- Location
- Virginia
Yesterday, I did a stupid thing and bought 2 blue dot stingrays at Scott's Pet Shop in Westchester (for those of you Chicagoans, it's the one with the obnoxious radio commercials). I have always had my doubts about the quality of their livestock, and asked to see the blue dots eating. None of them ate while I was watching (krill and ghost shrimp) but I was told that they just ate a lot that morning so I trusted the sales associate. I ended up buying 2, even though only one of them seemed to be fully okay to me, but I figured with a 48 hour guarentee, it would be ok. I got them home in less than 30 minutes, and began to do a slow drip acclimation as they were in 1.019 SG, and my pond is at 1.0255. As I did this, I was conscious of the fact that pH and other factors can be very important in keeping them alive and keeping them healthy, so I tested my water and theirs for quality. The first test I did was nitrite since I had a nitrite problem a few weeks ago with the introduction of a bat ray (which died after getting bitten by a picasso and leaping out of the pond, very sad day). Imagine my dismay when after an hours worth of dripping, which had brought their salinity up very slowly (I used a constant drip from an airline tube) to 1.021 and the water volume in the transport styro had doubled, and I discovered the nitrites to be at around 1 ppm in their water. I tried to phone them to tell them, but there was no answer. I then had the answer to why they weren't eating, and increased the acclimation process by halving the water again, and scooping in a few cups every 10 minutes. After around 2 hours of acclimation, I was so concerned about the nitrite and how high it was before I diluted the water they were in that I abandoned acclimation when the salinity was within .01 of being the same. Within a couple of hours of being dumped in, one was dead. I returned it first thing this morning and told them about the problem I had discovered, and expressed my concern over their tank (it has 2-3 zebra morays, had 3 blue dots, a shovel nose skate, and 5 or 6 electric rays in probably a 200-300 gallon tank). I told the guy I had noticed that some of the rays were acting funny, and that I had just attributed it to the fact that they were full (since that is what I had been told) and the fact that there was a lot of current in the tank. He told me the water was fine, he had just tested it, so I left it alone and got my credit. When I got home an hour later, the other ray was dead. When I returned it this afternoon, I told them again how concerned I was and commented on how there were a lot less rays in the tank than yesterday when I first came in this morning. I was told that a guy came in and bought the fish that I was guessing had died. Also, this sales guy told me that the nitrite was just in the water in the styro, and that it was due to one of them taking a dump in the styro, since their waste has high levels of nitrite in it (yeah right). I told them again that I knew it wasn't because of "dumping" since ammonia is what fish waste is, and it doesn't turn into nitrite on its own, it requires bacteria to do that. He finally said he'd test the water after closing (even though the water in their tank was probably at well over 2 ppm).
Anyways, just wanted to share my frustration. I am now down 2 blue dot rays which I was very excited about getting, and my wife is now again telling me not to buy anything else.
Should've been more careful, but I was over excited that she finally told me it was okay to blow money on some more rays after the bat ray jumped out and ignored the little voice in my head telling me that they didn't look healthy and since they didn't eat the food offered, I shouldn't have bought them.
I wish that LFS staff were more informed and cared a little bit more about the stock in some stores....
[ October 20, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]
Anyways, just wanted to share my frustration. I am now down 2 blue dot rays which I was very excited about getting, and my wife is now again telling me not to buy anything else.
Should've been more careful, but I was over excited that she finally told me it was okay to blow money on some more rays after the bat ray jumped out and ignored the little voice in my head telling me that they didn't look healthy and since they didn't eat the food offered, I shouldn't have bought them.
I wish that LFS staff were more informed and cared a little bit more about the stock in some stores....
[ October 20, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]
