Mail Order Shrimp, Snails & Heat Packs; A cautionary tale.

As mentioned previously, there was another Olive
and another Tiger on their way along with some
plant and Amanos.

I tried a new supplier because I wanted to see
if I could consolidate shipping cost by finding a
supplier who had all the items I wanted for this
shipment. I am unhappy.

I ordered 5 Amanos and two Tiger Nerites from the
new supplier. I received a notice after purchase that
the supplier was moving to a new location but by then
I had already put in a second order for another Tiger
and another Olive nerite plus a plant order. Due to the
suppliers notice that shipping would be delayed, I
immediately requested the orders be combined
and set a specific date before which I could not take
delivery. Any time after was fine. They got that
part half right, the delivery date.

They did not combine my orders, had they my Amanos
could have ridden along with my Riccia or another plant.
The Amanos arrived D.O.A. within 36-48 hrs of leaving
the facility. Whomever their supplier is for heat packs,
the supplier puts out a good product. Maybe too good.
The interior of the box was warm, maybe 80-85 and I
could smell fishy-ness before removing the insulating
newspaper. I did not think anything of it, could have
been spilled tank water.


The Amanos were in dirty water, with duckweed, no plant
of any kind. They were already salmon colored and
deteriorating. Had they survived, all were adults,
not a single juvenile. I took pictures and sent
an email notification immediately. No response.

The two Tiger nerites as noted previously arrived live,
were in clean bags both times and are
munching their way around the tank.

The next day the plants, second Olive and third Tiger arrived.
Tiger was D.O.A., Olive was pond snail size but alive.
The Riccia portion was in a little cup, all the water
having spilled into the package. Doubtful this will
survive either.

I will never order from this supplier again. Not solely because
I am out for shipping on two orders, the cost of five Amanos
and a Tiger nerite but because to date, the supplier has
not acknowledged either email. I am conflicted as to
whether I should name this supplier at this point.
The "vengeance is mine" part of me has no problem outing
a bad business practice. However, I do not know what
sort of issues the human being on the other end of this
transaction has. Would this other human being make good
in some other way, this transaction if he knew it has gone
sour in my book? And how long do I wait patiently for
an email acknowledging my dissatisfaction?

Pondering ethics, lack of shrimp and world peace . . .

Editor's Note: I just checked the date of the announcement
for the supplier's shipment of Amanos; seems I ordered
on the day of the announcement. In this case I must ask
myself and the supplier; "Did you quarantine these Amano
Shrimp before offering them for sale?"

Seems not.