Must have had "SUCKER" on my forehead!!!

[hafen]

Okay, here is my story that I am really embarrassed to share. I always wanted a Saltwater tank, I have done the Freshwater for awhile. So I had a bright idea that for Easter I would get my kids a nice Saltwater tank setup. They are older now, so toys were not what they wanted. So the day before Easter I went into our local Pet*o, and ask the clerk (also a manager) if Saltwater Tanks where hard to do. Her reply was no, let me help you get all you need to get going.
So I purchased a 16 gal. bow front tank on a stand, heater, filter live sand, glass salt therm., sea salt, and the following fish..... 1 Sailfin Tang, 1 Yellow Tang, 1 Blue Hippo Tang, 2 Clarkii Clowns, 2 Percule Clowns, 2 Gold Stripe Maroon, 2 Tomato Clowns. She said there should be no problem with having all the clowns together. I was so happy, thinking I had the whole "Nemo" cast. Came home got everything set up, floated my bags for 20 min. like she told me too, then let them all out. It was so beautiful!!! She told me just watch your therm. and keep it in the green zone.
I thought boy this was a piece of cake, I should have done this sooner. Next morning the kids loved it..... everthing went fine for about a week, then one morning one right after the other went belly up.:scared:
I was so sick:sleepy: I called the store, their reply was sorry we have no guarentee on Saltwater fish. Searching for answers I got on the internet, found this message board, and know I know why they all died. I never cycled!!!! Never even knew anything about it. Never tested the water. Used tap water. Had more than one Tang in this small tank, all those Clowns. Lets just say, I did everything wrong and dearly paid the price.
I have now gone through the cycle, bought a water tester kit, and have just put in my first fish, along with a clean up crew. They have lasted a week, so I am still crossing my fingers. I have done a gallon water change, and testing daily. I hope I am the only idiot that has done this, and trust me I'm really not a dumb blonde.

 

[gregvabch]

i think that's the worst thing i've ever heard. it really is a shame that things like that happen to so many people who don't know any better. i know it's a pet stores job to sell but that's horrible. sorry for your losses. i'm sure you learned a valuable lesson! welcome to the board and i hope that this does not discourage you, this really is a great hobby! greg

 

[hafen]

Easter was Sunday, and it was the following weeks Monday.
I remember thinking the "Monday from H

LL."
Each time I flushed them away.

 

[nolson]

Ouch what a horror story... Makes me thank god and everything above I found this board a day after buying my tank and only my tank Sorry for your losses.

 

[sweetdawn]

sometimes store managers can be so short sighted yes they got a big sale off of you that day but will you shop there again? Probably not. I manage a GNC i try to be truthfull with people and will tell them not to buy so many things at once cause if you have a bad reaction to something how will you know what is making you sick. Not trying to empty their pocketbooks the first time they come in gets them back in the next month. plus word of mouth is not good if you s* someone over like that. they should realize you will tell everyone what they did and in the long run that one sale could cost the store literily thousands of dollars.

 

[skirrby]

wow thats horriable. i still cant get over them wanting you to put 11 fish in a 16 gallon tank, and even selling you tangs for it. the things ***** does is a shame... dont worry now that you found this board things will go alot better for you. this board is one of the main things that helped me since i bought my tank.

 

[meow]

Oh my god.. if I were you I would have raised complete HELL at *****. I would have talked to the store manager, and if the store manager wouldn't help me, I would have talked to the district manager. Somebody would have helped you, I'm sure. Usually when you get higher up in the food chain in stores like that, you're bound to find someone that knows SOMETHING. I bet you would have eventually talked to someone and they'da been like "WHAT?? We sold you THAT many saltwater fish for that size of a tank?" And they would have apologized and given you a gift card or something. You should always try to talk to the higher-ups. They are usually a lot better at working with you than the stupid teenagers that work on the floor.
Just my opinion.. I know, cause I've work at pet stores before. Even at the crappiest pet stores, there's always SOMEONE that knows what they're doing.
How much did you spend on all those fish, by the way?

 

[birdy]

OMG, I cannot even believe they sold you 1 tang for a 16gal much less 3 and all those clowns! Clowns don't get along with each other! OMG I am still in shock.
Well welcome and you will get lots of good advise here.
For reference you are probably only going to be able to put 3 small fish total in your tank.

 

[cidory]

Im a novice and cant believe this story, on second thought , yes I can. Sorry to hear it. personally before I do anything with my tank, I research , research and research, then check sources against the other sources, this hobby is way too expensive to do otherwise

 

[thomas712]

Hafen
So after all this my question would be to you, do you wish to continue with a saltwater setup?

 

[nm reef]

My personal position is that any retailor that makes a sell like you described should be prosecuted!!!!! Such reckless advice and sells are simply not right!!! But...at the same time it should be noted that any consumer should develop enough information and knowledge to prevent things like this from happening. Not faulting you specifically because this type situation happens a lot...but if you had researched your intentions before hand the sell would have never happen!
That said...I do hope your future experiences in this hobby are much more successful....and welcome to the forums....:thinking:

 

[jlem]

Did you talk to the store manager. I would go in and throw a fit real loud. Let all of the custumers hear you. You won't get your money back but it will embarras the store in front of custumers. Spend an hour or so and let every custumer in the fish dept know the kindov stuff they did. I think that it would be entertaining at the least.

 

[jkvjl]

Sorry to hear of your bad luck I hope you stick with the hobby.

 

[luvkycool]

Sorry to hear,but telling your story here will help others also,atleast me.

 

[faraday]

I am new to a SWA as well. The one thing that I have learned is have lots of patience, go very, very, very slow. Take your time. And before you do anything, regardless of what it is, how small or big the task is or purchase, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. Getting books, gathering information from reputable web sites, such as this one, and talking to other SWA owners.
Please get the book The Conscientous Marine Aquariast by Bob Fenner, like kip4130 says. I just purchased the other day, and have read it from front to back. I am re-reading it again, and will probably use and consultant the book several times. It is an extremely useful book. My next book will be one that is just on the fish, inverts, corals and organisms. Haven't found a good one yet, but I will. This site has also been extremely useful, and there are many other ones. Have at least 3 or more books to consult and read. You will probably use them, throughout the entire time you have a SWA.
DO NOT USE PET*O OR PET*MART. THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES ARE NOT IN YOUR BEST INTRESTS, ONLY THEIRS AND THE MONEY THEY CAN MAKE. I would never purchase any animal from either of them, and I am extremely careful about the dog food I buy from them. Matter of fact I am finding a new place to buy dog food.
Purchasing your equipment, fish and maintaince should be done with reputable internet business, such as here, and only from a Pet Store that specializes in Salt Water fish. And also be careful whom you ask questions of.... know some of the facts before you go in there. Sometimes you will teach them something they don't know. Or vice versa. Establish a relationship with the store and the employees. As most have stated here, they should keep their fish, inverts, corals, rocks and tanks exactly as we would. And a good store will hold your supplies and new friends for a week or two. This is so you can come in once a day, view the fish, it's behaviors, and feeding habits. Any store that will not hold your fish and such, means that the possiblity of fish surviving in your tank will be low.
REMEMBER, EVERYTHING IN YOUR TANK IS A LIVING ORGANISM. THE SAND, THE ROCK, THE FISH, THE INVERTS, THE CORAL, EVEN THE WATER. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE THINGS YOU DO TO THE TANK, COULD IMPROVE OR KILL IT. AND THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN KILLING ANOTHER LIVING BEING.
I am sorry about your lose, and depending on how much you spent, I would complain, complain, complain. Go all the way to the top, until you get your money back. Never do business with that store again, and tell everyone about it.
And just to let you know, NO, I DO NOT HAVE A TANK YET. Not until I am throughly educated in the matter, then I will set one up, and go very slow, adding my buddies, slowly to the tank, over a period of 1 or 2 years. Only cause I will be responsible for the care of other living beings. The old saying, "We constantly learn until the day we die" is true adage with SWA's. I think any expert will tell you that, even they continue to learn new things concerning aquariums.
GOOD LUCK, KEEP YOUR CHIN UP, AND SPIRITS HIGH.

 

[faraday]

I hope that this experience won't deter you from having a SWA, if your serious about owning one. If you read the books, use the internet, and talk with other SWA hobbyist and owners, as well as your LFS (Local Fish Store, that's reputable), that once you have your tank set up and established, that the rewards will be high, make you happy, and give you a relaxing home enviorment.
SWA's are time consuming and require a lot of work. It will be a continuing process, Lots of work and maintaince, but as stated the rewards will be great.

 

[stillfrodo]

I am so glad I found this board before i even attempted to set up my tank. Fortunately I have a LFS that is excellent and helped me tremendously. Close to a year now that my tank has been set up. Other then a loss of a cleaner shrimp or 2 and a clown I have had no problems. Research and more research is the name of the game. Also no skimping on equiptment its an expensive hobby one should relaize that before they jump in.

 

[zephyrlily]

Hafen,
That's an awful ordeal you went through. You should really take it up with higher management there and even write a formal complaint to the headquarters of the company. Horrible customer service like that is enough to keep me away from buying ANYTHING from them no matter how cheap, so thanks for the heads up.
I agree with previous recommendations to read Conscientious Marine Aquarist. You can buy it or loan it from your local library as I have and am currently reading while my tank cycles.
Don't feel embarrased or discouraged, your story will help others.
:joy: :jumping:

 

[dicemanj]

Hafen - Please don't take this the wrong way. It sounds like you have freshwater expierence, you should know that you can't put that many fish in one small tank.
I understand that ***** does not offer a quarantee on SW fish, I think there should be a class action suit against them for missleading, and plain out lying to their customers.
If this thread is truthful, I am sorry for your loss. I hope you stick with saltwater fish, this board is very helpful.

 

[barry cuda]

That's probably the single worst bad LFS advice horror story I've heard, ever. I hope you did raise some hell with ***** corporate. The person who sold you those fish really should meet with a career disaster as a result. I'm glad you decided not to let the incident deter you, though.