Very disappointed with LA shipment

[Maritimer]

Agree NY is a good vendor!

I’ve had good experience with NY Aquatics as have others here.... I’m sure I will not be the only one chiming in on them.

Good to hear, as I have an order in-place with them - took advantage of their Memorial Day sale.

@Sashaka, as I know you're aware, it's almost impossible to get fish through the supply chain without some disease or other hitching a ride. Looking at the butterfly, there are two things that pop to mind; Uronema, which can be contagious, and bacterial infection, which usually isn't in good water. Some of the gram-negative bacterial infections can go from zero to sixty in well under 24 hours though, so there is a possibility that the fish looked significantly better when it left LA's packing team in CA.

~Bruce

 

[brwaldbaum]

Wow! So it's not just me.



Talking to an LA rep about 6 to 8 months ago, I was told then that PetCo actually bought out LA several years ago. I wonder if Quality Marine is just another alias for PetCo now too?

Petco® Where the pets go. To die.

 

[Sashaka]

Got a response from LA. A credit was given for the butterfly fish. They are good that way. I've only ordered live coral from them once that I can remember. It was loaded with nudibranch eggs that the dip, of course, missed.

 

[DancingShark]

I ordered once. 3 fish and one coral. 2 fish died in qt and the other livestock have been doing fine. They did refund me the dead fish tho. So that is a plus.

 

[Sashaka]

Some of the gram-negative bacterial infections can go from zero to sixty in well under 24 hours though, so there is a possibility that the fish looked significantly better when it left LA's packing team in CA.

To be fair to the person packing the fish, I know you are right, Maritimer. The scary thing is if that is the case, LA has a bigger water quality issue to deal with on their hands. The question then becomes how many more people ordering from the CA facility will receive sick fish until they get the problem under control?

 

[tiggs]

I was thinking of doing some business with NYAquatics. Anyone ever purchased from there before? The prices seem comparable most of the time.

I've heard all good things about NY Aquatics. The one thing worth mentioning is that he keeps his systems in the 1.015-1.018 range for SG, so a very slow acclimation and lower SG in your QT tank would be helpful.

 

[Sashaka]

've heard all good things about NY Aquatics. The one thing worth mentioning is that he keeps his systems in the 1.015-1.018 range for SG, so a very slow acclimation and lower SG in your QT tank would be helpful.

That's good to know ahead of time. Thanks, Tiggs!

 

[Tft12]

Wow. I’ve used LA a ton and I’ve never received anything like that...they have made some crazy mistakes on my orders like sending me 2 mangroves instead of 1 Regal Angel, but the health of the fish has always appeared what I’d call reasonable. That fish was in terrible shape. It seems like the packer would have had a hard time missing whatever that butterfly had.

 

[Sashaka]

Looking at the butterfly, there are two things that pop to mind; Uronema, which can be contagious, and bacterial infection,

I thought of Uronema, but I didn't see any sloshing of the skin/scales and all fins are intact, not fraying at all. That's why I was leaning toward bacterial. Before the ulcers broke open the skin, the sides of the fish were red and inflamed like giant bruises, but smooth.

 

[HotRocks]

I have had good luck with NY.

LA has been good to me for the most part. My most recent order I had some issues with fish in bags that were too small, and two DOAs. But they have always made it right.

Blue zoo was not the best in the couple orders that I placed with them.

 

[Sashaka]

It seems like the packer would have had a hard time missing whatever that butterfly had.

That's what I suspect too. @Maritimer is right to remind us that some gram negative bacteria can move quickly to kill fish, even though it is not seen as frequently in the hobby as gram positive issues. I don't have a microscope to identify the bacteria that killed the fish, so I can't say for certain if the issue was visible before shipping, but I suspect it was because the blue tang is still alive. Still, I have no way of know if the blue tang's holding tank was connected to the butterfly's holding tank at LA.

I hope to get a microscope at some point...almost did a few months back...but ended up getting some Sochting Oxydators for my tanks instead. The microscope is still on the wish list of things to get though. It will certainly make identifying problems and selecting treatments much easier. The combination of antibiotics fondly referred to as the trifecta treatment recommended here at R2R seems to work really well against both types of bacteria infections, so I am crossing my fingers that the Hippo tang will make it. I've only dealt with gram positive infections before myself...that I know of...and they've always seemed to crop up after copper treatments that lasted a bit too long.

 

[Norcalreef]

I’ve ordered from LA twice now and both times were a let down. First time I ordered 1 male and 3 females Randall’s anthias and a royal gramma. I didn’t notice on the email for shipping notification they say what they are shipping. Turns out I only recieved 1 “male” Randall’s and no females along with the gramma. The Randall’s according to their own pics was a female yet they charged me as a male knowing it would change. The male was $10 more. I complained and they asked for pics. I have a iPhone X and pics were perfectly clear, yet they kept claiming they were not. So finally I filed a dispute with PayPal for the $10 difference. PayPal finally sided with me but the only option was to send the Randall’s and gramma back for a full refund. Now the gramma was in perfect health, but the Randall’s was a MESS! It came in with internal parasites, a bacterial infection on its head and either ich or velvet of the gills. It took over a moth of copper, metroplex, kannaplex and furan 2 to get him back to perfect health. There was no way I was sending it back! They never did ship the 3 females Randall’s. So now I’m stuck with 1 male Randall’s unable to order more as 1 would likely become male in QT if I tried to order more. They told me I had to write in the notes to only ship complete.

The second shipment I ordered 5 ignitus anthias and 1 central pacific anthias. To my surprise all came in perfectly healthy and ate from the second day. But here’s the problem they sent 3 out 5 ignitus as males! So now I have a bunch of males and one just hides all day. The fish were also way over sized. I order medium and all were 3 1/2”+ full grown adults. They know better than to ship that many adult males of any saltwater fish. It’s bs and I will never order from LA again. They’re a terrible company that could care less about the live animals they care for.

I did order a fathead sunburst anthias from saltwaterfish.com. They had terrible reviews online but they were the only ones who had any in stock so I figured why not. After my first experience I learned to write to only ship complete in the notes. They responded within hours that they will only ship a partial order after calling for approval. They had fantastic communication through out the whole transaction. Now fatheads are known to be poor shippers. This guy came in perfectly healthy!! Was eating by the second day and has had no issues almost 3 weeks later. I would order from them over LA 100% of the time.

Here’s a pic of the terrible shape the Randall’s was in. It transistoned to male pretty quickly since it was the only one in qt

 

[Sashaka]

Blue zoo was not the best in the couple orders that I placed with them

I also had trouble with an order from Blue Zoo. I was given credit, but it was that order that caused a complete tank crash for me last year. Even though I quarantine, somehow the pathogen was transferred into my 75 gal MD and I couldn't eradicate it once in the tank. Humblefish and others here gave me excellent advice trying to help me save my fish, but the pathogen wiped out all the fish anyway. The good thing that came out of that heartbreaking experience is that I gained valuable knowledge about what to look for and how to treat sick fish. I'm by no means an expert, but I feel more capable now to deal quickly with issues that crop up. Most importantly, I now keep an arsenal of fish meds on hand to act more quickly when I suspect illness.

 

[Sashaka]

I’ve ordered from LA twice now and both times were a let down.

We always take a chance when purchasing from large whole sellers who must rely on good collection practices from others themselves. Once these stressed fish are in huge holding tanks, they just share any and all diseases just as a person with a raging viral infection in a crowed elevator might do. As other here have suggested, I don't know if the workers who inspect fish before bagging for customers are as careful with their inspections as they used to be at all facilities.

I wish I knew how to dive and could collect my own fish, but I would probably freak out and get the bends if I saw a barracuda or a shark, so I'm better off viewing my fish from the safety of the opposite side of my fish tank's glass. I'm sorry you had such trouble with your shipments from LA. They have never sent me the wrong fish...to date. Years ago, it was rare for LA to send me a sick fish. Now, it's pretty much the norm wherever I purchase fish from, even my LFS. It's good to know that NY Aquatics has a good rep though. They will be where I place my next order for fish.

 

[Norcalreef]

I've heard all good things about NY Aquatics. The one thing worth mentioning is that he keeps his systems in the 1.015-1.018 range for SG, so a very slow acclimation and lower SG in your QT tank would be helpful.

Everything from the CA LA also comes in at 1.018. I set my qt to that then slowly raise it by doing progressively higher salinity wc until I hit my target.

 

[Norcalreef]

We always take a chance when purchasing from large whole sellers who must rely on good collection practices from others themselves. Once these stressed fish are in huge holding tanks, they just share any and all diseases just as a person with a raging viral infection in a crowed elevator might do. As other here have suggested, I don't know if the workers who inspect fish before bagging for customers are as careful with their inspections as they used to be at all facilities.

I wish I knew how to dive and could collect my own fish, but I would probably freak out and get the bends if I saw a barracuda or a shark, so I'm better off viewing my fish from the safety of the opposite side of my fish tank's glass. I'm sorry you had such trouble with your shipments from LA. They have never sent me the wrong fish...to date. Years ago, it was rare for LA to send me a sick fish. Now, it's pretty much the norm wherever I purchase fish from, even my LFS. It's good to know that NY Aquatics has a good rep though. They will be where I place my next order for fish.

I have had better luck with online than lfs. I tried doing a group of chromis before. Lost 7/7 to euronamea(sp?). I just don’t like they not sending what I ordered then not owning up to it when I try to make a claim. But then again it seems like my standards are to high as I think customer service is appalling with at least 50% of companies these days. Seems like fewer and fewer even attempt to try, hoping that you’re just ok with them doing as they please with your hard earned money.

 

[Orbela]

Why is everybody complaining about petco and LA? People are finding out they got bought out and it’s like both companies are judged more harshly. I guess I’m bias, I have nothing but luck purchasing from both online and in store.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

I used to order a lot of marine fish and inverts from Quality Marine back when Phil Shane ran the show. Since the sale of the business I have heard nothing but complaints. The current live stock manager is well quite a piece of work to say the least. I would not buy from them anymore. To bad the business and reputation has been lowered by the new owners. Petco, Petsmart and Wal Mart should stick to selling plastic plants and cheap tanks and stay out of the livestock business.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

You want a good LA story? I ordered a large achilies on wednesday. I get email friday.. we no longer have this in stock. I call them, they look in divers den, nothing. I tell them to just refund my money, which they do.

Monday morning.. ding dong.. sign here please, package from live aquaria.. hey look! Free achilies!!

Yes he is still alive and he is the meanest ******* EVER.

 

[brwaldbaum]

I recommend https://fishybusinessaquatics.com. Healthy livestock and excellent support.