What's the point of striving to be 100% net caught?

[JennM]

But Glenn, your store(s) existed before you bought it (them), right? Was there not already established, a relationship with suppliers?

I am/was a startup - fresh out of the gate. I worked for somebody else before, but it's not a name that's good to drop ... in fact dropping the name can be a hinderance rather than a help So I'm a nobody coming out of nowhere.

I'm telling you - the improvement in quality is staggering. And I'm not doing anything differently insofar as my fish room goes - same system, same filtration, same everything. Healthier fish, almost no disease (knock on wood) and minimal mortality.

Whether you think there's a difference or not, I KNOW there is a difference and I'm just going to keep on doing what I've been doing since the first of the year.

Jenn

 

[Anonymous]

hmmm...

we just bought some 'net caught' fish...

our daa %age is higher from that shipment , than from the 'cyaniders'

('twas a harlequin tusk-looked fine in the bag, too)


it's only one shipment, a much smaller amount of fish-and not really a scientifically valid conclusion, but....


:?

 

[Anonymous]

But Glenn, your store(s) existed before you bought it (them), right? Was there not already established, a relationship with suppliers?

I am/was a startup - fresh out of the gate. I worked for somebody else before, but it's not a name that's good to drop ... in fact dropping the name can be a hinderance rather than a help So I'm a nobody coming out of nowhere.

I'm telling you - the improvement in quality is staggering. And I'm not doing anything differently insofar as my fish room goes - same system, same filtration, same everything. Healthier fish, almost no disease (knock on wood) and minimal mortality.

Whether you think there's a difference or not, I KNOW there is a difference and I'm just going to keep on doing what I've been doing since the first of the year.

Like you, I was better off not mentioning the previous stores to anyone. I started off completely fresh. I just maybe you should give yourself a little bit of credit for the lowered mortaility as well. Through running a tighter fish room as you grown and work through all the kinks that inevitably pop up in the beginning. It takes a while for store tanks to "season" too.

 

[JennM]

Well after getting a bad case of Vibrio that nearly wiped me out from one place, when I told them about it they told me that couldn't possibly have been from them because "we use UV" (duh so do I...), I waited 6 months before ordering fish again from them, and I got a sickly bunch that mostly died too - this while getting healthy fish elsewhere. Third time in either late Dec or early Jan, I gave them one more kick at the cat..... and same result. Coincidence? Methinks NOT. Bad fish, getting corals as "box stuffers" that I didn not want (dyed corals, species I prefer not to carry like Goniopora sp. and Cataphyllia sp. and Dendronepthya sp.) even though I would send a LIST of "do not send" each time I ordered......)

Substandard fish, substandard corals, substandard service. I'm well satisfied now.

You're right, things get "easier" as the system matures, but I took it very slow and easy to build up my fish systems and fish inventory, but I got lousy quality to begin with.

Argue or disagree all you like - I don't mind. I know what I got then, and I know what I'm getting now, and so do my customers. Fat, healthy fish

Jenn

 

[mkirda]

hmmm...

we just bought some 'net caught' fish...

our daa %age is higher from that shipment , than from the 'cyaniders'

Vitz,

Hardly a shocker, and proves Steve's point: Net-caught fish can be rougher than cyanide ones.

The net-caught guys need market reinforcement yet, in order to tide them over until they get the handling/shipping component down.

These are really two separate issues.
Cyanide kills the reefs and can kill the fish.
Poor handling kills the fish regardless of how it is caught.

Short term, this will mean that some shipments will be rougher than others. Longer term, as the villagers learn how to pack and ship the fish, the rough fish will approach zero.

It is very simple to understand.
It is also easy to see how retailers might say Forget it- I'll wait until they figure out the shipping before I order again.
I'd urge you (as retailers and importers) to have a bit of patience and continue supporting them. The villagers and exporters have to know that there is a market, otherwise their is no incentive to continue and to improve.
Things will work out in fairly short order.

Regards.
Mike Kirda

 

[flameangel1]

Mary,,
dont you dare give up !!!!!!
Morals, ethics, responsibility to anything we believe in strongly, are IMPORTANT !!!!
I not only care and support net caught and YOU, but I stock the tank raised also. Yes, we do need variety, but if it is not there right now-so be it !!!!! I understand and explain the why of it.
Sorry I have not ordered much lately, but as you know, trying to work out
my future with a wonderful man and /or the shop,now, has been taking up a great deal of my time. Business is very slow at this time of the year, overhead does not stop (unfortunately) and the customers and money just are not available.
But don't you believe for one minute, that what you are doing is the wrong thing to do !!!!!!!! It is the RIGHT thing to do and I stand behind you 100% !!!!!

 

[flameangel1]

I wonder if any of the hobbyists realize that the overhead does not stop-things like my two year old A/C unit just quit (humidity/rust is horrible in this business ) $500.00 to replace it in an emergency 97 degree heat wave-sky high electric bills and slow business, among other things like this and is why the cost of fish is not the same as the e-tailors with no holding facilities or the guy in his basement.
That same $500.00 would have shown you my support, but I needed the A/C unit just to keep all the current stock comfortable !!!!

 

[flameangel1]

I see no reason for you to sell out unless you currently aren't making enough to stay in business.

What ?????
ok-so you are saying that it is ok to be honest/ethical/moral if you are making a profit on it ????
But money can be a reason to sell out !!!!
No way !!!!!!!
Well-sorry- but I do not agree at all.
Either one is or one is not, standing behind the values they believe in.

Ones Values are not sold out for Business and profit .

 

[mkirda]

I wonder if any of the hobbyists realize that the overhead does not stop-things like my two year old A/C unit just quit (humidity/rust is horrible in this business )

Well, Jenn, I hope that most of them will.
I certainly realize it...

Funny that you mention this topic: We just were having this debate earlier this week on the Reefkeepers mailing list... I got rust all over my basement after I set up a sump down there. You get salt everywhere in the house over time. Some people just don't see it, but it is there. One reefer noted the same thing: Two years and his airconditioner was rotted out from the inside by the salt. He also mentioned someone (whom I think is an admin for RDO) whose central air system was getting rotted out after he put in a basement sump... From the sounds of it, he needs a whole new heating/cooling system.

On the other hand, there are all these people saying: Oh, I've had a tank set up for 2 years and I don't have that problem... It is tough arguing with someone like that. :roll: Give it time...

One person has mentioned that there is a filter that will filter out airborne salt particles... Maybe you want to look into that for your next AC unit.

Regards.
Mike Kirda

 

[John_Brandt]

Moderator's note: New thread started called "NGO cyanide reform vs. non-NGO reform"