Ordered snails from this site and got a bunch of empty shells...not happy in general

[jc74]

Well, I used to order from here from time to time and was always more than satisfied. The fish were healthy, the inverts a good size, and no sign of disease. Back then if you ordered I think $79 worth of stuff shipping was always free. The good old days...
So, I get an email saying they have free shipping if I buy a $49.99 package. I saw one that was 60 assorted snails, and I needed some snails, so I went for it. I also ordered a juvenile lunare wrasse, as well as buy 10 get 10 free blue leg hermits.
When the package arrives I put the invert bags in the tank for a while and then release them. They quickly begin to move around and scatter. After a while I notice that a bunch of the nerite snails aren't moving. Upon further inspection, I see that they're nothing but empty shells. It was supposed to be 20 of them according to what was written on the bag, and I could only count 9 live ones. Unless the other 11 zipped away quickly and are hiding, the empty shells were counted as part of my order.
After I acclimated the wrasse and released it, it quickly darted into a cave. I saw it briefly the next day but couldn't get a good look at it since it was moving so fast. I finally got a good look today, and it's extremely emaciated and flashing against rocks, gasping for breath. Clearly diseased, and it's the first fish addition I've added in 4 years. My tank has been disease free. I've had the same healthy clowns for even longer than that. Also the blue legged hermits are smaller than any hermit I have ever seen. I've ordered hermits from here in the past and they were a decent size. These things are about the size of a Tic Tac.
All in all, I'm no longer happy with the quality of product offered here. It's disappointing since there are no salt water fish stores in my area, and I used to depend on this site to deliver. Now I'm wondering if I should just quit my hobby all together. The nearest marine fish store is almost 2 hours away, and I'm now jaded against ordering anything online.

 

[meowzer]

you have one unfortunate experience and you want to throw in the towel on the whole hobby

Sometimes "crap" happens.....Have you called them? Did you look at the fish before you added it...seems to me if it came with a disease you would have noticed something....
Sorry for your bad experience....BUT as many times as I have ordered from here...and another place...I can count my bad experiences on one hand...and I have ordered A LOT

 

[jc74]

I really don't want to throw in the towel, but I just don't know where else to turn. I guess making a 2 hour pilgrimage now and then isn't that bad. I just hate city driving and when you get there it's a gamble as to what they'll have.
As I said my other orders were great, but that was more than 4 years ago. I did notice the wrasse looked a little off in the bag, kind of pale and lifeless, but I figured it was due to the trip. I no longer have a quaranteen tank and I didn't want it to die, so I added it and figured it would just spring back to life. Yeah, I know..
But what really gets me is the empty nerite snail shells. Did some new employee just scoop them up, thinking there was something inside? Just bizarre. They're all still sitting at the front of the glass in a pile where I dumped them. A couple of the turbo shells were empty too. Do snails completely disappear overnight during shipping when they die?

 

[jc74]

Also, I'm trying to stay postive that the wrasse will bounce back. It is active and pecking around (I have a lot of bristle worms and pods), so hopefully it will be able to fight off whatever's making it itch. I hear moon wrasses are hearty fish, but shouldn't be kept with shrimp and clams. I chopped up a shrimp earlier and it carried off one of the legs into the live rock. The clowns seem fascinated by it and follow it around.

 

[meowzer]

I find the empty shells odd too.....Definitely report it....if it is someone new, they need to know....and even if it is someone whol has been there....they still need to know

 

[monsinour]

possible that the empty shells were full of nearly dead snails and the trip made the snails perrish. And while in transit the new CUC did what they do best. Not trying to defend swf, just tossing out a possibility.

 

[btldreef]

I don't want to come off as a total jerk here, but... Before I really get completely pissed at a company, enough to write something that states their store is so poor that I'm thinking of getting out of the hobby after one bad experience, I would have at least made them aware of the situation. I think SWF deserves at least that much. They'll almost always rectify the situation.
That being said, it doesn't sound at all like you followed their recommendations for acclimation. Inverts are finicky about salinity changes and really need to be acclimated properly. I do think you only have a few survivors is a little crazy though.

 

[jc74]

Quote:
^^BTLDreef, you don't sound like a jerk. Just misinformed. Here's a quote from the instructions SWF included with my order pertaining to my inverts, that were shipped without water:
"Some bags may not contain any water. Some species of invertebrates may be shipped without water. Simply float these bags in your aquarium for half an hour and then release them directly into the aquarium. Items that are shipped with water should be acclimated using the Acclimation Procedure."
And that's what I did. The ones that came to me in 'full' shells are doing fine. The empty shells are still empty. There was no debris in the bags, so where did the bodies go if they were there in the first place? Did they disappear? The only thing that makes sense to me is that the shells were empty in the first place.
One a positive note, the wrasse is doing really well today. It ate another hunk of shrimp this morning and is now taking to flakes. I didn't notice any more flashing against rocks. I hear wrasses are pretty resistant to ick so maybe it was just due to shipping.

 

[meowzer]

Whenever I get snails that do not come in water.....I float them as stated in the directions...BUT....then I add a little tank water, and float them for a short amount of time that way
I agree if there was a snail in there you probably would have seen something though

 

[jc74]

I did let a little water in the bags before releasing them, and the live ones are doing fine. Neither the hermits nor snails were shipped with water. I guess that saves money on shipping costs.
At least one of the hermits has made use of a small nerite shell. I thought it was a snail but then I saw little blue legs sticking out. lol I'll just look at them as future homes for the crabs.