Clown fish die, should I ask for credit?

tqreefrookie · #1 12/08/2007, 02:31 AM

I bought a pair of true perc clown fish two days ago, I drip aclimated them and today I found one bit the dust. The other looks healty. All my parameters are ok except for Nitrate which is about 10. The questions is should I bring back the dead fish to my LFS and get store credit or is it asking too much? I never had a fish died on me.

melev · #2 12/08/2007, 02:41 AM

I would tell them what happened and see if they will work with you for a replacement fish. I wouldn't demand it though, because that just ruins your future relationship with them. If you are reasonable, they may be too.

iairj84 · #3 12/08/2007, 03:00 AM

I think it really depends on your relationship with the LFS. If you go in there all the time and spend a good amount of money there then you have a pretty good chance you might get them to help you out. I would say it's unlikely if they have no clue who you are.

dragonforce · #4 12/08/2007, 03:01 AM

IMO true percs can be a bit of a pain to acclimate, but once they do they are hardy as a damsel. I had a pair die of brookenlynna(spelling)

tqreefrookie · #5 12/08/2007, 03:20 AM

thanks Guys for your advice, I guess I bring the dead fish and some sample water for him to test and let the LFS take the initiative in offering store credit. The store just open so if he is a smart business man, I'm pretty sure he is more willing to give some sort of store credit.

iairj84 · #6 12/08/2007, 03:25 AM

It wouldn't be unreasonable to ask at least to get back in store credit what profit he made on the fish. I had that same thing happen with a store one time and that was a reasonable thing.. I would use that as a last ditch effort, but at least in that case he's not losing any money and you still get part of your money back and he knows you're spending it there = more money for him

iairj84 · #7 12/08/2007, 03:26 AM

Also one thing I never understood about LFS guarantees about water quality with a test... what's to stop anyone from mixing up some new fresh saltwater and bringing that in instead of tank water? I know with freshwater it would be even easier.

350nine · #8 12/08/2007, 03:31 AM

I am not a store owner but IMO once you take home a live fish you are responsible for it's life. There are many ways a fish can die under the care of the new owner. It is not reasonable to expect a fish store to take responsibility. This is the reason why it is so important to assess a fish carefully before purchasing. Verify that it is feeding, it is not thin, it is not scratching or breathing hard or sulking in a corner or swimming abnormally. A good store will probably work with you but I will not ask for compensation. Just my opinion.

tqreefrookie · #9 12/08/2007, 03:33 AM

Good point Iairj84.

tqreefrookie · #10 12/08/2007, 03:40 AM

350nine,
I agree with you in accessing the fish's health before purchasing the fish. I did ask the owner to feed the fish prior to me purchasing them and they did eat the food ok and both were active. If the store owner said the fish are healthy then I think the LFS partly should take some responsibility. I not being unreasonable in asking for some store credit.

ryan_paskadi · #11 12/08/2007, 03:54 AM

if you assessed the fish yourself as healthy why would the LFS have any better idea about the fish's health? Also the stress of you taking it home acclimating and adding it to your tank is most likely the cause of death. Not saying its your fault or the LFS...just saying it happens and you should expect that. Do think the LFS doesnt experience losses from his supplier.

Jake_07 · #12 12/08/2007, 07:45 AM

tell us what happens

kar93 · #13 12/08/2007, 08:34 AM

a cleaner wrasse i had for 6 months died i went to the LFS to tell get a new one and i told him what happened and he gave me another for free

m2434 · #14 12/08/2007, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 07kar93
a cleaner wrasse i had for 6 months died i went to the LFS to tell get a new one and i told him what happened and he gave me another for free

Wow, I've never heard of store credits from an LFS. I thought only online vendors did that...

kar93 · #15 12/08/2007, 12:22 PM

i was regularly at the LFS though always looking for a new addition sometimes i helped them with stacking and getting fish for customers etc.

350nine · #16 12/08/2007, 01:41 PM

Like I mentioned, a good store(or one where you have established a good releationshipn with) will go out of their way to make you happy. I only buy from one store in San Francisco. I have spent thousands of dollars there. They show their appreciation by always discounting everything I buy up to 30% wether it's a new rare wrasse or a bucket of salt. I have had fish die days after acclimating them into the QT tank but I will never ask for credit. The way I see it is like this: I went. I saw. I bought. It's my responsibility now. Fish are delicate animals. Some will die and some sill thrive. There are a lot of opinions on RC(a good thing) but this is a fact. Like I said there are many reasons why a fish die and most of those are out of the control of the LFS. For example, fish may be imported with internal parasites,suffered handling trauma or cannot make the acclimation from ocean to plastic bag. Just my two cents, no offense please.

pkmg · #17 12/08/2007, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by iairj84
Also one thing I never understood about LFS guarantees about water quality with a test... what's to stop anyone from mixing up some new fresh saltwater and bringing that in instead of tank water? I know with freshwater it would be even easier.

The point is to make sure your water levels are not dangerous for a replacement fish. If for example your water level shows signs of ammonia, then they will give you store credit or delay your replacement fish until your water is stable again. You could easily just bring in a fresh "good" batch of water, but what is the point of that. If your param. are that bad that you need a fake water test, your new fish is just gonna die as well. It's not like you lose anything if your water quality test at the LFS fails.

For the original poster, what is the time length of the LFS warrenty for their fish. If it is outside of the warrenty, then I wouldn't even bother asking the LFS for some credit. They will almost certainly tell you no.

If the fish died within the warrenty period then I would bring it back. The whole point of the warrenty in the first place is to protect the customer from weak fish that die in the acclimation process. Do not feel bad for the LFS for returning a dead fish under warrenty. LFS do the same thing with the distributer and get their own credit for their own fish losses from shipping.

Jake_07 · #18 12/19/2007, 07:30 AM

so what happend???

daven · #19 12/19/2007, 07:59 AM

LFS don't usually get a credit when their fish die in a new shipment. Usually the distributor has a percentage (like 5 or 10%) and if more die than that they get a credit. At least the store I owned for a short while was like that.

Also a lot of LFS, even if they have no warranty period, will do a deal where they will let you have a replacement fish at their cost. Not as good as a free replacement but a lot of LFS run on the edge.

RumLad · #20 12/19/2007, 09:29 AM

I always find it best to know what (if any) type of warranty an LFS would offer just in case a fish dies in a short while. Those around me range from absolutely none up to 50% within 7 days.
Forewarned is forearmed!