Why are there so many sick fish?????

[lewis.maryann08]

Seems like thats all we read on here what is happening?
I started my tank almost 2 years ago and loved it ..then
I go and buy one little pretty fish and bring him home and didnt have a QT tank well just in a bout 3 days I lost every fish I had ...
people buy sick fish I have and I have lost them also and thats sad ..but can the people selling the fish Qt them before shipping to our homes?
These fish are not cheap alot of them ..
I have to save up for mine lol so I really hate buying sick fish ...
Just seems like something could be do e for these fish so
You get them healthy

 

[Elmer]

Allot of places just throw them in their tanks also cause they more then likely have insurance

 

[melypr1985]

That responsibility falls on the fish keeper. We have the capability to QT our fish and make sure they are healthy before they go in the display. The retailers and wholesalers will almost never QT the fish for you and if they do, it's rare (and I mean RARE) for one to be able to do so properly. Even if somebody claims to have QT'd your fish before purchase it's a good idea to do your own QT. It's the only one you can trust. If your purchasing your fish in a brick and mortar storefront, you can do a lot to avoid buying a sick fish in the first place. There are many things you can look for to spot a sick fish. Cloudy eyes, heavy breathing, white spots, a dirty/dusty appearance, torn/tattered fins, not eating ... the list goes on and on.

 

[melypr1985]

Allot of places just throw them in their tanks also cause they more then likely have insurance

What do you mean? I assure you retail LFS's dont have insurance against fish dying in their systems. We can claim them as a loss on our taxes, and sometimes get a credit from the wholesaler, but that's about it. We do our best to keep our fish healthy from day one. We do everything we can at our store to keep our loss at an absolute minimum. Even with my knowledge, my access to more knowledge than I have a right to, and the willingness of my store to back me up on this, I still dont claim to have a proper QT set up for the fish we sell. We do our very best, but still we cannot guarantee that our fish are disease free. We just have too many fish coming in and out of our system to guarantee anything like that.

 

[Humblefish]

Velvet is also running rampant right now, from the wholesalers to the LFS. This devastating disease used to be not so frequently encountered.

 

[4FordFamily]

Velvet is also running rampant right now, from the wholesalers to the LFS. This devastating disease used to be not so frequently encountered.

X2 I see velvet almost as often as ich these days

 

[lewis.maryann08]

I have seen in alot also... I think they should not be able to sell the fish until they have had them for a while to make sure they are healthy eating and no sign of disease ... these fish are movi g like a puppy mill ...

 

[lewis.maryann08]

My LFS anked me what velvet was !!!

 

[melypr1985]

My LFS anked me what velvet was !!!

I'm not sure what "anked" means lol, but not all LFS will try very hard to sell healthy fish. Of course it doesn't help that the wholesalers have velvet and all kinds of things running through there systems right now. The trick is to only patronize the good LFS's that are trying hard. Leave the bad ones to go out of business on their own.

 

[lewis.maryann08]

Asked is what I ment sorry ..we only have one place here in Tupelo Mississippi
Guess I will just QT and watch what I buy ...
But the 4 clownfish I bought looked healthy.
But they died within 2 days the white clownfish are hard to see velvet on..
I did call my LFS and told him they wouldn't eat and they act sick..
He said there was nothing wrong with them lose 140.00
I always wanted the white clownfish. .

 

[lewis.maryann08]

And I do know it is up to us to QT ...
But the last 3 shipments have been sick.
Just saying we should be able to enjoy our new fish
Not always nursing them back to good health or lose them..
Not for the price they ask for them just saying. .

 

[melypr1985]

I'm sorry for your troubles. You'll just want to be careful abotu the fish you buy. Make sure they are eating before you buy them and always QT. Here's a good read on how to quarantine your fish.
How to Quarantine

 

[reeferfoxx]

@melypr1985 Why can't the fish store QT there fish? It's up to us, I understand. We the consumer want nothing more than a beautiful reef in our homes. No doubt we should go to lengths to keep our fish happy and healthy. QT should always be performed. But how would a fish store look if they QT'd their own shipments? Nice looking fish, profits up, reputation up, sales up. So many fish die at the fish store. Maybe more so than in our homes. I myself have gotten to the point where I only look for healthy "looking" fish. The others really stand out. Wouldn't you say that typically the bad looking ones have found their fate, at that point? And the LFS just kind of shrugs? "Maybe we can knock 10% off your total if you buy these medications?" says the LFS. Then we get to hear about how LFS aren't doing so well? Seems like a shady cycle to me?

 

[11cmortarman]

I understand what you are trying to say. Yes at the end of the day It is our responsibility to put the healthiest livestock in our display tanks. I agree the fish coming in nowadays is a complete joke. It seems like a large portion of fish now is knocking on deaths doorstep and it is frustrating to have to play doctor fish every time you want to add a new fish. We should not have to accept it and if wholesalers have to take better care of the fish then thats what we should demand. Im not saying that all LFS and wholesalers are bad but it has gotten 10x worse in the last year or so.

 

[melypr1985]

@melypr1985 Why can't the fish store QT there fish? It's up to us, I understand. We the consumer want nothing more than a beautiful reef in our homes. No doubt we should go to lengths to keep our fish happy and healthy. QT should always be performed. But how would a fish store look if they QT'd their own shipments? Nice looking fish, profits up, reputation up, sales up. So many fish die at the fish store. Maybe more so than in our homes. I myself have gotten to the point where I only look for healthy "looking" fish. The others really stand out. Wouldn't you say that typically the bad looking ones have found their fate, at that point? And the LFS just kind of shrugs? "Maybe we can knock 10% off your total if you buy these medications?" says the LFS. Then we get to hear about how LFS aren't doing so well? Seems like a shady cycle to me?

I can't speak to other stores. I dont work at them and dont know what they go through. I know what we do at our store. We can't actually QT every fish that comes through the door. We aren't set up for it. Maybe when we move buildings I'll be able to set something up like that and rotate the fish through QT into the sales tanks. Right now though, all I can do is keep Coppersafe in the fish only sytem ( i make a point to keep it at therapeutic levels), treat with prazipro once a week and set up a temporary QT when an infection shows up. We have fish come in every week. I'm sure the wholesalers have a bigger problem than we do at the LFS level. I actually had to bleach our whole fish system because of brook. I can't imagine them being able to do something like that with the amount of fish they have in their facilities at one time.

Oh and I'm sure there are shady stores out there that just don't care. I know of at least one near me. I've never sold a sick fish knowingly to somebody. Point is, these stores are just like the people that run them. There are good ones and bad ones. Avoid the bad ones, support the good ones.

 

[11cmortarman]

@melypr1985 I appreciate your dedication to our hobby and the countless hours you spend helping people out is remarkable. The problem is that not a lot of fish stores go to the measures that you do. At the end of the day these are living animals and I feel like the treatment of these creatures at some wholesalers and LFS is criminal. Im not trying to bite the hand that allows me to be a part of such a great hobby but unless us as consumers figures out a way to stop it will never change. All you have to do to see cases of cruelty to animals is walk into 90% of petcos and I would venture to say 20-30 percent of the lfs that I visit have disease ridden fish. Its just sad.

 

[lewis.maryann08]

I feel sad for the fish .. beautiful fish..
I know all are not bad but its the bad ones thats hurting all the good...
Im afraid to even add new fish or corals the last coral I got was bad too lol

 

[Humblefish]

At the end of the day properly QT fish means higher prices. It takes medications, equipment, extra salt/food, space and time (is money). The latter is something to really consider, because the longer you hold onto a fish (and run him through meds) the greater the likelihood that fish dies on you. And all of this is assuming that the person doing the QT knows what they're doing.

Kinda hard to justify from a business standpoint when Petco (and other LFS) can sell cheaper and many people only see the bottom line.

 

[11cmortarman]

@Humblefish Its a problem and I for one would pay a premium for a healthy fish. I consider myself a budget reefer and I like many have gone cheap on fish and have had a bad experience. Profit margins and bottom line thinking is not only hurting our hobby but is also a ticking time bomb for individuals that want to end the fish and coral trade all together. Maybe Im going overboard with my way of thinking but other peoples profits have little to no influence on me. I would not accept a deficient product in any other aspect of my life so for me I refuse to buy fish that have not been qt at the lfs. Come to think of it I may never buy another fish from the lfs again. I have 5 lfs in my local area and none qt or even segregate fish. My business will go to the people online that take the time to care for these animals. Once I find one.

 

[lewis.maryann08]

Amen thats what I am saying also.... I just want to find some that we can trust..