My first Diver's Den order

Old Fritz

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That really sucks. It's happened to me before but I think the bags are necessary to help keep cost down. Hopefully he recovers, even when beat up he still looks good.

I had high hopes, expecting great things from DD. Ordered a Ruby Longfin Fairy Wrasse. When the package arrived and I saw how well they had packed it, my expectations were being confirmed. Triple bagged in full blackout covers, big bag for a little fish. Much bigger than what regular LA used.
After floating for temp I got the bag open to check salinity (1.024) and noticed it was swimming crooked. A closer look revealed obvious physical damage - probably got stuck in a corner fold. I really think bags are the worst for this reason. I've had it happen several times - even from LFS.
Poor thing:

Amazingly it is still alive. I don't have much hope but I'm curious to see if it can recover.
 

JasonK84

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I had high hopes, expecting great things from DD. Ordered a Ruby Longfin Fairy Wrasse. When the package arrived and I saw how well they had packed it, my expectations were being confirmed. Triple bagged in full blackout covers, big bag for a little fish. Much bigger than what regular LA used.
After floating for temp I got the bag open to check salinity (1.024) and noticed it was swimming crooked. A closer look revealed obvious physical damage - probably got stuck in a corner fold. I really think bags are the worst for this reason. I've had it happen several times - even from LFS.
Poor thing:

Amazingly it is still alive. I don't have much hope but I'm curious to see if it can recover.
How is the wrasse doing? Just a little FYI on LiveAquaria: I've had fish DOA and some dead the next morning. A quick call and you will be refunded no questions asked. I had pics ready but they never even asked for them. The first fish was a $180 mystery wrasse from DD. I can't say that they will never request pics but this has been my experience. I hope he pulls through but if he doesn't they will take care of it (within 14 days of course).
 

saltyhog

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I suspect spinal damage happens in wrasses as they are being caught for shipment. Because it's normal for them to lay on the bottom with stress colors at that time the person packing would not see anything out of the ordinary. I suppose the corners of the bag could cause damage but usually spinal issues are from a snout impact on a hard surface. Hopefully your wrasse will recover. Agree, I've never had any problems with DD/LA warranty issues.
 

Huff747

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How is the wrasse doing? Just a little FYI on LiveAquaria: I've had fish DOA and some dead the next morning. A quick call and you will be refunded no questions asked. I had pics ready but they never even asked for them. The first fish was a $180 mystery wrasse from DD. I can't say that they will never request pics but this has been my experience. I hope he pulls through but if he doesn't they will take care of it (within 14 days of course).

How recent was that? On some of my first orders they didn't ask for anything but on my last order when a tang died after 3 or so days (never ate a thing for me) they did request I send pictures which luckily I had taken.
 

mta_morrow

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How recent was that? On some of my first orders they didn't ask for anything but on my last order when a tang died after 3 or so days (never ate a thing for me) they did request I send pictures which luckily I had taken.
There is a thread somewhere on here that explains the new policy. It was only a month or 2 ago when they added pics required, which is understandable.
 

PDR

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+1 to the above. Make sure you take some pictures if it doesn't make it. They now require them for refunds. Hopefully he'll pull through.
 

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What do you do in a case like this? Go ahead and stick him in QT with no meds? Give him meds? I have a few good LFS stores within an hour or so of me, so I'm going to try to avoid ordering online and only pick up healthy fish in the future, but I'm curious what is the best course of action for an injured fish like this.
 

JasonK84

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How recent was that? On some of my first orders they didn't ask for anything but on my last order when a tang died after 3 or so days (never ate a thing for me) they did request I send pictures which luckily I had taken.
The first was (mystery wrasse) around April or may then a few weeks after that on the second one. I took pictures both times but they didn't ask for them. I wouldn't expect them to never ask for a pic and that is why I take them anyway. I was just giving my experience with them. And assuring that they would take care of it in the event it didn't make it.
 

Kyl

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That really sucks. It's happened to me before but I think the bags are necessary to help keep cost down. Hopefully he recovers, even when beat up he still looks good.

They make bags with rounded corners specifically for avoiding the pinch scenario. Obviously they cost more, but what's costlier than replacing / refunding dead fish?
 

PDR

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Old Fritz

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They make bags with rounded corners specifically for avoiding the pinch scenario. Obviously they cost more, but what's costlier than replacing / refunding dead fish?
My mother was in the manufacturing business for a long time. The cost of just making the machines to make the bags can go anywhere from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars. On top of paying for more expensive bags, let’s say 1 cent more expensive adds up a lot. Or they can buy it from a third party which is more expensive long term. It isn’t that common for fish to get pinched and die so it probably isn’t really worth the extra cost of getting more expensive bags.
 

JasonK84

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When I initially emailed LA about the state the fish arrived in, this was their response:
"... We sincerely apologize for the state your specimen arrived in. We still ask that you continue to care for this specimen, as it may just be stressed to due to shipping. Your account has been documented about this issue. Please keep us updated on the health of this specimen."
After emailing again about the death and providing a photo they promptly approved the refund.
Good to hear. I had a call to them once about a shipment that got stuck in transit over the 4th of July. I called immediately when I noticed it had missed its connecting flight in Kentucky. The next day was the 4th and they wouldn't get it on another flight to Lubbock until the 5th. I called just to give a heads up and they also documented the account. The fish arrived the evening of the 5th and they were both fine after acclimating so I didn't have to call them about any deaths. Almost 72 hours in the bags and they were good, a little stressed and color was washed out but they survived and colored up quickly. Sorry to hear the fish didn't make it but I'm glad they took care of it.
 

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Now that they are owned by PetCo, they no longer honor their alive guarantee unless you have a photo of a dead animal outside of the tank. They used to be great in this regard and now they aren’t in my opinion. It used to be a no-brainer to pay the premium to buy from DD, but now I’ll think twice. When I pay Nordstrom prices I expect Nordstrom service, not Target service.
 

Matt Carden

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Now that they are owned by PetCo, they no longer honor their alive guarantee unless you have a photo of a dead animal outside of the tank. They used to be great in this regard and now they aren’t in my opinion. It used to be a no-brainer to pay the premium to buy from DD, but now I’ll think twice. When I pay Nordstrom prices I expect Nordstrom service, not Target service.
DD is owned by Petco? It LA?
 
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