Price, QT, Acclimation and Quality

[dallasg]

So how important are these factors to us here in SA?
Price, QT, Acclimation and Quality?

Do we hunt for the cheapest price for fish, corals and inverts? would it be worth paying more for fish/corals/inverts that have been in SA for 4 weeks that are eating readily available foods, healthy and acclimated to tank living?

corals both large colonies and smaller frags for nano guys etc

now if this was available and possibly made items 10% more expensive would they still be more appealing?

or are we after the cheap quick fix?

interested to hear

 

[459b]

I'd pay more for a fish that I know had been quarantined for four weeks. Knowing that it's eating and is disease free is worth the extra money.
Smaller frags are also a plus. Much better paying R200 for two or three different coloured frags than the same price for one colour.

 

[CameL]

I agree, would pay the extra for less stress. Frags from the LFS would also be a plus.

 

[TaahirS]

Agree with @459b. Most of my fish come from one lfs. They get fed 3 times a day. The food is mixed with kanaplex, metronidazole and focus. And paraguard is added once a day.

Sometimes the prices are a bit high for me though

 

[tekkengal]

I would gladly pay more for a fish that went through a quarantine process. This would also assist people that unfortunately do not have a secondary tank/suitable tank (e.g with hiding places etc) for this as well save the hobbiest some time in the process.

As for frags, depends on the goal. Nice to get cheaper, smaller pieces but your tank does not look "full" without decent sized colonies if you had to start that way. A mix is always preferable for me when it comes to frags

 

[carlosdeandrade]

Disease, in most cases is affected by external stimuli. Stress induced disease is a very common occurrence in captive animals. Yes, it would be nice to quarantine, but it would require a larger facility to have this option as it would need a rotational system of tanks.
Also remember, disease "hides" in rock and coral, who knows how long a certain species can be dormant, we also see so many LFS place fish in their coral banks.

Secondly, how does one know 100% that your tank is disease free, many unseen things do live in your tank, and one stressor will cause havoc.
We could try and purchase fish that come from reputable dealers (even these fall short at times), keep stocking levels low (that's one thing many fail in), try mimic good water quality in terms of nutrients (even though NO3 doesn't really kill fish, it causes general fish ill health). Feed good food moderately (things we all should know).

Unfortunately South Africans live very far from all natural marine fish/coral resources, making our prices relatively high (in terms of shipping).

In theory, if you have planned well, you should only really buy fish for your tank at a short interval and when your tank is full, or we have all the fish we want then stocking should stop (I personally haven't purchased any fish in 10 months). Alas, we want the next cool fish and the latest species that is available, or that one fish we all dream of.

I would say coral is more flexible, frags are great, but sharing between reefers can leed to transfer of disease. A coral quarantine would be ideal, particular for those pests and parasites (Montipora nudibranch) that are not killed by dipping.

Dallas, good question, everyone will feel differently.
Personally, my tank is full, would like more corals, generally stay away from the LIVE STOCK section at a store.

To some it up... Yes I would pay more for quarinted fish (TMC is an example), but if my tank is not right, then would I, "NO."

 

[carlosdeandrade]

Oh, didn't add my two cents on acclimatisation, I think we all fall short, many fish die because of osmoregulation stress.
I also get a little irate when fish that are not meant for the aquarium hobby land up in our shops.

 

[dallasg]

great reply!

 

[zippy]

Do we hunt for the cheapest price for fish

I think this is a very debatable subject just on it's own, obviously everyone is trying to make money to live and survive, hence the prices always get pushed up to "market" value pricing, instead of the item/goods/livestock being calculated on a percentage of the cost price via a mark up percentage.

I've been doing sales for the last 15 years now. I am still far from knowing it all, very far.


here's my opinion:

A pet shop relying on livestock sales as bread and butter I believe will not make it in terms of business longevity. However if there was a product supplied that could maintain the running costs of the business/shop the livestock provided would just be something of a value add. I believe if guys are somewhat serious about selling coral the corals need to be bought once off from Indo, wherever and then they need to be grown and fragged, and the frags will then start to generate the required bread and butter. However this would take time. Call me a cheapskate, call me a wise shopper, I'd rather purchase a frag and have it grow in my tank, the excitement of the growth appeals to me within the hobby, however others enjoy purchasing equipment, why would someone want to purchase a fully grown coral? Some do, once again it comes down to what each person enjoys from the hobby.

Corals grown locally will already be acclimatized to our current tanks, and if grown and growing they should in essence be disease free. Maybe a poll should be put together asking reefers what they enjoy most about the hobby, but then again, you need to cater for the hobby and not the individuals.