My mom is giving me the go!!!

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

The whole QT thing bothers me. If I ever sold someone a fish, I would expect them to be able to take it home and put it in their tank. If you buy a fish from a reliable source the average home aquarist should never have to QT any fish. We must be careful of the message we are sending out. Remember the fish will do better with the least number of moves they have to make. Please just make sure that you are buying the right fish for your system and don't go searching for why a fish will fit in your tank.

The reality is, however, that there are way, waaaaa-aaay too many poor fishkeepers selling fish in poor fish shops.
In a past existence, I had access to at least a dozen fish shops and every single one was quality and trustworthy.
I remember thinking what sort of world must some of my more distant fishkeeping friends live in, when they needed an extra tank for quarantine purposes?

Before I started buying from my new local shops I spent an inordinate amount of time checking them out.
Even though this has been suggested many, many times, it appears that too many don't bother to do this and only learn the lesson when they realise that it might've been a Bad Idea to buy that sickly looking fish, because they felt sorry for it.

Not only do newcomers not know how to look for good shops, they don't know how to look for good fish. The prompts to do so are singing loud and clear, across the internet, but, as we know, research isn't a strong suit amongst many, especially when impulse repeatedly plays so strong a part. With this reality, the facility of a QT seems sensible enough.

So I bought my first fishes on-line and, if I'm honest, the reviews were not the most reassuring, (@wasmewasntit ) and so I took precautions. Whilst I am far from risk averse, I decided it would reduce risks if I had a useful QT. I was also planning for being sent under-sized fish.
As it turns out, it appears the fish are healthy, although they are undersized. If they had been in a real shop and I had been able to eyeball them, and there were bigger fish available, I probably wouldn't have bought them.
But they weren't in a real shop.
To be honest, now I have experienced that shop, I'm more confident in receiving reasonable fish, but as long as I have an available QT, I'll probably use it if I buy anything un-seen.

 

[itiwhetu]

The reality is, however, that there are way, waaaaa-aaay too many poor fishkeepers selling fish in poor fish shops.
In a past existence, I had access to at least a dozen fish shops and every single one was quality and trustworthy.
I remember thinking what sort of world must some of my more distant fishkeeping friends live in, when they needed an extra tank for quarantine purposes?

Before I started buying from my new local shops I spent an inordinate amount of time checking them out.
Even though this has been suggested many, many times, it appears that too many don't bother to do this and only learn the lesson when they realise that it might've been a Bad Idea to buy that sickly looking fish, because they felt sorry for it.

Not only do newcomers not know how to look for good shops, they don't know how to look for good fish. The prompts to do so are singing loud and clear, across the internet, but, as we know, research isn't a strong suit amongst many, especially when impulse repeatedly plays so strong a part. With this reality, the facility of a QT seems sensible enough.

So I bought my first fishes on-line and, if I'm honest, the reviews were not the most reassuring, (@wasmewasntit ) and so I took precautions. Whilst I am far from risk averse, I decided it would reduce risks if I had a useful QT. I was also planning for being sent under-sized fish.
As it turns out, it appears the fish are healthy, although they are undersized. If they had been in a real shop and I had been able to eyeball them, and there were bigger fish available, I probably wouldn't have bought them.
But they weren't in a real shop.
To be honest, now I have experienced that shop, I'm more confident in receiving reasonable fish, but as long as I have an available QT, I'll probably use it if I buy anything un-seen.

Fair enough, I have bought hundreds if not thousands of fish from wholesalers it is impracticable to QT these fish. We trust the supplier and trust our tanks to house them safely.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Fair enough, I have bought hundreds if not thousands of fish from wholesalers it is impracticable to QT these fish. We trust the supplier and trust our tanks to house them safely.

And I suspect that trust was earned.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I don't QT my fish unless they are coming from a supplier that I have never used before...regardless of any reviews that they may have on the "official" review type sites since the seller can submit those themselves under assumed names.

My main supplier does the QT for me. When ordering fish online from them, I choose a delivery date at least 2 weeks away and request that they take the desired fish and put into QT for that time at their farm premises. They are more than happy to do it as they value their fish, customers and their reputation over their income.

To be brutally honest with the amount of money making there is in the live fish trade, it has become a situation very similar to that of puppy farms....bulk breeding and to heck with any genetic or disease traits hitch along for the ride. As long as the animal for sale give the breeder/seller the desired amount of cash, very little care about that animal exists.

A damning indictment...absolutely. But as I see it there are far more shister breeders who are only in it for the money than there used to be.....and for a fishkeeper to take precautions like having a QT then thats fine, infact I would always advise it when using a supplier for the first time (shop or online) or one who uses a selling/auction type website. No-one can ever be too careful with animals, especially those bought sight unseen imho.

 

[itiwhetu]

And I suspect that trust was earned.

Sure was. I would have stopped buying fish from them if I had problems. The same way if you have a problem with an LFS stop buying from them.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Sure was. I would have stopped buying fish from them if I had problems. The same way if you have a problem with an LFS stop buying from them.

Absolutely.
Of course, if I found I'd bought diseased fish, after I'd introduced them to a good tank, then a simple problem would be multiplied and, whilst I'd refrain from buying from that source again, the damage may already be done.
That's why I spent so long watching fish (and staff) in the shops beforehand.

This is something we can't do when buying on-line and I can imagine that in the future, as on-line shops grow and local shops fade away, QTs will become another necessary piece of equipment.
(MTS in another very sneaky guise )

 

[itiwhetu]

Absolutely.
Of course, if I found I'd bought diseased fish, after I'd introduced them to a good tank, then a simple problem would be multiplied and, whilst I'd refrain from buying from that source again, the damage may already be done.
That's why I spent so long watching fish (and staff) in the shops beforehand.

This is something we can't do when buying on-line and I can imagine that in the future, as on-line shops grow and local shops fade away, QTs will become another necessary piece of equipment.
(MTS in another very sneaky guise )

Trust your sources. The fish get stressed when they get to your tank, they are not stressed when they are packed.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Trust your sources. The fish get stressed when they get to your tank, they are not stressed when they are packed.

Or they do get stressed when they are packed and, by the time they arrive, they're chilled once more.
In most creatures, adrenaline serves a purpose and that will dissipate over time, once the perceived threat is reduced.

 

[Rocky998]

Please just make sure that you are buying the right fish for your system and don't go searching for why a fish will fit in your tank.

What?

 

[Rocky998]

The reality is, however, that there are way, waaaaa-aaay too many poor fishkeepers selling fish in poor fish shops.
In a past existence, I had access to at least a dozen fish shops and every single one was quality and trustworthy.
I remember thinking what sort of world must some of my more distant fishkeeping friends live in, when they needed an extra tank for quarantine purposes?

Before I started buying from my new local shops I spent an inordinate amount of time checking them out.
Even though this has been suggested many, many times, it appears that too many don't bother to do this and only learn the lesson when they realise that it might've been a Bad Idea to buy that sickly looking fish, because they felt sorry for it.

Not only do newcomers not know how to look for good shops, they don't know how to look for good fish. The prompts to do so are singing loud and clear, across the internet, but, as we know, research isn't a strong suit amongst many, especially when impulse repeatedly plays so strong a part. With this reality, the facility of a QT seems sensible enough.

So I bought my first fishes on-line and, if I'm honest, the reviews were not the most reassuring, (@wasmewasntit ) and so I took precautions. Whilst I am far from risk averse, I decided it would reduce risks if I had a useful QT. I was also planning for being sent under-sized fish.
As it turns out, it appears the fish are healthy, although they are undersized. If they had been in a real shop and I had been able to eyeball them, and there were bigger fish available, I probably wouldn't have bought them.
But they weren't in a real shop.
To be honest, now I have experienced that shop, I'm more confident in receiving reasonable fish, but as long as I have an available QT, I'll probably use it if I buy anything un-seen.

Yah, the shops around here are kinda bad... You'll see a dead fish every now and then (I'm gonna guess it was from a fight cause some species in that tank were aggressive) but a lot of the tanks were WAY to over stocked (but they are to sell not to keep them) so I do want to qt just to be safe... I would hate to buy like $60 of plants and $60 of fish and $300 worth of other supplies just to have a disease come in and go like: "waste o' money kid"

 

[Myraan]

Sometimes I wonder if the "good" shops just have more staff to remove the dead before they are seen, in which case the poor stores might have identical stock from identical suppliers but are able to charge less. I think I overthink things sometimes.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I think that it's worth remembering that the shops pay the suppliers good money for healthy fish that they can then sell.
Every dead or sickly fish is useless to the shop and, just as we'd want our money back, so too do the shops.
Maidenhead Aquatics, for example, often changes its suppliers, when they can't get the quality that they pay for.
Pets at Home apparently stop selling fish from certain suppliers and there's a lull in supply until that supplier sorts out their issues.
My smaller shop buys from a UK fish importer, and it is the importer who buys from different sources, as and when the need arises.

 

[Rocky998]

I think that it's worth remembering that the shops pay the suppliers good money for healthy fish that they can then sell.
Every dead or sickly fish is useless to the shop and, just as we'd want our money back, so too do the shops.
Maidenhead Aquatics, for example, often changes its suppliers, when they can't get the quality that they pay for.
Pets at Home apparently stop selling fish from certain suppliers and there's a lull in supply until that supplier sorts out their issues.
My smaller shop buys from a UK fish importer, and it is the importer who buys from different sources, as and when the need arises.

Our shop buys from a large local breeder, called carolina aquatics, that sells all over the state... I'm going to be special ordering my fish from there...

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Our shop buys from a large local breeder, called carolina aquatics, that sells all over the state... I'm going to be special ordering my fish from there...

Can you visit? Be well worth it if you could.

 

[Rocky998]

Hmmm... I didnt think about that... Depending on how far, we could try to make it out there but my parents wouldnt do more than an hour and 15 minute drive...

Can you visit? Be well worth it if you could.