Carey's Final Reef Upgrade- 180g

[MarinaClown]

Some people had success feeding their tangs micro algae such as this to get them going with algae sheets and frozen food: http://reefnutrition.com/phyto_feast.php#tab_use

[Sniperhank]

What are the plans to sturdy up the rocks?

[carey]

Tang died. Found him this morning. Going to call shop and see what they say.

As far as the rocks, I am going to move them around and see if i can make them more stable. I had some caves made but I'm sure i can improve on the actual structure.

Cant find the gramma yet, she must have crawled into a crevice to die. Not too worried about her yet, its alot of water so Imight not experience any spikes if I dont find her body. But I will try.

What a crappy morning.

[MarinaClown]

RIP Naso 🐟

[TheTodd]

That stinks. It will be interesting to see what your LFSS says...seems awfully quick for a fish to die, unless it was not healthy to start. Good luck and sorry for the loss.

[huma-huma]

sorry for the loss, hopefully this doesnt deter you from attempting another Naso downt he road.

[carey]

Talked to the shop and they wont do anything for me. I even pulled the "I'm a board member of the reef club" they sponsor but nothing. I didnt expect much, maybe a discount on a new fish maybe but no.

Hubby is out burying the naso now. Searched and cannot find the gramma so I think it was eaten up by the cuc I suppose. Tested the water and no ammonia, willtest a few more times today to make sure.

The huge copperband butterfly I saw last week is starting to look very good now. Just not sure I have the cash to replace the naso. If I do go with another tang I need to do it soon, the existing tangs havent fully staked out their territory yet so the sooner the better. The same shop that had the pig copperband also had a blonde naso, not as large as the one I had but he had just come in so he was still in qt and not for sale yet. And of course he was more money, $80...... This is what you get for being inpatient I suppose, I should have just waited for the blonde to come out of qt and gotten him then.

[Sniperhank]

I know it's rough for you Carey, but I'd say be slightly patient. Rearranging the rock should throw the tangs off some with territory and give you some more wiggle room to consider another fish.

[TheTodd]

Bummer about them doing nothing, but it seems that most LFS go that way. Makes me wonder how places online can offer 7 or 14 day guarantees.

[MJSerik]

I'd assume online shops get loads more business

[huma-huma]

as far as i see it, they have to compensate for potential buyers not being able to actually see the fish and assess them to their standards. personally i think that if an online seller can offer a 14 day guarantee on sw fish, theres no reason brick and mortar stores cant offer something, even if its a 7 day guarantee.

[Airgoose2222]

I agree with that assessment. Most brick and mortar offer no guarantees on saltwater fish. I've even offered to bring in water for them to test, and still no luck.

[huma-huma]

Originally Posted by Airgoose2222

I agree with that assessment. Most brick and mortar offer no guarantees on saltwater fish. I've even offered to bring in water for them to test, and still no luck.

when i lost 2 flame angels from the same LFS back to back, they wouldnt do anything at all. it took a call to corporate AND a corporate-forced return call from the LFS manager to get my refund. i will however give them credit in that they refunded me BOTH fish prices....which i wasnot asking for.

[carey]

I offered to bring in the dead fish and a water sample but no go. The least they could have done is offer me the sale percentage off another fish. The fish were all %30 off for black friday. The guy on the phone didnt even seem too sorry about it so well, I guess I wont be buying anymore fish from them. This was my first fish Igot from that store as they are notoriously expensive on everything. Their corals are to die for though, and they have been rally good purchases in the past so I figured why not try a fish. I would have felt better if the guy seemed bummed about the death but he didnt even care. Not a good attitude if you ask me.

Gonna try to send a message to my choice lfs who has the copperband and blonde naso and see if he cant do a package deal for them both. He was asking 90$ for the blonde and $50 for the butterfly. He said he could go 80$ on the blonde so maybe he will move a little bit more. lol I'd love to have that copperband, he was actually chasing chromis for mysis, it was so funny to see a copperband so aggressive with food.

[huma-huma]

the thing that ive notcied (in terms of lfs/buyer relationships) is that they need to understand that you are a valuable RETURN customer that when treated correctly, will return time and time again to spend excessive amounts of money on this hobby. (dont lie its excessive ) if they dont care enough to recognize you as an experienced hobbyist then they arent going to do squat to keep you as a customer.

[Callen]

Carey: I secretly want you to have that copperband! They are one of my favorite fish so far. Actually, I know nothing about them other than I like the way they look, and I've learned a little from your thread, but if anyone can keep one successfully, It would be you When we go to the semi-local fish store, my 9 year old chooses that fish every time! To their credit, they have steered me away from buying one since my tank is still young...but at the same time, they let me buy other things that I probably shouldn't have bought.

Send a photo when you get him

[MarinaClown]

It's always harder with livestock. I know that 3 out of 5 LFS in my area will replace a $100-$500 light fixture if it breaks under warranty. They don't tell customers to call the manufacturer. They give the customer a new light and send the defective product back to the manufacturer. I have had this happen to me. Brought my burnt out light and got it replaced on the spot.
With livestock you see more of the "caveat emptor" (buyer beware) doctrine apply. I know that Vividaquariums has a 7 day guarantee and another LFS near my home has 24 hr guarantee. However, most stores will say "we guarantee that fish is fit for sale but you should use your own judgment". One thing for sure, it's never fun to lose fish especially expensive one.

[redsea]

I'm really sorry Carey, it is always tough losing fish (we have all had our share of deaths, I know I have).

It is a shame the shop will not help at all, or at the least be a bit sympathetic. It stinks dealing with people with a poor attitude.

Hope you can feel better soon!

[Ericwm]

I am also sorry for your loss. One of my LFS offer a 48 hour %50 refund if you loose a sw wish. They only give it in livestock store credit but it is better than nothing. I had a black occ clown that didn't make it 48 hours but I we out of town. My wife saw it and the LFS honored it when I got back because they checked my account and saw that I spend plenty and they all know me. It was nice that they even trusted me and passed on testing my water.

[TheTodd]

The 50% is better than most. That is probably their cost , so it is a wash for them, but with store credit, they know they are getting you to buy something else.

Since I've never had a LFS do refunds, I am just used to taking the loss. I don't think that I would have any LFS left to buy from if I stopped buying from them after a fish died . I would not tolerate bad attitude/customer service though.