My new blue hippo

Its been a bad day for my friend and I. We went in together for a order so we could get free shipping. Well, he got a Emperor Angel and a Dollyback. I got a Blue hippo tang. Well, we got them in this past friday and got them into the tank soon as they came in. Well, today I get up to find my Blue hippo was dead and sucked to the intake on one of my filters. He woke up to both of his new fish dead and one of his clowns that he has had for over a year. Think maybe we got some sick fish or something I also bought a tank raised blue hippo but, it didn't matter I don't guess. Both of our tanks are in good shape. Mine had 3 white spots on it last night and it wouldn't swim down to the reef at all it was staying at the top of the tank swimming around like crazy. It wouldn't eat either. He wasn't gasping for air or breathing hard. I don't know what happened to it. I'm really bumed about this one it was my sons fish and he was SO pretty.

 

Sorry to hear, very sad day indeed. I would definitely have a talk with the vendor about this issue. Do they guarantee the livestock.

 

Yea we got in store credit... not sure if I'm going to buy fish from them or not. I might just get some corals. I think I'm done getting fish shipped I haven't had much luck when they are shipped.

 

Sounds like you and your buddy need to get a quarantine tank. I too learned the hard way. Keep them in there for a few weeks before adding them to your display, and keep some meds on hand just in case. It'll definitely save you some money and despair in the long run..

 

Well, fish are always shipped at some point... but I can understand your being skeptical about the vendor... I have had fish from one local LFS that just don't do well... I stopped buying fish from them.

 

Yea I agree on the QT tank. I will be setting one up for my next fish. I really hate killing fish it almost makes me want to get out of this hobby or just have a coral tank.

 

QTing is a good practice, but I personally have lost more fish in QT than not. It's a very difficult practice to get right... and in my opinion MANY hobbyists just aren't well equipped to handle the task of good QTing. A QT tank takes up space that most folks don't have, and it's often difficult to keep good filtration going in these types of tanks, especially if medicated. If the fish is stressing out due to questionable water params in their QT tank, they may not have good chances of survival to begin with... it's no fun watching a healthy fish waste away in a QT tank that isn't set up correctly.

If you're going to QT, you HAVE to do it right.

Otherwise, it's a good thing to consider when purchasing fish... how do the vendor/ LFS QT their livestock?

If they are getting fish in and shipping out the next day, then this could put the fish under lots of stress, and leave no real time for the fish to be checked out before it's shipped to you...

a good LFS can QT your fish in their system, and you can check it out before buying... I've had the best experience with buying fish that look very healthy and are eating in the tank at the LFS.

 

sorry for your loss. its sad to wake to a dead fish. your experience is not the norm though ....most my fish came from on line vendors. not sure who the vendor was but there are some good on line sources for fish

 

Sorry to hear about that. it is a risk that is inherent in this hobby, and sometimes can be very frustrating. shipping, acclimation, and qting is all very hit or miss....

 

Can you tell us what place it was you ordered from?