Mandarin not looking good =(

[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.