New Shipment From SWF.COM

[mantisman51]

So, I waited for 15 minutes outside the FedEx office to pick up my fish. I got home 20 minutes later(I live that far out of town). I open the box and the false perc and the candy stripe cardinal are dead in the bag, and the royal gramma is floating upside down. I know SWF is good at standing behind their livestock, so I'm disappointed but not too worried. (1)The temerature of the water in the box was 65 F-I put 63 F in the return form, but after 10 more minutes it climbed to 65 F. (2) The sg in the bags is 1.018. I used a new(calibrated) refractometer. Is it common to have 65 F temp in the shipping box? Do fish distributors ship fish in lower sg than normal?

 

[alexmir]

sorry about that letdown, i got a shipment a few weeks ago and 2 things were dead, it really stinks. The water should not have been mid 60's, was there a heat pack in the box? Also, i do not think that they would ship a fish with the SG at 1.018, how new is that refractometer?

 

[spanko]

I don't know about SWF but a lot of my LFS's keep their salinity lower than 1.024 to save on salt costs. Plus lower salinity allows more oxygen concentration in the water.

 

[mantisman51]

I got an email from SWF support and the sg is 1.018. They say this lowers stress on the fish-thus the long drip acclimation. The refractometer was deliverd 3 weeks ago today. I calibrated it last week-it was dead on accurate. Today is the second time I used it. Funny thing, my Instant Ocean hydrometer is exactly accurate after 2 years. I rinse it out with purified water after every use. I guess that works. It had 3 "refridgerator packs" to keep them cool. SWF support said FedEx must have shipped them too cool.

 

[aquaguy24]

i was thinkin about ording some sps frags from here..after reading this now i don't know....

 

[coraljunkie]

I buy almost all my lifestock from SWF.com. I have never had a problem. Excellent source for reasonable prices. aquaguy I would go ahead and order the sps. I ordered a acropora and montipoa cap. and both are growing quite well.

 

[jpa0741]

Are you using calibration fluid for you refractometer or distilled water. Just an fyi they should always be calibrated with the cal. fluid.

 

[mantisman51]

FedEx screwed this one up. I would whole-heartedly endorse SWF.com. You aren't (at least I can't) hardly gonna believe this: The royal gramma is now upright and hiding in the cup I have in the QT tank. He started to come out a couple times, but the vagabond butterfly chases him back in. Also, the candystripe cardinal is now swimming all around the tank. The candy stripe was totally imobile, but I thought what the hay, I'll drip him anyway. By the time the 3 hours were up, he was swimming around. I have never seen any fish, salt or fresh, come back like this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but the royal gramma, especially is looking really good. I think the cold temp was causing them stress.
Also, I used distilled water to calibrate the refractometer, since that was the instructions with the meter. Also, I took in a water sample to the LFS for a water test and they had the same reading on their refractometer.

 

[myerst22]

Not sure if I am correct, but O think you may have to spend some more money in order to get your refund? Is this correct? From what i heard you have to spend an additional $75 in order to receive a refund? If I am wrong I apologize. Tim

 

[mantisman51]

No. If the fish are DOA, you get a refund. If it is after 5 hours, and within 15 days, you get a credit. I think they really try to do right by the customers. Stuff happens with livestock. I must admit that SWF has really tried to take care of this and answer all my questions.

 

[coraljunkie]

That is not correct. Had a torch coral that died within the 15 day guarantee and they credited my account the full price after I returned the dead coral according to their proceedures.

 

[mantisman51]

The "miracle" candystripe has died. It was the one that was floating upside-down and not moving/breathing. When I went ahead and put it in the drip box, it seemed to come back to life. I guess it was too much stress. The royal gramma is still looking good.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2719556
I don't know about SWF but a lot of my LFS's keep their salinity lower than 1.024 to save on salt costs. Plus lower salinity allows more oxygen concentration in the water.
Very true; but I think the low SG is more for the fish health than cost. (parasite control, less stress on the fish) Before reefs and inverts; many experienced hobbiests kept their fish as low as 1.017.
I think your experience was terrible, but not normal. I have nothing but good things to say about SWF.C...this could happen to anyone when living things are involved. Also, shipping to AZ; did someone over-do the cooling paks,maybe?

 

[nycbob]

i hv ordered from here numerous times. i am overall pretty satisfied. the only time i was upset was when a few of my hermits died, and swf.com wanted me to mail them back.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2721175
i hv ordered from here numerous times. i am overall pretty satisfied. the only time i was upset was when a few of my hermits died, and swf.com wanted me to mail them back.
Sad. I guess if everyone was as honest as most of us are, it wouldn't be necessary. Remember, many employees are just paid to follow the rules, not make decisions. But this is such a minor inconvenience compared to all the advantages. I'll never buy livestock anywhere but online again.

 

[jpa0741]

Originally Posted by mantisman51
http:///forum/post/2720055
FedEx screwed this one up. I would whole-heartedly endorse SWF.com. You aren't (at least I can't) hardly gonna believe this: The royal gramma is now upright and hiding in the cup I have in the QT tank. He started to come out a couple times, but the vagabond butterfly chases him back in. Also, the candystripe cardinal is now swimming all around the tank. The candy stripe was totally imobile, but I thought what the hay, I'll drip him anyway. By the time the 3 hours were up, he was swimming around. I have never seen any fish, salt or fresh, come back like this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but the royal gramma, especially is looking really good. I think the cold temp was causing them stress.
Also, I used distilled water to calibrate the refractometer, since that was the instructions with the meter. Also, I took in a water sample to the LFS for a water test and they had the same reading on their refractometer.
Your refractometer may be good but fyi for many other here. Using distilled to calibrate your refractometer is a bad idea (even if the instructions say to use). Using distilled water does not calibrate well for the range we use it in. Many, many people have found their meter to be off when using the correct calibration fluid. Here is good article on it here http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/index.php. Just a little heads for people.

 

[mantisman51]

I hope no one misunderstands the message of my post. SWF sent great looking fish at a reasonable price and very, very quickly. I was just wondering if the low salt/temp were normal. Salt is, temperature not so much. I will never buy anywhere but SWF.com. I really believe that these folks do everything within their control to make the whole process a good one. After speaking with a FedEx driver, it's possible (not supposed to happen) that the live fish were put in the wrong part of the airplane cargo hold where the temperature is not controlled. If that happened, according to the FedEx driver, I'm lucky they were't a giant fishcicle. BTW, I have read many places since last night, that they ship in lower sg because the fish are less stressed and it helps them use less energy, which = less oxygen used.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by mantisman51
http:///forum/post/2721556
I hope no one misunderstands the message of my post. SWF sent great looking fish at a reasonable price and very, very quickly. I was just wondering if the low salt/temp were normal. Salt is, temperature not so much. I will never buy anywhere but SWF.com. I really believe that these folks do everything within their control to make the whole process a good one. After speaking with a FedEx driver, it's possible (not supposed to happen) that the live fish were put in the wrong part of the airplane cargo hold where the temperature is not controlled. If that happened, according to the FedEx driver, I'm lucky they were't a giant fishcicle. BTW, I have read many places since last night, that they ship in lower sg because the fish are less stressed and it helps them use less energy, which = less oxygen used.

I agree. IME & IMO; fish are very healthy and active at a SG of 1.017. If it wasn't for the marine life on LR; I'd still keep fish at that level. I believe major online dealers not only ship, but maintain and acclimate their fish at about this level. The "less stress" mentioned by mantisman51 above is just because lower GS water is lighter and puts less pressure on fish. ( I think).

 

[kjr_trig]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2722279

I agree. IME & IMO; fish are very healthy and active at a SG of 1.017. If it wasn't for the marine life on LR; I'd still keep fish at that level. I believe major online dealers not only ship, but maintain and acclimate their fish at about this level. The "less stress" mentioned by mantisman51 above is just because lower GS water is lighter and puts less pressure on fish. ( I think).
Yeah, you and I have had this discussion. It seems everyone here thinks everything has to be kept at 1.025, and it's just not the case. The company I order from keeps all their fish at 1.018-19, inverts at 1.025. Even my Red Sea fish were just fine at 1.018. And I agree again, if my LR and very few snails and crabs I have could handle it I would drop down to 1.019.
Mantisman, definately sounds like temp was the issue on yours, my order that I got last week had the temp dip down to about 70, I'm sure thankfull it didn't go any lower.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2722341
Yeah, you and I have had this discussion. It seems everyone here thinks everything has to be kept at 1.025, and it's just not the case. The company I order from keeps all their fish at 1.018-19, inverts at 1.025. Even my Red Sea fish were just fine at 1.018. And I agree again, if my LR and very few snails and crabs I have could handle it I would drop down to 1.019.
Mantisman, definately sounds like temp was the issue on yours, my order that I got last week had the temp dip down to about 70, I'm sure thankfull it didn't go any lower.
Yeah, I'm sure it was the temp; SG isn't even an issue. SG and PH and temp are why we acclimate My success with the 3 online companies I've bought from has been great. Is it just me, or does it seem that when someone on the forum has a problem, it usually involves all the fish; not just one? If so, I'd guess FedEx didn't follow procedure. IMO, FedEx is, perhaps, the best run company on the planet; but they'll make human errors sometimes too.