Does your LFS offer refunds?

[dogofwar]

Exactly - one of the only ways that LFS will survive is through superior service... if you don't feel that you're getting good service, don't shop there.

Most LFS and chains offer some guarantee on the fish that they sell if the person claiming the loss brings in the fish and (separately) water to test.

There are a million reasons that fish can die, fault of the keeper or not. I bought a bunch of tetras and a couple died the first day. One looked shaky in the bag...probably from the catch process. The other died inexplicably overnight. The other dozen plus did great. I brought the dead fish back with a water sample...and they were replaced no questions asked.

Matt

But there are some really good ones with policies that are around for years and years and are still around.

 

[bobblehead27]

A sample of your water proves nothing really. If I wanted to, I could bring in some aged and/or treated tapwater and make it appear as if my tank's water is pristine. There's a lot more to the story than just a small water sample.

That's true. They're not fool proof. Short of them coming to your house they can't really ensure that the fish is going in that tank. I could bring in a sample of my cichlid tank that's cycled and then go home and put the fish in an mud hole and then when it dies take it back with a sample of the cichlid tank again... No way of really knowing.

The thing with the water sample is, most of the people who are as you said "idiot fish keepers" and "don't know the first thing about water chemistry and what it takes to keep a fish alive"... These are the ones that the water sample weeds out...

Of course people can bring in cycled water and then throw the fish into a "mud hole" but who would do that besides people who just wanted to see them die, because these people would obviously know the right way to go about things, and just went out of there way to kill the fish... no one gains anything from doing that... they're just killing the fish for the sake of killing them

 

[Liz Sagara]

The thing with the water sample is, most of the people who are as you said "idiot fish keepers" and "don't know the first thing about water chemistry and what it takes to keep a fish alive"... These are the ones that the water sample weeds out...

Of course people can bring in cycled water and then throw the fish into a "mud hole" but who would do that besides people who just wanted to see them die, because these people would obviously know the right way to go about things, and just went out of there way to kill the fish... no one gains anything from doing that... they're just killing the fish for the sake of killing them

Very true

 

[SidKarver]

the one near me offers a 48hr refund from the time of the receipt.. I had to return an oscar once that when i got it home it was obviously not going to make it another day.. (seemed like a swim bladder/unhealthy kept issue, plus was pretty beaten up when i got it) went back within 24 hours with the fish still alive and they gave me a pretty hard time... eventually agreed to a 50% discount but when the manager saw i was getting another of the same fish he gave a full discount.

Oscars often swim on their sides, or backwards. Oscars almost always look as if they contracted swim bladder, more especially in young Oscars..

 

[smarchant22]

mines 3 days with a water sample

 

[Liz Sagara]

Oscars often swim on their sides, or backwards. Oscars almost always look as if they contracted swim bladder, more especially in young Oscars..

Really? I did not know that. Good to know. I'll own one of these eventually.

 

[Antithesis123]

I think that good Business is knowing when to bend and who to bend for. I fugure if you're interested in fish enough to be on MFK you'd be valued by your LFS if they knew what was good for them.

 

[Liz Sagara]

Yeah. Mine knows me by name! They know what fish I have in what tanks and ask me about them all the time.

 

[charles-n-charge]

mine offers store credit if it dies within 2 days of owning it, but they demand a water sample with the dead fish. if you test bad, no credit

 

[SimonL]

The problem with the water test is that some people will just bring in tap water....which tests perfect with a dip strip. Also, it doesn't help if the people have done something else grossly negligent...