Is that Aquafanatics place in Richmond still open?

[dirtyreefer]

Just curious if they managed to stay in business or not after reopening after the fire.

[Willow]

yeah they reopened, it's kind of a shady place and they are never there but it did reopen.

[Chin_Lee]

their hours are sporatic and very inconsistent. their prices are usually pretty good though. I've never had another problems with their fish as long as they are eating before you buy it. they normally have larger fishes IMO and they have some issues with ick at times. I'm lucky that I work in richmond so I can just drive by to look to see if they are open without wasting too much gas nor time.
i mainly go there for the cheaper prices.

[Willow]

chin = brave!

[Ryan7]

Willow = anti fanatics.

Willow, experienced reefers learn to identify the signs of healthy fish, and therefore avoid the problem fish, not the store.

IMO, Chin's post seemed insightful on the accuracy of the stores operation methods.

My experience is much the same as Chin's.

[Willow]

honestly every time ive been in there, there has been a massive outbreak of ick going on. i was tempted to buy a chevron there as it was 65 bucks but the general quality of the rest of the stock made me suspect that the ones without ick had recently been freshwater dipped.

but do tell me as im not an experienced reefer, why should anyone shop at a store that consistently has parasite problems with their livestock and has no quarantine procedures?

[Chin_Lee]

John
i fully understand your concern as I have mine when I do go in there. I also get the "shady" feeling from there although I don't have anything to substantiate it which was the reason I didn't include it in my previous post. although I've never had any problems with fish recovering from ick as long as the fish is healthy and with lots of garlic, imo the ick is usually present because of the stress of shipping.
i usually watch the fish close up for about 5 minutes then watch if from a distance for another 5 minutes. then i ask them to feed it and i watch for another five minutes. Then I leave the store and come back a day or two later and do the same thing comparing its condition and behavior from the last visit. If the fish is gone, it wasn't meant to be. If its still there, its meant to be :biggrin: The fish is usually still there because the place is hardly open at times.
I also find most ick fish get healthy quickly if they are given good hiding places and they will eventually emerge as they become less stress and gain more confidence. Feed them often with garlic saturated mysis and walk away so they will come out to eat the food without seeing a big human watching them.
So to sum it up, i don't let a little ick stop the purchase of a fish that I feel that I can facilitate its recovery to full health.