Yellow Tang lazy and laying on its side...

**mpcolson** · 10-24-2010, 09:29 PM

I bought a Yellow Tang on Saturday to help me with algae in my tank. I put him in a QT with a piece of algae covered LR to watch him and I find him to be sitting on the bottom of the tank at an angle in a corner for most of the day. Now as night came I see him laying on his side next to the LR but his fins are flapping.

I treated the tank with Sea-Chem Para Gard as directed. It does wonders on Ich and fin rot. I have had great results with that, but this looks like I have a really bad off fish.

Does anyone have any ideas what I should do?

**CarmieJo** · 10-24-2010, 10:32 PM

That doesn't sound good. What are your water parameters? All meds stress fish so IMO it is better to not use something unless it is specific to the problem you are having.

**mpcolson** · 10-24-2010, 10:39 PM

Carmie, I just mixed a new batch of water for the QT, it's at 1.025. I don't need to run a full water test, the water is only 13 hours old.

**SaltyDawg** · 10-25-2010, 07:04 AM

Any idea if the LFS was treating the fish with similar meds? It could be an OD. Was he fine when you bought him?

**mpcolson** · 10-25-2010, 10:52 AM

Well it doesn't matter now. The poor fish died over night. The LFS is closed on Mondays so I guess I'll be on their door step Tuesday A.M. with a zip-lock bag.

That fish was one of 4 they had, I don't know if I even what an exchange at this point. Man I'm hacked!

**saltaddict** · 10-25-2010, 11:31 AM

Honestly, the fish did not look to be in good health in the first photo of it swimming up right. It has a very pale face. I would look elsewhere to buy livestock.

**mpcolson** · 10-25-2010, 12:02 PM

I live in an area where this LFS is the only one. The last purchase I made was a pair of false clowns. One was fine and the other had Ich and Fin Rot. I put them in QT for 3 weeks or so and got them nice and fattened up, they are doing fine now. Prior to that I bought a Coral Beauty that also came home with Ich. The point is I know the LFS is a bad store but in Oklahoma City thats the place you must go unless you want to go to Norman or Edmond, both of which are long road trips.

I visited the Edmond store a few weeks back and was not impressed. they are a marine and brackish specialty store. they have such a hodge-podge of junk all over the place it's impossible to tell what is display tanks and whats for sale. I was afraid to even try them.

My next venture will be to the Norman store, they seem very knowledgeable on the phone. But it's an hour or more round trip. I fear that would cause stress to the livestock I purchase.

I guess that added stress to an otherwise healthy fish is better than a already ill fish being brought home in a 15 minute transit. All I know I can't go through a death cycle like this, it really makes me upset to watch. you just can't do much but watch. Very sad.

**SaltyDawg** · 10-25-2010, 06:44 PM

Bummer about the tang. If you're able to stop in frequently, I'd ask them to hold a fish for you for a week. Gives you a chance to see it feed and look for signs of illness. If they say no they just want to make a quick buck or know that a week later the fish might not be alive and lose money on it. Can't blame you if you never go back there...not a very good track record. Don't worry about the stress of a 45 minute ride.....just think about what they go through on an overnight delivery.

**mpcolson** · 10-25-2010, 07:38 PM

I'm going to take the dead Tang back tomorrow and see what happens. I think I will use any credit they give on snails. I don't think I will use them for fish anymore.

I never thought I would be this attached to a fish but beyond the money wasted it really is a pitiful position you are in when they are suffering like that. With my dog or cat I can take them to the vet and get them a shot or something. Not the case here... I'm just glad I didn't have my sons here to have to explain this to them. They would have really been upset at their young age.

Salty, I guess you are right about the overnight transit stress, I never really thought about it. I have resisted ordering from websites because of that. And I didn't want to jump the hoops if something went south. Norman really isn't that far away, it's just the main roads to it are in an Obama Funded widening project. Bottlenecks galore! I think I'm going to visit them this week regardless.

Anyway, I think I was spoiled living in Tampa way back when. I never had trouble with fish in the '80's when I had my first tank. I am finding it hard to match that success rate today. And this rig is 5x as much invested! Go figure,

**mpcolson** · 10-26-2010, 01:27 PM

I took the Tang back to the LFS today. They do not have any live guarantee!! Unbelievable!! I have purchased every living thing in my tank from these folks and they say "Sorry, we cannot guarantee the fish after it leaves the store."

Learn to ask questions ahead of time... WOW!!! DUMB STRUCK!!!

**SaltyDawg** · 10-26-2010, 09:32 PM

If you didn't get as much as a partial credit for being a repeat customer it just shows how much they value their customers. The #1 rule as a consumer is "buyer beware". As much as it sucks...this one has to be taken as a learning experience. Hope you have better luck with the other stores.

**Amphibious** · 10-26-2010, 11:00 PM

Matt,

Not even sure where to begin on this one. I’m 99% sure you read my article “Nine Simple Rules, How to Buy Healthy Fish and Keep Them Healthy” This fish has “DO NOT BUY” written all over it. To summarize a few of the article’s rules...

1. Look past the beauty. Most of us see the beauty in the fish and buy it.

2. Thoroughly look for external parasites, disease and signs of stress. If visible, avoid it like the plaque.

3. Always request to see the fish eat. If the LFS refuses for any reason or excuse, don't buy it.

4. Put a hold on the fish for 24 hours minimum, longer if possible. Most LFSs will do this for you. (If they refuse, walk away!)

5. Never buy on impulse. Ha, fat chance!!! This is so hard to resist but, so important.

6. Research, Research, Research. You should do your research on fish you are interested in before you go looking for them.

7. Quarantine. One of the most important steps to success, quarantining, is too often ignored. I know you were doing this, but NEVER buy an obviously sick/stressed fish just because you want one and you quarantine. An obviously sick fish is nearly always doomed.

A lot of people would say, but it’s just a Yellow Tang. Buying one of these should be simple. Well, it’s not if you don’t know what a healthy Yellow Tang looks like. That’s why for this response I simply Googled “Yellow Tang” and came up with several pictures. Here’s what you would have found if you had done that BEFORE going to the LFS.

An image of a healthy Yellow Tang. If you had this image on your mind when you walked into that LFS, wouldn’t you have left without that fish?

Now to deal with the dastardly dealer. I would go in there one more time, ask to speak to the owner/manager, and politely ask for a refund or at the least a store credit for the full amount. If they refuse, say to the owner/manager, do you recognize me as a regular customer? He should answer, yes. Then calmly and politely tell him, “Because of your refusal to act responsibly toward a good customer, this is the last time you will ever see my face or my money in this store. Plus, I will tell everyone that asks me about you of your rotten business practices." Then follow through!!!

I am dead serious about this!!!

You would be much better off dealing with Drs Foster and Smith and their Live Aquaria dot com, which offer you an iron clad 14 day guarantee on most fish purchases. Give them a chance to prove there are good on-line vendors. Read, understand and follow the rules of the guarantee before buying. You must follow the rules. Just like in my article, you must follow all the rules in order for them to work for you.

For those that haven’t read the article, you’ll find it here - Nine Simple Rules

Dick

**mpcolson** · 10-27-2010, 12:24 AM

Dick,

I was dealing with the owner on this from the sale to the refusal to guarantee the fish today. Just by dumb luck she is the only person I ever deal with in the store.

I DID in fact remind her that I have made EVERY live purchase since July in her store with an average ticket out the door of over $75.00. I got pretty steamed about a $35.00 fish being worth more to her than my monthly investment through her store into my tank.

I guess since I had good luck with the clown fish in the QT that I thought I could expect similar results in this case and I was wrong. I will not be going back to this store for as much as a filter pad in the future, I CAN GUARANTEE THAT!

Thanks for your useful tips.... You are correct, I have read them several times. (But I read the Surgeon General Warnings also on my Malboros everytime I open a new pack!!...

)

**saltaddict** · 10-27-2010, 06:29 AM

Originally Posted by mpcolson

I took the Tang back to the LFS today. They do not have any live guarantee!! Unbelievable!! I have purchased every living thing in my tank from these folks and they say "Sorry, we cannot guarantee the fish after it leaves the store."

Learn to ask questions ahead of time... WOW!!! DUMB STRUCK!!!

NONE of the LFS stores here have a "Live Guarantee" on saltwater fish. As much as it stinks I have to agree with the policy. Imagine the amount of money they would loose and the how fast they would be out of business if they offered the guarantee......Remember these fish need to have optimal conditions and the LFS cannot assume the liability of all of its customers having optimal conditions and know how.

**CarmieJo** · 10-27-2010, 09:23 PM

Sorry about your fish. I am glad you had him in QT and didn't expose your tank to him.

None of our stores around here offer a guarantee on fish either. I always take a cooler if I am going fish or coral shopping. That way you can put the bags in it and keep the temperature stable.