eey0n
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Learning the ways of the reef...
Posts: 102
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Post by eey0n on Mar 22, 2013 7:49:43 GMT -5
He So, here's my situation. I recently went to Petco to pick up a new fish for my 55 gallon Fowlr tank. I saw they had a Heniochus Butterfly for only $18. So i quickly did a bit of googling research. Literally, every site said something asking these lines, " Typically, butterfly fish are a pain in the ass. However, this particular species is very healthy and adaptable. " live aquaria had it listed as a beginner's fish! So i figured if pick himup. He seemed a little lazy, but i wasn't really sure about their behavior so i figured i was fine. Long sorry short, i got it home and very slowly acclimated it. 24 hours later o found him dead on the bottom of the tank. So, i called Petco and spoke with their manager (sidebar i have NO issues with the people of Petco, they're very nice and most are reasonably knowledgeable. ) she said since I have been a good customer of theirs she'd give me a break on they salt water return policy (which does not exist). So i was able to get credit for the fish with the stipulation that i bring them a water sample. No problem, i tested and they tested my parameters. All were perfect, even they admitted. So, i picked out a coral beauty angel they had, as they were bagging it up i noticed the tail fin looked a bit beat up. Stupid me ignored this thinking it was probably just picked on a bit I'm the tank it was in and would be fine. Nope! Again, slowly acclimated, it seemed ok at first but when i woke up to go to work @ 2am it literally had no tail and was unable to right itself and was dead this morning. My opinion is they're taking on too much product for the space they have. I know they have alot of demand being one of the few saltwater places around, but the quality of the fish is really suffering. My other gripe is this, how come i can order a fish from an online site and get a 14 day return policy but nothing at all from my lps....things like that erk me. I'll be using either smaller operations or doing things on line from here on or. Rant over.
Lastly, here's what i woke up to...
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Post by gotareef on Mar 22, 2013 9:34:33 GMT -5
video or pic is set to private I cant see it.
sorry to here
im not trying to defend petco but you bought a fish knowing it was sick. were there any sick fish in the system you bought any of the fish from? did you qt or treat any of the fish for parasites, or disease?
I will spend atleast 1/2hr or hr looking at the complete system to make sure nothing is sick and after I buy a fish i treat it for parasites before it goes in my tank. sounds like whatever killed the fish is now in your tank I hope it dosnt spread
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eey0n
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Learning the ways of the reef...
Posts: 102
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Post by eey0n on Mar 22, 2013 12:30:56 GMT -5
Just changed the video to public. If my previously had fish were dying that would be one thing, but that's not the case. The only fish that died were the ones that were purchased and the only reason the coral beauty was purchased was because the butterfly died. Also, i forgot to mention....i did not even acclimate them to the same tanks. The butterfly i put in my 55, the angel i put I'm my 40, i planned on moving it over to the 55 later but i wanted to start it in the 40 because i thought it might do better in there initially. I did not qt, but i did treat for parasites. Also, as i said. All my fish that i previously had are fine. I understand that maybe it was not smart of me to but a fish without "thoroughly inspecting" it first. But, 1) Petco has employees who should have the integrity to make sure before sending out a bad fish. 2) if the employees should miss something my main point is that they should stand by there product by having some sort of guarantee. I personally just feel like maybe , at least in the Portland ones case, they've gotten so busy due to the lack of saltwater lfs in the area that they're over sticking their tanks and unable to properly care got or ensure the quality of their fish. Think about it this way, what if it were puppies? If these fish were puppies then literally half the puppies i brought home would have died inside of 24 hours. People would be pretty upset. Anyways, that's just how i feel about it. I doubt anything at Petco will change, I'm just saying for me personally, I'd rather find a local place and deal with people who are actually caring got their product. Or order online where i get some sort of guarentee. A guarantee tells me, "hey, we don't feel like dealing with a bunch of hassle, so we're gonna make sure or fish are healthy before we send them off."
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Post by gotareef on Mar 22, 2013 12:52:04 GMT -5
did you get them in portland? I was there a week or so ago there were 5-6 dead fish and every fish was sick even the sohal tang (imo a very hearty fish I have never seen one sick)
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Post by spotfin on Mar 22, 2013 19:08:54 GMT -5
Yes, what store was it?
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Post by jess on Mar 22, 2013 20:02:48 GMT -5
I went to Portland petco couple weeks ago and found this anemone. The pic is possibly sideways, some reason the app turns them. Sent from my galaxy s3 Attachments:
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eey0n
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Learning the ways of the reef...
Posts: 102
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Post by eey0n on Mar 23, 2013 3:51:56 GMT -5
Yeah, it was the Portland store. Just a really rough experience. Money down the drain. Oh well, teach me to be a bit more careful when selecting fish i guess.
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Post by seamonkey84 on Mar 23, 2013 10:07:27 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear about your experience, I breifly heard about the heiniochous issue. Sorry to hear the angle didnt make it either. I don't know why that would happen, but I wasn't there at either time when you purchased.
Unfortunately I have to agree that our sale/stocking level has gotten a bit too high for our stores size. We don't have enough tanks (or staff it seems at times) to keep up with our sales, and I can't control the shipping dates on my orders so I can't space them out through the week to allow some things to sell making room for the next shipment. They want me to keep the tanks looking full even with high volumes of sale, so I have to order a bit too much as most fish are purchased within a couple days of arriving.
I personally inspect all my fish at the beginning of my shifts and make sure everything is in sellable condition, Sadly i can't say my associates pays as much attention to detail.
I do suggest that everyone have a qt tank for anything they get out of a retail tank, no matter where you get it from. I personally QT everything that doesn't come directly from ORA,SA or sea and reef
Again, sorry to hear about your bad experience. Also, how are you treating for parasites without doing a QT?
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Post by jstearn on Mar 24, 2013 14:25:10 GMT -5
I've been buying from PETCO for over a year. I've actually bought over 400$ of stuff from them with no deaths. Obviously we all know they have had major ick problems lately. All the expensive fish seem to get sick first. I feel like I'm saving the stuff I buy from death by ick or poor lighting. As soon as they get in my tank they live very healthy life's. Just adding my experience with them.
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eey0n
Full Member
Learning the ways of the reef...
Posts: 102
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Post by eey0n on Mar 25, 2013 3:44:45 GMT -5
Hey,
I was preventatively treating my tank for ick just because I recently had the rough expirience with the kole tang and lion fish. Seamonkey, I'm guessing you're Chi from the Portland store. Honestly, I'll probably return to your store at some point and deal exclusively with you. The fish I've purchased through you seem to do very well. I was just a bit sore about having 2 fish go on me and honestly I plan on being WAY more selective when it comes to picking out fish. I hate to be that guy that asks a million questions and such but I'm quickly learning that in this hobby you kind of need to. I picked up a 7.5 gallon plastic tub that I'm going to use as a small QT tank from now on as well. Everything is a learning experience. I'm happy to report though, a good friend of mine was breaking down a tank and gave me a yellow tang he had and the fish seems very happy and healthy in my tank, so that makes me feel very reassured.
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Post by scoobnoob on Mar 25, 2013 5:43:07 GMT -5
The Bangor petco has just been downright depressing lately. They get in so few and the fish get sick quickly the best thing I've seen there lately were purple tangs at $100 each but one had a really bad case of ic, their frag tank is rough everything just fails to thrive they have a freshwater spongbob decoration in it which I would bet is leaching stuff into the water.
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NateG
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Post by NateG on Mar 25, 2013 22:50:46 GMT -5
The flow in your tank is pretty intense for any new stressed out fish. QT is nice just for the pleasant introduction to your chemistry. I dont qt for my system. But i will ONLY buy fish that have been in a store for longer than 7-10 days and make sure it is in perfect condition. Me and my buddy have gotten a ton of healthy specimens from that store with out issues. 7.5 gallons is very small for a qt. Def for a yellow tang. How big is your tank?
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eey0n
Full Member
Learning the ways of the reef...
Posts: 102
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Post by eey0n on Mar 26, 2013 3:39:18 GMT -5
I've actually got a free different sized tubs now that i can use for qt. You can check out my tank (and tang) in my new 40 gal breeder thread. I'll eventually move him to my 55 Fowlr but he seems very happy in yours tank right now. I know the flow is pretty high in that tank but it keeps everything so well balanced and the only fish that's ever had any issue with it was that coral beauty. I've got a clown, cardinal, cleaner shrimp and blenny in there too. They're all pretty small and have no issue with the flow. And the Condy loves it! I'm trying to recreate the same system for my 55 (hence the reason I'm looking for a skimmer) only because it seems to be working so good.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using proboards
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eey0n
Full Member
Learning the ways of the reef...
Posts: 102
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Post by eey0n on Mar 26, 2013 3:41:07 GMT -5
A few "swypo's"
Free = few
Yours = that
Gotta love Swype...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using proboards
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NateG
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Post by NateG on Mar 26, 2013 9:41:19 GMT -5
40 and 55 are both way too small for heniochus or tang. The point source flow from your maxi jets is pretty unfavorable for your fish. If they haven't yet the suction cups on your MJ will fail and you will wake up to a sand storm in your tank. I work for a service company. The majority of the account we get are people who are unhappy with their previous service co. A lot of them have 8 year old maxis on them. They have their uses. But not when there are koralias out there.
So i had my cherub angel jump from my tank like 2 months ago right. I woke up and after pouring my morning coffee i walk to the tank and see the angel on the floor. I grabbed it by the tail and started trying to resuscitate it by gently moving it up and down at the tank surface. It was very clear to me that it was having trouble swimming after this. So i turned off a bunch of powerheads to meet the needs of the sick fish. Less was better in that case
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