Anyone want their own LFS?

[Foxchase]

How long do both Reefco and ACC quarantine and medicate their fish for? And, are they quarantined in systems completely separate from their retail tanks? If Salgado's were to drop out of the retail picture for me, I'd have to choose TSM as my preferred retail fish vendor. I almost went for a $100 large (but obviously not CB) Mandarin they had quarantined (but probably not medicated) and had eating frozen food. I just wasn't quick enough pulling the trigger...

I just had a VERY, VERY, VERY weird idea. If we (NJRC) wanted to increase our stature and presence as an organization, maybe we should AUDIT all the LFSs in NJ (and surrounding areas?) for their claimed quarantine & medication practices when bringing in new fish. They'd have to let us watch them bring in a shipment, validate their claimed procedures, verify any claimed quarantine duration, and maybe even report on fish mortalities, yada, yada. Would our LFSs allow this? I think so - would any of them like to appear on our monthly audit report as "REFUSED an NJRC Audit Offer". We would not be reporting on differences from some idealistic quarantine & medication standard - we'd just be reporting on their claimed procedure and whether or not they actually adhered to them!

I'm an old timer in our hobby, and was very active in the Windows to the Sea MAS which was located here in NJ. (We did MACNA3 if you go back that far.) Looking back, I have to wonder if we could have made a difference in the hobby if a reasonably valid cyanide testing kit had been available at the time and we applied an audit procedure similar to the above to fish brought in by our LFSs.

My bottle of 2018 Château Féret-Lambert Grand Vin de Bordeaux is now empty, and I need to be wrap up this post. Anybody have any interest in implementing the above audits? Buy me a nice bottle of a French Bordeaux or a Tuscan Red and I might even be amenable to "leading the charge"...

Reefco, ACC and Salgado all operate the same way. They don't QT fish before selling them. The only one near us that does that is TSM. They put their fish into their systems that are pre medicated. Most LFS Do it like this. their tanks are kept at therapeutic levels of copper but they DO NOT qt completely. the fish is only being treated for whatever amount of time it's in their system. They do not treat for anything other than whatever copper will treat for. If a fish comes in on Monday it gets put in for sale on their display and if it's sold on Wednesday, then that's the only pre QT the fish have gotten. It's meant to jump start the QT for you but it by no means is the complete treatment.

I love Salgado and Juan is an amazing LFS owner. From my own personal experience. (I've bought many fish from them) I've QT'd everything. I started off with observational and saw my fish develop ich or show signs of parasites. (i by no means blame them whatsoever as it's impossible for almost any LFS to have a truly
ich free system bc of the turnover rate.)
This happened with more than one batch of fish at different times with set ups that were completely sterile. That's why it's important to QT yourself before adding anything to your tank. If you ask him, he will tell you directly, it is not a complete treatment for diseases/parasites. Just gets you a jump start so you can finish the treatment. (I've had the same talk with almost every lfs in NJ)

 

[amado]

I think the difference comes when the LFS dates arrivals.
When you have a date the fish arrived you know how long it’s been in treatment. Most LFS will treat fish copper but not all will give you the arrival information.

Reefco/ aquatic obsession give you this information.
So you can wait to buy a fish until it’s been in their system for a few weeks.

I personally trust wil @ aquatic obsession When he says that fish is eating and healthy it usually is.
He has fish that he won’t sell and he will tell you
To wait on that one.

I can tell you that I personally have never had a fish die or got sick that I purchased from Salgado. This is why I will miss that shop. I don’t buy fish often but Salgado was my go to
When I needed fish.

 

[MadReefer]

AO was my go to store when I lived near there and was in fish buy craze. Now I am maxed out on fish unless I get rid of some for anything new.

 

[Foxchase]

I think the difference comes when the LFS dates arrivals.
When you have a date the fish arrived you know how long it’s been in treatment. Most LFS will treat fish copper but not all will give you the arrival information.

Reefco/ aquatic obsession give you this information.
So you can wait to buy a fish until it’s been in their system for a few weeks.

I personally trust will @ aquatic obsession When he says that fish is eating and healthy it usually is.
He has fish that he won’t sell and he will tell you
To wait on that one.

I can tell you that I personally have never had a fish die or got sick that I purchased from Salgado. This is why I will miss that shop. I don’t buy fish often but Salgado was my go to
When I needed fish.

I agree with you. I've personally have never bought from AO but Will has always been super nice and helpful whenever i go there. I love that Reefco puts dates on their fish. It's super helpful. I go to Salgado when i want a fish that I can't find anywhere else. They always seem to have super interesting stuff at super affordable pricing. They honestly can't be beat on the pricing.