THANK YOU to those who ONLY sell CB Banggai Cardinals

[jgana]

Thanks for the confirmation. Also not trying to stir trouble at all. I just try to be extremely environmentally concious with this hobby/interest. As do all of you.

The reason I had asked the question of calaxa is because I had been very excited to find captive bred banggai's at the show (as confirmed by the WWOF rep) and purchased two there . I'd been on the lookout for them and hoped to be able to get them to breed. I had terrible luck. One didn't make it I think from the stress of the multiple moves that day (store to show to home), the other oddly lasted another two days only but refused to eat anything a CB should (tried frozen mysis shrimp, brine, tiny pieces of squid, pellet/flakes for carnivores, etc.). Water parameters in my 180g tank have always been pristine, and it is way understocked on the fish side, with only peaceful species.

I spoke a few times to the store (maybe once to you Steve?) and I have to say, the store was extremely nice, knowledgeable and accomodating. Offered me replacements. Each time it was confirmed their banggais were CB.

I drove to the store. Three employees were there I think? Very knowledgeable, clean, nice store. The type of place I'd frequent.

There were two different tanks that had Banggais. I selected from a combination of the two tanks, four banggais, as I wanted to make sure I could come away with a pair. (two replacements, two new purchase). After selecting (or maybe while) I realized the two tanks had different prices for the banggais. One said ORA-$35, the other had them for $17 (the ones at the frag show were $15). When I asked one of the employees why and again pressed on whether they were all CB, he seemed to concede that one tank was CB the other wild caught.

Its certainly possible we had a miscommunication, or that he was misinformed. Though at home, the two that came from the "$17" tank again refused to eat anything and both ultimately died. The two that came from the "ORA-$35" tank have thrived like absolute champs (even though one came in pretty banged up with torn fins, and has recuperated very well) and they've even paired (witnessed a "shimmy" dance yesterday). I'm typically very careful with acclimation with new fish or corals. Also I'd note, one "$17" and one "$35" looked great and went into the 180 display, another "$17" and another "$35" had frayed fins and signs of getting picked on (I got them anyway because I felt bad for them, and I figured I'd have as good a chance as any to get them healthy) and these went into my quarantine tank (I didn't want all four there in case they picked on each other). Its the "$35" of each pair that survived - I'm 100% certain. I never witnessed any of them pick on each other. I think it was more a feeding/acclimation issue.

Steve, I obviously take you at your word that your interest is in only buying CB banggais from good suppliers. Is it possible at all that one of your own importers/sellers aren't being honest with you about how/where they get their fish? Or that a breeder/supplier is not weaning the cb ones onto typical frozen fare for carnivores? I'm not familiar with that side of the supply business at all, so just thinking out loud.

Again, I felt very well treated by your store. Just had this lingering discomfort about potential wild caught banggais given they're endangered. Could have just been miscommunication/misinformation and very bad luck.

Thanks agsin. (sorry, I have no clue how to pm).

 

[calaxa]

jgana,

All 4 of mine were in the same tank at the LFS and they played nice with each other for awhile. I have them in a 120G all by themselves as a temp QT. I noticed they were splitting off at night. After a week or so, the two big ones had moved into the center of the tank and I noticed one was gilling heavily near the surface. The other one was no where to be found. I hunted around and saw he had curled up into a crevice in the live rock. I watched some more and saw that the biggest one would repeatedly attack these two even in this 120. I hope the remaining two are a pair and I just need to get them to eat. I gotta say, they can swim surprisingly fast when they want to.

 

[Wonderful World of Fish]

Hey! It's not a problem at all and don't be sorry for not putting this is in a PM. I like threads like these b/c this is what a forum is all about! Disseminating information to everyone!

I am confirming that the cardinals we sell are captive bred. If one of my employees said otherwise because they were unable to answer as to the difference in price, then that's a training error on our part and I appreciate it that you brought it to my attention.

For approximately the last 6 months I have been consistently bringing in cardinals (an order every 2 wks approx) and I started with only 2 suppliers: ORA and 1 supplier from Virginia. I then found another 2 suppliers, as aforementioned in a previous post, b/c as with all industries - we have to keep our supplier lines open so we can have good fill rates for our customers. ORA is an expensive source b/c of its branding- and b/c they have become a well known industry leader so they are capitalizing on their name now - therefore the $35 price tag.

I have to say that almost all the Bangaiis we bring in do very well in our tanks and eat frozen mysis & brine predominately. Of course, like most of our livestock however, there are some that don't come in as hardy

Is it possible that one of my suppliers has not been forthright with us? I cannot say for sure 100% - but I certainly hope not! They have offered me a tour of their facilities down there, so perhaps I take them up on their offer! ;-)

As for the tattered fins and such, it's hard to accommodate the large amounts of those fish we bring in. Especially ordering from suppliers where we can offer you better prices "17" b/c we get discounted lot pricing. If we ordered less, then the price across board jumps to @$26 (and we have a few less bagaii's with tattered fins); and then we have a slew of unhappy customers
We're trying our best to find a reliable trustworthy source.

It's a difficult industry and hobby for us to be in, but it's one that I love and I will continue my best to learn and help my customers.

I'm sorry for those that didn't make it. I always try to do right by the customers we serve. You can call me direct at the store and ask for me "Steve" or "Eddie"

Once again - I think that was an excellent post and you should always question something if you are unsure - that's how things get resolved, addressed or rectified. Hobbyists like you that are environmentally conscious and always looking to learn and a pleasure to deal with.

Regards,
Steve

 

[calaxa]

Steve,

Thanks for clarification. It benefits all of us. I wish I still lived in NYC as I never got a chance to check out your store. Maybe I can drop by during the holidays. I don't blame the LFS for selling me what they thought were captive bred. I think it's hard to always verify the source and they had to take it on faith that the entire lot was CB. I'm pretty sure the 2 I gave away were. Their demeanor was definitely different than the two I kept. Then again, their size was also much smaller.

 

[jgana]

Thank you.