Mandarin not looking good =(

[jcnkt_ellis]

Mark, have you been to the store? I've talked to Louis and the other guys at the studio on several occasions about hard to keep animals and they have always asked about the condition of my tank and have never lied about the difficulties of keeping the animal alive. They have integrity and I would be remiss to say otherwise.

[FireWater]

Teeterz, just use it as a learning point. A hard and unfortunate point to learn from though. There is a lot of good info to be had in this thread. Please don't ever be afraid to ask questions or tell about your tank while in a store. As some have said, a LFS may not be the best place to learn or ask, but any reputable store will be able to help you make conscientious decision.

[polarbear]

All I have to say is that Louis at ER has been very helpful everytime I go by his studio. Actually everyone that I have talked to there is willing to help. We talk about the different fish and he even gives advice on how to handle problems in my tank. It would be easy for him to just sell you anything you wanted but that's not what his shop is about. They actually take the time to help you understand what the problem could be and help figure out a way to take care of it. I've been to the studio several times to just look around and ask questions just to walk out of there empty handed. Not once has anyone there ever made me feel unwelcome or like I had to purchase something. They are all there to help becuase they love their job and the hobby.

As for the mandarin loss I have had 2 pass away on me becuase my tank was not mature enough. I took people's advise and waited over a year to buy another one. I currently have one in my 90 gallon tank who is doing well. I have had it now for about 4 months. It's hunting for food all of the time. I still have to add pods to my tank even with it being over a year old already.

[don-n-sa]

Teeterz, sorry about the loss of your mandarin, losing any creature that we bring into our homes can be deflating...especially when we spend hundreds to thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to provide a healthy environment. I personally have lost countless fish in my 20+yrs and every time it makes me question myself on what I could of done differently.

I have purchased directly from the wholesaler , from many online stores , but mostly here in SA at the LFS..and I have lost at least one fish from every source. Early on I just chalked it up to bad luck or blamed it on the LFS, now if it happens I reflect on how the fish looked in the store. Was it eating? How was the color? Was it stressed? How long was it at the store? I can say with confidence that most of the losses were my fault. The biggest and most common mistake we can make is not properly acclimating.

I now ask a standard set of questions when I purchase a fish. How long has it been since it arrived? I try to stay away from buying a fish in the 48 period of arriving at the LFS because of the fish having to acclimate into new environments 2 times so close together is too stressful. I also ask the LFS the temp and salinity of the tank of which the fish came from...these last 2 are key. Most of the time a LFS will keep the salinity lower than our home tanks and the temp will usually be much lower as well. The bigger gap on these 2 means a LONGER acclimation period for you to do. I have found the best way is to float the bag for at least 30 min, and then do the drip method for an hour. When I stick to this I rarely lose a fish.

The pressure of putting your fish in your tank by your kids can make you rush this step but you must stick to this if you want to give your new fish the best chance of survival. A fish that has not been properly acclimated can take days or extreme cases weeks to die. My last loss of a fish came from Elegant...but it was completely my fault. I underestimated the power of an established tang and added a beautiful powder brown that was double the size of the atlantic blue. Me and my son watched in horror as the Atlantic blue shredded the PB in minutes. The PB was hand picked by Dan and out of impulse I bought him and put in my 150g thinking since the PB was double the size it wouldn't be a problem. I pulled the PB and put him in my fuge after 5 min but it was already too late. I felt really bad...not because the money, but because I was the cause of this beautiful fishes death.

In the last 20 years I have seen many LFS come an go and I must say that Louis and his Elegant Reef team are among the best. You will not find anyone who cares about the hobby more than he does, and based on his responses on this thread he is also a stand up guy as well. As for a return policy for an LFS on livestock, it just would not make business sense. There are too many variables and most of them come from the buyer making mistakes. I can remember a customer many years ago trying to return 2 dead clownfish to one of the LFS here because her son just had to have nemo in his goldfish bowl....yes freshwater. I really hope this helps and good luck.

[ramsey]

I just wanted to concur with everything everyone else is saying. Sadly, losing live stock in this hobby happens. Fish and inverts die sometimes with no warning signs. It's just part of it. You just have to do the best you can when you get them (acclimation and quarantine). It sucks to lose stuff, but you're going to have to accept that it happens to everyone, even the most experienced and seasoned.

I've been happy every time I've been into or made a purchase from ER (just wish they were closer to me!). Louis is a stand up guy and has always been honest and helpful. In fact, everyone that I've dealt with there has. I can say that there's only a couple of places in town that I've gotten great service at, ER being one.

[Myke7]

Sorry for your luck with the Mandarin, Ive been looking for a mated pair for a long time. I have researched and researched these cool little fishes. I have read about captive raised that eat frozen food and special foods made for mandarins. And with all this info I went into ER about a month ago with the idea of ordering a HIGH DOLLAR pair of the captive raised ones and instead of just ordering them and taking the money, Louis took the time to share some information I had not seen in all my research. Armed with this information I am working toward being able to house my pair soon.

I quickly learned 16 years ago the hard way this is like any other hobby you get involved with, there are people that will sell you anything to make a buck and that includes hobbiest and shops. Its your responsibility to research your purchases. Ask questions. And find the guys that want to see you succeed. You and You only are the god of your little eco and remember every choice you make will effect what you already have and what your getting.

We all make mistakes, but if it was easy what the heck would we all talk about.