Responsibility of the Seller or Buyer?

[ming]

With the frag swap coming up tomorrow, figure this will be posted sooner or later due to someone having frags die...
When selling SPS to someone, is it the responsibility of the seller to make sure the buyer can handle SPS in their tank? Or is it the buyers responsibility to make sure hes providing a good condition for SPS?

IMO, I say it is the buyers responsibility unless the buyer asks the seller for an honest opinion. Otherwise I'm not researching the specs of every buyers tank.

 

[aaron23]

real answeR: its questionable.

 

[EmilyT]

i agree, the sellers don't know as much as the buyer about their tank setup. If it setup if pristine for sps and everything is doing well except for that one frag, then i would probably blame the seller, but again, the seller isnt obligated to make sure the frags survive in the new tank, they are just there to make sure its alive when they have it and to make a little cash lol. fortunately, we have great members on MR who make sure that their frags are healthy and care about their customers . i think it is also the buyer's responsibility to make sure that they will be able to take care of it.

 

[bad coffee]

my thoughts on everything I buy.

 

[marrone]

I would think if you're selling things out of your tank, which you have grown over the years, you would want to make sure the buyer can keep the coral alive.

In the past we've had a # of sellers that wouldn't sell their corals to people unless they knew they had to right conditions to keep it alive.

 

[lunner]

My opinion: Usually aquacultured frags are hardier then marine cultured or wild pieces. And the buyer should know the risks and care associated with keeping SPS or even animals in general.

But I never sell freshly cut frags, I like to let them heal for at least 10 days.

 

[Aquatic Life Direct]

But I never sell freshly cut frags, I like to let them heal for at least 10 days.

Same here. I think its the sellers responsibility to make sure their frags are good to go. Feeding them and giving them time to heal up. But then I think its the buyers responsibility to make sure that the particular frag will survive in their setup by asking the sellers the proper questions and making sure their water is good. Its like 50/50 IMO so i couldnt vote......... :lol2:

BTW, can you bring me a piece of that frag you told me about yesterday?

 

[Josh]

It depends. If you are giving someone their first SPS, don't give them a blue aculeus, but a branch of montipora digi or acro nana would be fine.

I think you should think about the community, we have a limited amount of these corals and if you are fragging them you need to determine what is the best to keep the species alive long term in all of our aquariums. At the same time you need to balance that with the goal of getting NEW people into the hobby as even the expert reefers make mistakes or get out of the hobby.

 

[Bob 1000]

Easy
ST= no Sps..
NOT a ST= corals but not sensitive corals...
Stable water quality more than a year old = Possibly suitable for Sps..
OR
Ask some trick questions..
Like.. How much salt goes in your Ro water container to make 20 gallons of saltwater??
OR
How much Sodium bicarbonate should you put into your main tank to raise the Alkalinity??
OR
How much LR should be in your ro container to keep the water from cycling if the container is 20 gallons??
LMAO because a lot of people won't be able to answer these correctly...Damn I've been in this hobby too long, I think I'll be leaving soon.......Maybe.

 

[Aquatic Life Direct]

Yo BOB come get your damn fish! :bablefish

 

[Bob 1000]

I'll be by Monday if that's okay Thread Hijacker.. Changing around my tank today... Making room for the new pieces..
And don't kill it please..

 

[Slamajamajama]

i would think that as a person who luvs reefing, u would want the buyer to experience nothing but enjoyment from the corals/fish u are selling him/her, with that, i would explain in detail the requirements of said coral/fish and take notice if this is in anyway a problem with buyer....

 

[gcfd191]

I would say its the buyer's responsibility, unless the frag just doesn't take. Some frags will die no matter what.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

A frag trade or sale is still a business transaction in nature and thus it's clearly a mutual thing. A buyer should ask about warranty before purchase and cannot claim warranty if not being explicitly spoken of. The buyers have all the chance of inspecting the coral frags, including not buying it if it does not look right (actually, even when it's perfectly looking.) There's no reason to ask the seller to assume responsibility of the buyer's inability to keep any frag, not just SPS, as long as the seller is not intentionally hiding info. or known issues. The seller should not be the one to educate, it's the forum's job. The seller should inform only the information requested and ask no further. Imagine, when Jhale, prattreef, come to get macro algae from me and I asked them his tank size, lighting, SG, pH .... GM sell you a car without asking your driver's license, you pay extra to a driving school to learn how to drive. GM should not sell a car that known to blow up immediately but should tell you what the warranty is(I am sure it does not cover bad driving skill.) Hence, I should not hand out infected mushrooms.

These type of questions have been around for as long as I am in the club but yet I have not seen a dedicated forum of "Before You Buy Any SPS Read This", "Before You Buy Anything Reading This", "Before You Enter the Hobby Read This", 'Before You Enter MR Read This(cause you'll addicted to so many SPS, hard to keep stuff and thing that usually only money can maintain them safe)" Instead, every time I open Manhattanreef web site, the first pic is usually something many members cannot keep yet so beautiful that everyone is drawn to get(I hate Jhale for this, hehe.) There are not even a slightest inclination of anyone to remind them with a disclaimer. The site is not wrong in putting the beautiful pic that have lured so many of the unaware crowd-it's the buyers' problem of not asking the prerequisite of entering MR, the hobby, the Fish realm, beginners' coral then advanced SPS.

 

[Reefsaint]

Being that this is community all should have a little more respect and edumacation before selling or buying.I guess im too old school and think people can be held accountable or want to maintain a good reputation.
If not shame on you!

 

[RyanG]

IMO its the seller resonsibility to provide a quality product and the buyers resonsibility to make sure that his/her system is able to provide a quality home for the coral they are purchasing. So BOTH parties bear some responsibility.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

as long as the seller is selling quality livestock such as in sps which it is growing nicely in his tank its the buyers responsibility to properly acclimate the coral into the new conditions. and also the buyer should also no and do there research and ask question before buying a 3 inch clam and puttin him under fluorescent lights or buying corals and having no idea how to up his alk cal and mag and keep it stable with the rest of the water parameters. all in all as long as the livestock is healthy its all up to the buyer that's the way I look at it

 

[Pinkheine]

I would honestly like to think that anyone selling anything, whether a person selling or trading a frag, or a vendor, that there be open lines of communication to the buyers. I also think that selling animals, which I consider corals animals, that sellers would ask questions -or- offer their knowledge to ensure that the buyer knows what they are getting themselves into--- afterall the seller is already keeping the animal so knows what it needs.

Is it the buyers responsibility to do research before hand and understand basic knowledge about the critter in question, most certainly. But IMO nothing is better than talking with someone with hands on knowledge.

There are many variables involved in each individual situation to say who is solely responsible and I don't think you can say one or the other. But I do think that information should be offered from the seller to the best of their ability to ensure that the buyer is making the right decision. For me that is just good business sense and forms a respectable trustworthy working relationship between buyers and sellers. I don't think that a buyer should have to ask for an honest opinion, I think it should be given regardless.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Being that this is community all should have a little more respect and edumacation before selling or buying.I guess im too old school and think people can be held accountable or want to maintain a good reputation.
If not shame on you!

Being community thing, both buyers and sellers should respect each other and thus the seller should not lie to the buyer and that a buyer should not parasitically cling on the seller's ability for the rest of the life without self improvement.

I would NEVER assume the buyer to know any less than the seller. If it happens to catch my attention that something MAY NOT BE RIGHT in the buyers' side, I actively ask and If I think he cannot keep it, I would advise him not to get it. Else, I would respect his knowledge who may be 30 years in reefing without anyone knowing it. Many people who got fish from me challenge the ID's of my fish, sometimes they right too. They educate me as well.

 

[NYreefNoob]

the buyer's, this site provide's enough info that anyone cn find or ask what is needed to maintain certain corals, i personally have no problems saying what my tank equip consist of, but that doesnt mean cause it is thriving in my tank it will thrive in your's, you can't completely duplicate another's system. most if not all people on here know sps need high light and great water quality, as well as some lps require the same, ive gotten zoa's from a fellow member that melted away a week later. i think most of us take forgranted if someone on here is wanting to buy something they know what it needs. { dang no one i am getting anything from asked if i can keep sps }