I've really been putting this off, as I hate doing this to small businesses. I think this would be my first ever negative review of a small business on any platform.
A few months back, I purchased a Quoyi Parrotfish, and a couple of Tangs from NY Aquatics. Michael actually solicited me on reef 2 reef when I put up a WTB post for the Quoyi. Everything seemed all good. I ordered everything, came out to about $460 between all 3 fish and shipping.
That said, I received all fish. Packaging was great, Temps were great, etc...(see I can't even write a full on negative review, gotta find the positives lol).
However, the Quoyi didn't last more than 12 hours. I know Wrasses can ship rough, so I made sure the owner of my LFS was here when the shipment arrived to acclimate this guy properly. The fish was definitely lethargic, but we did everything right, the same stuff that my LFS does when he gets fish imports, etc... and his losses are VERY minimal.
Before reaching out, I checked NY Aquatics DOA and other Guarantees. On their site, they have a 14 day guarantee on their fish, but I would have to pay shipping again. I was cool with all that. I followed all directions, didn't throw the fish out until instructed. Took all photos of the fish.
I had a VERY well established coral QT tank setup. I'll also use that tank from time to time (60g cube) as observation QT for fish. Also, the 2 Tangs were not in the same tank. Those guys went to my buddy as we split shipping costs.
Moving forward, I contacted Michael, he asked me to send photos of the fish. Asked me to email photos of the tank the fish was in, which I thought was odd. Then, he asked me a ton more questions about how old the tank was, what my filtration was, and was asking for proof of pics as well. I felt I was starting to get the runaround. He was immediate in responding to this email chain. I expressed to him that I was OK paying the shipping on my next order with my store credit.
All of a sudden, he went dark. Through the next month, I attempted to reach out to him. He would answer his phone. "Hey, just seeing if you've got a plan for me" type of calls. He was very short with me, but still polite. After a month of thinking he would honor my guarantee, I gave up. And he's been dark ever since.
Michael, if you're reading this, let me be clear: I would have accepted store credit like your guarantee states, and even if you didn't have another Quoyi (I get they are hard to find) I would've thrown more money at you for a borbonius anthia and a Whitetail tang. You would've come out on top like crazy by doing the right thing. Also, to be clear, this isn't about the money either. This is about principal. If you don't honor your guarantees, then why should I or others ever trust that you properly maintain the health of your fish systems? You clearly don't operate a tight business from an administrative aspect, so I wonder if that bleeds over into other aspects of your business?
This is a word of caution for anyone else considering shopping with Michael at NY Aquatics. Like I said, I hate doing this, and being such a Karen and all, but this needed to be said.
A few months back, I purchased a Quoyi Parrotfish, and a couple of Tangs from NY Aquatics. Michael actually solicited me on reef 2 reef when I put up a WTB post for the Quoyi. Everything seemed all good. I ordered everything, came out to about $460 between all 3 fish and shipping.
That said, I received all fish. Packaging was great, Temps were great, etc...(see I can't even write a full on negative review, gotta find the positives lol).
However, the Quoyi didn't last more than 12 hours. I know Wrasses can ship rough, so I made sure the owner of my LFS was here when the shipment arrived to acclimate this guy properly. The fish was definitely lethargic, but we did everything right, the same stuff that my LFS does when he gets fish imports, etc... and his losses are VERY minimal.
Before reaching out, I checked NY Aquatics DOA and other Guarantees. On their site, they have a 14 day guarantee on their fish, but I would have to pay shipping again. I was cool with all that. I followed all directions, didn't throw the fish out until instructed. Took all photos of the fish.
I had a VERY well established coral QT tank setup. I'll also use that tank from time to time (60g cube) as observation QT for fish. Also, the 2 Tangs were not in the same tank. Those guys went to my buddy as we split shipping costs.
Moving forward, I contacted Michael, he asked me to send photos of the fish. Asked me to email photos of the tank the fish was in, which I thought was odd. Then, he asked me a ton more questions about how old the tank was, what my filtration was, and was asking for proof of pics as well. I felt I was starting to get the runaround. He was immediate in responding to this email chain. I expressed to him that I was OK paying the shipping on my next order with my store credit.
All of a sudden, he went dark. Through the next month, I attempted to reach out to him. He would answer his phone. "Hey, just seeing if you've got a plan for me" type of calls. He was very short with me, but still polite. After a month of thinking he would honor my guarantee, I gave up. And he's been dark ever since.
Michael, if you're reading this, let me be clear: I would have accepted store credit like your guarantee states, and even if you didn't have another Quoyi (I get they are hard to find) I would've thrown more money at you for a borbonius anthia and a Whitetail tang. You would've come out on top like crazy by doing the right thing. Also, to be clear, this isn't about the money either. This is about principal. If you don't honor your guarantees, then why should I or others ever trust that you properly maintain the health of your fish systems? You clearly don't operate a tight business from an administrative aspect, so I wonder if that bleeds over into other aspects of your business?
This is a word of caution for anyone else considering shopping with Michael at NY Aquatics. Like I said, I hate doing this, and being such a Karen and all, but this needed to be said.
