Maast Charter Membership

[seatrueblue]

Is it possible to get my money back? I paid for my charter membership in June. I am so angry, you should see what a charter member posted on the for sale thread about my Chromis :cry_smile:. If I can't get my money back oh well, it didn't cost much and I'll just stay off this forum.

[hobogato]

No, you may not get a refund. This a large organization with many opinions and beliefs. It is inevitable that you will not agree with them all. Mike was merely making an offer, if it is unacceptable to you then don't sell the fish to him.

[seatrueblue]

He knows I wouldn't sell the fish to him, he was just saying that to make me angry. This isn't the first time someone has said this to me it was said in PM.

[Bill S]

Christina,

Let me see if I can mediate this.

For instance, I have a couple of Harlequin Shrimp. They eat only starfish. When someone is getting rid of a chocolate chip star - and virtually no one wants them because they aren't reef safe - I try and feel them out about how they feel about their pet. Sometimes, people are put off by this...

Now, sometimes people aren't too tactful about it. There are people who keep goldfish as pets, those that buy goldfish for their Oscars, and those that buy them to eat. Our wet pets live by eating other animals.

Your chromis weren't selling - heck I have one that I've tried to remove with a tiny fishhook. MOST people hate their damsels after a while - they are mean, they eat lots of food, and are in general pests. They bite too. In his defense, he has no idea whether you really liked the fish, or hated them. If you were turned off by Mike's offer, just politely decline.

Finally, don't let the actions of one member run you away. Not picking on Mike, but all it takes is $25 to become a Charter Member.

[seatrueblue]

Bill, put yourself in my shoes...you five fish you've had almost two years, you raised it from less than a half an inch to 3". Some one offers you ten dollars less than what they are worth and then tell you they will feed them to their frogfish. How would you feel? I am very sure you would be just as angry as I am.

[Texreefer]

I know Mike and he was not trying to be mean to you, If these fish mean that much to you, either keep them or take them to a fish shop( just don't sell them to the one Mike goes to). I have 8 of these in my tank and i raised them from babies they have been in my reef for almost 3 years. If i was selling them, Mike probably would have made me the same offer.
I can understand you getting your feelings hurt if you are attached to these fish, but like Ace said, there are many different viewpoints in this hobby. you have made your point that you are upset. lets move on.
ps. I posted on your for sale thread a possible solution

[Bill S]

Christina,

If your LFS sells them for $15, then they are worth less than that on MAAST. I've seen them regularly for a lot less than $15. If Mike says he can buy them for $5, I'd believe it. I also think there was no way Mike had known that you had raised them from pups, or that you were THAT attached to them. Take them over Mike aka Texreefer. He has plenty of room.

[seatrueblue]

No, my lfs is crazy with their prices..they would probably sell 3 inch chromis for $20 or more. I have looked at their price at my lfs and they are selling tiny little chromis for almost $8 each.<see what I mean by crazy.. This is the other fish store in san marcos Not the critter shop. I was only asking $9 dollars for each chromis which adds up to $45. I got this $15 price from asking fish stores in austin, san antonio and online.

I am not angry about the price, I am angry about the fact that some one was offering to kill my fish. So I'm taking out on Maast for allowing it to be ok for someone to give me an offer like that. There should be a rule against this.

[Mr Cob]

I am not angry about the price, I am angry about the fact that some one was offering to kill my fish. So I'm taking out on Maast for allowing it to be ok for someone to give me an offer like that. There should be a rule against this.


As a MAAST Charter member I do not see anything wrong with Mike's post on your thread. He was direct, but not rude or disrespectful.

I feel you could have declined or accepted his offer. It is very common in this hobby that some live stock is bought as food, especially for aggresive tanks. I also think it was very polite of Mike to inform you upfront, so that if you were attached to your fish as pets you would be given the respect to decline.

He also only posted after it was obvious that you were not having any luck with your sale.

But hey....Tex-Reefer gave you a great offer to add your school with his school! Cool, they get more friends :)

Happy reefing.
-Rob