i COULD get one... and then the woman who she talked it over with asks me when i walk out the door do i want the dead firefish back... i say what am i gonna do with it... fry it?
little background info on this woman... she is the RUDEST person i have ever met... everytime i go and ask her a question about something, she gives me a smart comment...not answering my question and not even looking at me when she talks... this is why i want to order a package of fish from SWF.com... at least they have a guarantee... the only reasons i go to the pet store is because its the only one near me that sells SWF, and because there are actually some nice ppl there... like the one who said i could get another fish...
any body near statesville nc who knows of a GOOD FS let me know <img src="graemlins//confused2.gif" border="0" alt="[confused2]" />

 

[broomer5]

That's insane.
I would go back and insist on a new fish, and if they say no after you explain what happened, find another lfs to shop at, and tell them you are done with them.
That's flat out wrong.

 

[papafish]

Sorry dude;But my lfs gives a 48hr waranty for
everyone, I get a little better because he Is the
only 1 Ideal with and he knows my routine

 

[jagnmeg99]

Sual,
Maybe try a search for SW fish stores near ya---there (u would think) should be one around.
I wouldn't waste my time, money and effort there anymore.
I have also ran across an awful lfs and will never go back there again. (I got lucky though, mine lived)
Good luck---try the search---it may work, and worth a shot.

 

[jodilynn]

I would not go back to the LFS either. The LFS near me do not give any guarantee once a fish leaves the store so I bought 3 of my 5 fish (including a purple firefish) from SWF.com and was and am very happy. I would reccommend it also, as they have a guarantee of a week or so. Best of luck.
Jodilynn

 

[jagnmeg99]

i have not bought fish from swf.com yet but i do have a great lfs , they have no guarentees either but they r some of the best help ive had so far they are always informative and helpful and i hope honest, so what i recommened u do is take some time to travel your area and find a small time lfs that may be willing to be honest with u because they care about the fish and not the money.

 

[frostymug]

Saul, not sure if you are willing to drive to Kannapolis, but I live in Salisbury and go to Greendales in Kannapolis. It is not a huge store, but she has a great selection of healthy saltwater fish. She doesn't have much in the way of corals, but she has a great staff and has always been helpful. If you would like to get directions let me know, its not but about 1.5 miles from 85.

 

[drew_tt]

Im sorry, but I see it as primarily your fault. Sure this employee did something he/she shouldnt have, but you could have spoken up and asked for them to be packaged separately.
I work at a lfs and there are 5 of us who are in charge of the fish section. 2 of us are well-experienced in marine, one has no real experience but is always helpful, and the others (these 2 are pretty new) are trying to learn as much as they can as they ahve never kept any sw before. If someone comes up, without asking any questions, and askes to buy a marine animal, I dont see how they could not sell it. WOuldnt it make sense that if you are dead set on buying it you would know how to care for it? it would take one second even to ask them for a second bag...
Ive seen your name on this board many a times... youre not stupid. you know about everyones opinions on anemones... if you were willing to actually try one dont you think you woudl take necessary precautions?...
I just really hate seeing people blame their stupidity on lfs and others...
Drew

 

[heavenly damsel]

I have had a hard time with banggai cardinals..4 out of 5 have died in the past month. I talked with the LFS manager today about this problem thinking I was doing something wrong, well guess what....he says they are having problems with them in the store and have a survival rate of 2 out of 5, either dying at the store or reported dead by the customer. Says he thinks they may be cyanide collected. And no I can't have a replacement fish...no guarantees on SWF. They are generally a great store....this is the only problem I have had with them. Actually I was kind of releived to know it wasn't me. BTW i will be asking them to feed the fish from now on.

 

[saul t. waters]

Drew TT... it was too late to tell him to put in in a separate bag, because before i realized what he had done, it was already in there, and i would much rather try to take care of the problem, than to let the LFS do it because i feel there would have been a MUCH better chance of it LIVING... but oh i forget the LFS's know what they are doing...RIGHT <img src="graemlins//confused2.gif" border="0" alt="[confused2]" />
tk2020 i heard of a place i think is called China House or something... maybe thats were it is near, but it is located behind a doctors office and he owns it, they have a shark tank...ring a bell, anyway was wondering if you heard of it and if so what do you think of it???

 

[saul t. waters]

drew tt... i admit... the only thing i did STUPIDLY was taking the fish home... but when i go and buy a SW creature, i expect to take care of it, not just to get a NEW fish...
SW hobbyist just don't go out and buys a fish, just because its pretty, or because they had one that died because they didn't take care of it, or because they have so much money that they need to spend it on something... they buy a fish to care for its needs, you don't pick out a fish, it picks you out, you don't own a fish, you just house it, take care of it and love it... and not love it because of its looks...
and you are obviously in the business for the money, not the care of the fish... <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />

 

[drew_tt]

oh yeah, IM obviously ( <img src="graemlins//yeahright.gif" border="0" alt="[yeahright]" /> ) in it for the money... I make near minimum wage, I love my job, helping people and teaching people... Im the only person that I know of who will refuse a sale.
maybe my words came off strong but I dont take a single one back... too many people are too quick to blame lfs AFTER they do something wrong... I see it every day...
a guy came in and ordered a batfish for his 100gallon+ tank... it came in about 8 " tall and he didnt take it because he lied... its only a 10 gallon and he didnt think it could literally fit... this happens all of the time! we get blamed daily for other peoples mistakes...
research, and buy what you can care for... its your duty to care for them the best you can...
and you cannot assume lfs' know "how to do their job," refering to them knowing everything. If we dont know an answer (and many other lfs around here), we ask other people, look it up in books and let people know of resources they can look it up themselves on... anyone in this hobby knows how much diversity there is and how much information there is to learn... no one can possibly know it all... maybe this employee did not know that anemones can sting a damsel, maybe she though this damsel is one of those immune to the stinging, maybe she's new or just starting...
Im saying if you knew that what she was doing was wrong would it be too hard to correct her and ask her to put them in separate bags? they were already in one... it takes a second to open it and fill another...
Drew <img src="graemlins//yell.gif" border="0" alt="[yell]" />

 

[drew_tt]

OT: btw, how old is this "newly stocked" 10 gallon and what is the lighting system on it that you felt it was ready for an anemone?
not being rude, just curious
Drew <img src="graemlins//confused2.gif" border="0" alt="[confused2]" />

 

[jordan 150]

Drew i agree with you that every one blames the lfs and thank you that you wont make a dishonest sale hopefully you work in my neiborhood because alot of the time my lfs just sales me stuff like the ***** i went to the ***** where i live and i saw some carbon for my filter and i asked her just for kicks it was like the manager i guess who came and i told her about my filter and she said ohh yea yea you need this carbon right her she picked up a box of carbon for 30 buck and said i also needed a 130 dollar prizm skimmer now if i was a rookie in the hobbie i would have been assed out 160 bucks some lfs really messed up

 

[drew_tt]

thanks, appreciate it
and what I mean, and I know there are MANY bad lfs out there..., is that if we can even help the lfs or at least correct them why not? we're causing more harm by not 'lending' a helping hand when we know WE CAN improve!
Drew

 

[broomer5]

If I were to go to a petstore looking to purchase a cat and a mouse to live in my barn - I would expect anyone working there to put them in separate containers to take home.
If they did not - I would insist upon it before leaving UNLESS I didn't notice it until I got home, and then found the mouse to be dead.
Then - I would go back to the store and insist that they give me a new mouse - no charge.