LFS

[Reefkeep]

I Purchased a beautiful joker torch today at a local fish store. When i got it home it was clear that it was nfested with flatworms, before I dipped it some of them were already swimming around the bag. Once i added the dip a bet a hundred of them came off the coral. I scraped for eggs, removed tons of them. Also cut off the plug and the previous glue, eggs were under the glob of glue. i know pests are always a risk but is this something I should expect from a lFS?

 

[hzheng33]

I think most of the time it’s “your mileage may vary”. Some stores are better than others but not 100% considering all the corals that go through their tanks on a weekly basis. However, I would call the lfs to let them know at a minimum that there was a issue with your purchase and also wouldn’t let one instance be the verdict on that lfs.

corals like euphyilla, in my opinion, would be better off if you purchase from a hobbyist for the price and health of the specimen.

 

[mumra]

agreed. I've gotten most of my stuff from one or two LSFs and have had 0 problems. they might have a problem and not be aware of it yet. give them a call. they might do something for you to make up for it.

 

[Rainblood]

No that amount of flatworms shouldn't be expected when purchasing from anywhere - person or store. Thats just not cool.
I rarely have issues from LFSs and when I do its just one or 2 things that pop out. I understand its difficult for stores with larger systems to maintain everything pristine but to find ~100 or even 10 TBH is too much IMO. I would just "X" that particular LFS off your list and move on.

And I hate to say this but its also buyer beware. You have to get better at recognizing pests and other issues while at the LFS. I'd imagine that with that many FWs - they'd be crawling all over the display/frag tanks. Try to spot the issues while at the LFS to mitigate the risk.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

That many flat worms sounds more like they are infested than just have a few that came through during their last shipment. Which of course you would get from a local store or another reefer at any given time. But that amount isn’t acceptable in my opinion from someone who relies on their quality to make a living. Hopefully you got some pictures that can show the quantity and they make things right. Maybe you helped them out in a big way by calling and letting them know!

 

[Reefkeep]

Taking the feedback above I informed the LFS of the issue. On the good news side, I dipped it again today and found nothing, further it seems quite happy. I’ll dip it on Sunday just to be sure…. (Yes I’m paranoid)