Clean Up Crew

[phljess]

I need to buy a clean up crew for my new tank. I do not want any asteria snails or mexican turbos, Where is the best buy for your buck. I would like a package with lots of ceriths, blue legged hermits, some sand sifters, detris turning stars, a couple of Emerald crabs and a few shrimp.

I am not sure if ceriths are the type of snails I need but I do not want large snails like the turbos and I do not want asterias because they flip over and die. I just want some good algae grazers. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[bneal3]

I would be interested in the same type of order! Let me know if you find something good!

[LtPiper]

Might want to try Indo-Pacific (http://www.ipsf.com/) or Tom's Caribbean (http://members.aol.com/tscaturro/Main.html)

[phljess]

I forgot to mention, this is for a large tank 260g with refugium. I will need to buy a large supply of crabs and snails. I am looking for small algae grazering and detris removing snails, anyone have any suggestions? How many would you recommend, I think about 200 snails and 150 crabs.

[LtPiper]

I've got about 1.5 crabs and about .5 a snail per gallon in my tanks.

[phljess]

LT, what kind of snails are you using, I would think I would need almost 1 Snail per gallon using smaller snails.

[LtPiper]

A mix of the two types you don't want LOL.

[essop3]

I would suggest

40 nassarius
80-100 cernith
20 nerite
any limipts that you can find ( i love 'em)
maybe some margarita snails

5 emerald crabs maybe a few sally light foots
25-30 scarlets
2-3 brown/black brittle stars
2-3 serpent stars

Of course add'em as you need'em

[grendl]

http://www.ipsf.com/strombusfaqs.html

I was reading that & wondering... wouldnt it be a bad thing to have a constantly spawning tank of snails??? Wouldnt they eventually just infest the tank?

[Nathan4Wvu]

Hey, Phill I have those little black snails they look like little cerniths they reproduce like crazy in the sand bed and sometimes a few will wonder onto the glass. Would you want some of them? Hey they are free lol

[phljess]

Nathan, I think I have some of those already but a few more wouldn't hurt anything.

[LtPiper]

I wouldn't mind a handfull of them for my tanks.

[MattG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6691524#post6691524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by grendl
http://www.ipsf.com/strombusfaqs.html

I was reading that & wondering... wouldnt it be a bad thing to have a constantly spawning tank of snails??? Wouldnt they eventually just infest the tank?

They will only infest the tank if their is a food for them. Once the algae is eaten the number of snails level themselves off.

On a side note i orderd from ipsf.com maybe 4 years ago and today can say that i have given/sold hundreds of the strombus grazers. These guys like to come out at night. Its great to have a supply of snails that replenish themselves. The only bad thing is they are small and make their way into equipment.

My favorite snails are trochus but they are expensive

Essops suggestions sound pretty good. I would leave the margarita's out though since they are from cooler waters then most reef tanks.

If i was to order a large cleanup crew i would use www.reeftopia.com

[1package]

Alright Phillip, I think Matt and some others used reeftopia with apparent good results, make a plan.........get the ball rolling...........that algae isn't going away on it's own.

[phljess]

http://cgi.ebay.com/200-Nassarius-Obsoleta-reef-cleaning-algae-snails_W0QQitemZ7743391044QQcategoryZ66788QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem How about some of these and some blue legged hermits?

[essop3]

Those are cold water snails collected from around NC

[essop3]

Try these guys

http://www.phishybusiness.com/

[mcox33]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6705643#post6705643 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phljess
http://cgi.ebay.com/200-Nassarius-Obsoleta-reef-cleaning-algae-snails_W0QQitemZ7743391044QQcategoryZ66788QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem How about some of these and some blue legged hermits?


Not the seller I ordered from, but I got a couple of hundred a couple of years ago for my 90 gallon, I still see them occassionally, they stay in the sand and if I look I can usually see the little trunk barely sticking out of the sand in several places in my tanks. Sometimes they come out when I feed.

[1package]

I just need the snails but want to order whenever you are ready. You buddy Chris could use some as well.

[bneal3]

1package sent you a PM!

[phljess]

Well, what does everyone want to order? I am thinking about some of the strombus snails and some blue legged crabs. If you think this is a bad idea let me know. I will try to order next week or sooner. If anyone wants to jump in let me know.

[essop3]

Where are you going to order from? I will probably be in for a few strombus at least.

[phljess]

What exactly would be the problem with using NASSARIUS snails? I understand they come from cooler water but it seems like they should acclimate. I know some others who have used these types of snails before.

I do not know where to order from quite yet, lets pull our resources together and find the best place. I am fond of the strombus snails because they reproduce and are not as large as some other snails. The only draw back is they are coming out of Hawaii and thats a lot in shipping. See if anyone can find some closer we can buy.

[essop3]

I have no experience with that variety of nassarius but I have read they harbor flatworms. I think they would be ok. At that price, even if a few don't survive, it's a good deal. Remember not to count them towards your algae cleaners though. They will only eat dead animals and leftover food.

Search Ilyanassa obsoleta for more info. That is their real name.

[LtPiper]

Reef4fun found this place Jeff's Exotic (http://www.exoticfish.com)

[crabfan]

I used Reeftopia once with outstanding results.

Definitely check them out. Free shipping on $120+ orders.

[bneal3]

PM sent Phillip

[Reef4Fun]

Yes, I ordered from Jeffs exotic and they shipped overnight, everything was perfect. I got 25 turbo snails and 50 blue leg crabs, all for $50 + $32 shipping. One snail was dead, but out of 75 animals, thats not bad. I want to get more.

[firefish2020]

No offence with this but, why on earth would you get 25 turbo snails unless you had say 500 gallons or so?

Those things are dozers and will knock over everything in the system. I only recommend about 6 of them per 75 Gal and less if you plan on having coral.
Best of luck :)

[phljess]

The turbos will take care of your algae problem but like Ron said, they will knock over your corals all the time. That is the reason why I did not want to get any of them. I do need something for algae control, I do not know if nassarius or strombus snails will take care of that problem. Are the strombus good algae eaters?

[phljess]

If anyone is still looking for a clean up crew, BNeal found this site and I think we cant beat it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/500-Blue-legged-Hermit-Crabs-Live-Coral-Algae_W0QQitemZ7744390914QQcategoryZ46308QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Shikaroka]

Man, 500 blue legs! That ought to keep my mantis fed for a while!

[MattG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6719708#post6719708 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by firefish2020
No offence with this but, why on earth would you get 25 turbo snails unless you had say 500 gallons or so?

Those things are dozers and will knock over everything in the system. I only recommend about 6 of them per 75 Gal and less if you plan on having coral.
Best of luck :)

for some reason online sites like to refer to astrea snails as turbos. When i think of a turbo snail i think of the large mexican turbos also.

EDIT: just went to jeffs exotic and noticed what they refer to as turbo is an actual turbo snail :D

[MattG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6720449#post6720449 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phljess
Are the strombus good algae eaters?

They are good little grazers but they are so small you have to have tons. Im sure i have a couple hundred in my 90. The best thing about them is i've seen them eat cyano (not that i have any :D ) and they are the only snail ive seen that isnt killed by dinoflaggelates. I would consider them a nice addition to a clean up crew but definetly not a solution to an algae problem.

[Reef4Fun]

[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6719708#post6719708 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by firefish2020
[B]No offence with this but, why on earth would you get 25 turbo snails unless you had say 500 gallons or so?

Thats okay Ron, I know. My tank is 120 gal, and I made the mistake of leaving the lights on way too long for a couple of days and ended up with nothing but green, green everthing, sand, glass and my rocks were so nasty. So, rather than take it all apart, I got these things for a dollar each, am leaving them in for about a month because my tank is still cycling, then I am giving a few to my sister in law and then to whomever may need them on here. To maintain my tank I want to get the smaller, more attractive snails. These guys do a good job for now.
Nancy

[Reef4Fun]

Also, I planned on only 10 of the turbos, but 10 of them were $20 and 25 were $25, so I thought, get the job done faster and then keep the ones I want and give away the others. So, if any of you want a few turbos for free in a few weeks, just PM me!

[bneal3]

If you don't have much coral use the turbos for some time to clean up the tank. As you add more coral take a few out! IMO

[coralreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6738798#post6738798 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattG
for some reason online sites like to refer to astrea snails as turbos. When i think of a turbo snail i think of the large mexican turbos also.
Yeah. Always cracked me up that even Reeftopia calls their astreas turbos :rolleye1:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=4670918#post4670918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bomber
That's odd. I have astrea that I've had for at least 4-5 years.

I've seen snails called everything in this world, names don't mean squat to some of these wholesalers. If it's from the Caribbean/Florida, no matter what they call it, it's astreas.

Phil I agree with Matt on the strombus. Nice addition but not somthing to depend on.
I know you don't like them but in a tank the size of yours I try to stock around 100 caribbean astreas. Even though they don't have a problem righting themselves I usually end up with about 50 :rolleyes:
If I could I'd have at least 200 black foot caribbean ceriths to go with them.
I picked up (literally) around 200 (nassarius) Ilyanassa obsoleta last fall. They eat some detritus and hang out on the glass.
The "true" nassarius eat dead animals and leftover food like essop said.
I've got about 40 blue leg hermits and wouldn't want many more.

If you guys don't want to try reeftopia you might want to look at
keys critters (http://www.keyscritters.com/)

[phljess]

BNeal3 said he would do a group buy from the keys critters site, If anyone wants in you need to let him know by this weekend. Remember, the more we order the less it will cost everyone.

[bneal3]

Just PM me if you have and order and I will take care of all of it! We are looking for the shippment to arrive next tuesday! I will try to order by Friday! Jump in!:)

[essop3]

PM sent Bruce.

Is anyone intrested in the cucumbers? I'd like one but I don't need 3.

[Reef4Fun]

PM sent Bruce

[LtPiper]

PM sent.

[bneal3]

Things are good here! PM me if you want something from the Group order from http://www.keyscritters.com/

Bruce

[bneal3]

We have to order and pay by 2 PM on Friday for delivery next week! Get those orders in early! Bruce

[mcox33]

Anyone interested in splitting these.

Cerith Snail Algae, Detritus (the good ones) 100 for $24.00

White Cerith Lg Film algae 50 for $24.00

[bneal3]

Yes we have some alread to help split. Just PM what you need and we will go from there. Bruce

[bneal3]

Nancy your PM went to Essop3 but was forwarded to me. We have 7 ordering now! All welcome but get it in soon! Bruce

[mcox33]

could you post critter and totals so far so we know what price range we are in as the more you order the less they are for each.


I want at least

25 of these White Cerith Lg Film algae and
50 of these Cerith Snail and

maybe some stuff depending on what price range we end up in.

[bneal3]

Turbo/Astrea Snail Algae Order is (0)

White Cerith Lg Order is (50)

Blue Leg Hermit Order is (220)

Cerith Snail Order is (415)

Emerald Crab

[bneal3]

Turbo/Astrea Snail Algae Order is (0)

White Cerith Lg Order is (50)

Blue Leg Hermit Order is (220)

Cerith Snail Order is (415)

Emerald Crab

[bneal3]

Turbo/Astrea Snail Algae Order is (0)

White Cerith Lg Order is (50)

Blue Leg Hermit Order is (220)

Cerith Snail Order is (415)

Emerald Crab Order is (10)

Scarlet Order is (0)

Cucumber Orders is (2)

Brittle Order is (2)

Still have a few who have not made their final order. I have not ordered anything yet! But will to make things come out right and so we get a good price!

Order soon folks!

http://keyscritters.com/

[bneal3]

Sorry about the 2 posts but the first one was a mistake! :eek:

[Shikaroka]

Do we have any idea how big the cucumbers and stars are?

[bneal3]

Not at this time! I sent them a message but not sure how long it will take to get an answer! If I do I will post it! Bruce

[Shikaroka]

Ok, cool. Thanks!

[bneal3]

New Totals

Turbo/Astrea Snail Algae Order is (0)

White Cerith Lg Order is (50)

Blue Leg Hermit Order is (220)

Cerith Snail Order is (515)

Emerald Crab Order is (10)

Scarlet Order is (0)

Cucumber Orders is (2)

Brittle Order is (2)

[bneal3]

My answer!

Bruce,

Good evening

The cukes are 2-4" usually and the b/s/stars would be 3-5" tip to tip. If you request a certain size, we can pack that for you.

Keys Critters/Corrie

[firefish2020]

If you can hold off on ordering till Thursday evening I might be able to boost the order by a few dozen more critters. I'll let you know tomorrow.

[LtPiper]

I might have missed this but what kind of cucumber is it?

[Reef4Fun]

hey bruce, if nobody else wants a star, then go ahead and give me 3 so we can order them, i will give my sister in law on, and as for the cucumbers, if nobody else orders the 3rd one then I will pay for it.
Thanks,
Nancy

[1package]

Bruce,

Sent you a PM to up the order, if you have not placed it in the last 3 hours.

thanks

[bneal3]

Plan to order tonght! About 8 PM! But the turn around time of Keyscritters emails are slow. The plan is to get it ordered and have it here next Tuesdsay! But my guess with the way they answer emails it may take longer and be the following Tuesday! Just a guess! Bruce

I will send all a message and post what we have ordered! As for what kind of cucumber it is Detritus but that does not tell me enough! Someone else might be able to help!

As for the star Nancy I think it is sold but will update you!

More will follow!

[bneal3]

Shikaroka PM is Full!

[Shikaroka]

Yeh, sorry. I got rid of a few.

[coralreefer]

I'm pretty sure their cucumbers are the common Atlantic/Caribbean brown "turd" cucs.

[firefish2020]

PM sent

[bneal3]

Just added up the order will send the order in the next hour! Got update from several of you! Bruce

[bneal3]

Turbo/Astrea Snail Algae Order is (50)

White Cerith Lg Order is (25)

Blue Leg Hermit Order is (400)

Cerith Snail Order is (670)

Emerald Crab Order is (12)

Scarlet Order is (0)

Cucumber Orders is (15)

Brittle Order is (5)

[bneal3]

I am about to order! Just a HEADS UP!! I will let everyone know about the Shipping and status ASAP! Will Place at 7:30.........:)

[bneal3]

I believe that I will order 25 cukes because it is only 2.50 more than the 15 we have ordered! Just Price shooping!

[bneal3]

Order is on its way!

[bneal3]

GOOD NEWS She is going to give us a PRICE BREAK! Will let everyone know as soon as I find out what the prices really are!

BAD News I am on Jury Duty!:(

[bneal3]

Final Total
Turbo/Astrea Snail Algae Order is (100)

White Cerith Lg Order is (50)

Blue Leg Hermit Order is (450)

Cerith Snail Order is (750)

Emerald Crab Order is (12)

Scarlet Order is (0)

Cucumber Orders is (15)

Brittle Order is (5)

[bneal3]

Final Total!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Turbo/Astrea Snail Algae Order is (100)

White Cerith Lg Order is (50)

Blue Leg Hermit Order is (450)

Cerith Snail Order is (750)

Emerald Crab Order is (12)

Scarlet Order is (0)

Cucumber Orders is (25)

Brittle Order is (5)

Hobby Experience: 15 Years

[Reef4Fun]

We really appreciate this Bruce, I will get what I owe you to you as soon as you want, I live in St.Albans, can meet you in Charleston or JoMars.
Thanks so much!
Nancy

[bneal3]

I will post totals to your PM very soon as I get it all figured out! As for meeting That is the next big step! I do have Jury duty on Tuesday and have asked to ship the package to the local Fedex for pickup... When I padded the order to get better prices I will have a few cukes and blue leg crabs left over...
More Will follow now I have to get my math skills working.. As for meeting at JoMars I would have to have the OK of Barry and Ron .. I have know Barry for over 20 years and would not want to step on his toes...LOL

[bneal3]

Everyone who placed and Order justgot a PM! But you Todd! PM is Full!

Bruce

[bneal3]

Pm sent to the Order Group!

[bneal3]

Ship date
Feb 20, 2006

Estimated delivery
Feb 21, 2006 3:00 PM

May be pushing it but will try to get to Barrys by 4:00

I will update everyone ASAP!

[bneal3]

I have the order. PM sent to Group buy. Bruce

[mcox33]

okay guys

I got these 2 kinds of snails.

White Cerith and Cerith Snail (black ones)

It seems the white ones are eating the black ones as is the peppermint shrimp. Anyone else seeing a well fed peppermint shrimp eat snails.

[LtPiper]

Can't say that I have.... but didn't have that many survivors from the shipping thought.

[firefish2020]

Well at least now I know dwarf blue leggs just dont seem to ship well no matter where they come from.

[Reef4Fun]

strange, from that order I got two brittle starfish, and both of them lost all their legs! Actually I cant even tell if they are alive. Is that normal? They stay in the rocks, I managed to touch one of them with the net and it moved a little. What do you guys think? Their legs are all over the place, and they move like worms. I'm kinda grossed out :)

[mcox33]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6814210#post6814210 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef4Fun
strange, from that order I got two brittle starfish, and both of them lost all their legs! Actually I cant even tell if they are alive. Is that normal? They stay in the rocks, I managed to touch one of them with the net and it moved a little. What do you guys think? Their legs are all over the place, and they move like worms. I'm kinda grossed out :)

I was given some that did that a while back. They lived for about 3 days. Hope you have better luck. Potentually(sp) they could each become a new starfish.

[LtPiper]

Reef4Fun let Bruce know so he can add it to the list. This order seems to have turned in to one major mess. Hope Bruce can broker some kind of fix for this.

[Reef4Fun]

I know, and I hate this for everyone, mainly Bruce. He has been so kind to do this for us all and took the time to package and take to JoMars. I feel worse for him than I do about my order :(

[bneal3]

Still work on this one gang! We have had about 10 email communications and are working this out! I will let everyone know ASAP! If you have updates to your stock let me know via PM so I can accurately account for the dead in the shipment. Bruce

[mcox33]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6806662#post6806662 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LtPiper
Can't say that I have.... but didn't have that many survivors from the shipping thought.


Maybe the black ones were already dead before the white ones ate them. My husband was the one who saw them eating the black ones while I wasn't home. I did not get home until about midnight that night.

[essop3]

I must have been lucky. I only ordered 50 black ceriths and a cuke but all seems fine for me.

[bneal3]

PM has some room now! Sorry about that! Bruce

[bneal3]

PM sent to Group Keyscritters! Please respond ASAP! I am on Jury duty the rest of the week! Whee...........

[bneal3]

It will cost 50.00 to resend the dead critters. Tell me what you think~ Bruce

[LtPiper]

Well how many people had dead critters?

[bneal3]

Me, Mary, Ron, Nancy, Phillip, Chuck, Dwight is what I have. Some other dead but not going to claim I believe.

Bruce

[LtPiper]

So that would be an extra 7.15 per person. It would cost me as much to replace them locally as it would to have the replacement shipment sent so doesn't matter to me.

[crabfan]

The blue legs were a total joke. I basically received a bag of shells.....only 9 out of 50. Wonder how many we got out of the 450 we ordered? Probably close to $100 down the drain there.

The thing that turned me off the most wasn't exactly the critter loss. I can always suck it up and lose a few dollars (that has happened before and certainly will again). I sent an email to inquire and got what (in my opinion) was a very disrespectfully toned response. Maybe they got multiple emails, but there is no excuse for that.

For those that don't know, ReefCentral has a "Vendor Experiences" forum. I'd strongly recommend that you check it out regularly....as it will save you a lot of money and heartache.

I've always been thrilled to post my positive experiences with several different companies there (in my opinion there are many "good guys" including Dr Fosters / LiveAquaria, Phishy Business, Premium Aquatics, ReeferMadness, Reeftopia....all of which I'd give an A++ to).

Although I honestly don't take any delight whatsoever in doing so.....and I'm keeping it simple, this will be my first "thumbs down" review for a vendor.

If you also experienced a loss and would like to do so....feel free to add a brief comment on the thread below. Lets just keep the comments respectful. Perhaps we can save another reef club from getting ripped off and having a repeat of our experience.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=789063

[crabfan]

I agree with Piper. I'll join up with the non-claimers and not be giving Keyscritters any more money.

[mcox33]

I think I agree, they should not be charging us 50.00 to get what we already paid for.

We can't even be sure that this order would be any better. Let's just eat the loss and post so others won't buy from them. But I'll do whatever you all decide. Just let me know.

[bneal3]

As for the order. PM with what you would like to do. I will go from there. I will write back a message to Keyscritters and explain what is contained in the PM's.

We were shipped 550 blue legs and only 110 are alive. We were shipped 105 Astrea and 50 are alive. We were shipped 900 cerith and lost over 200. Just a little info on the order.

Crabfan and I have recieved the same typical response. The blame was placed on me and anyone who sent them a message. Just PM and I will send our response.

Bruce

Soory for all the trouble.

[1package]

My loss looks as though it was close to 50%, the price was still low overall. Either way, Bruce, thanks for taking the time to put the order together, divide it up, etc... I am sure you put a lot of time into it, guess next time we will just go a different route - it happens, appreciate the effort, I know I did not have the time to take care of it myself. Without mailorder, it is normally 10 for $10 so even at 50%, I still came out OK from where I would have been without the group order, plus they were delivered (thanks Phillip).

[crabfan]

I've privately expressed to Bruce that he is a true friend to everyone for all the effort he has expended putting this group buy together. I'm happy to say it publicly too!

While it is deeply regretful that we collectively experienced an unacceptably high mortality rate on our critters (I try to acclimate carefully and always take it very hard when something doesn't make it) it doesn't take anything from my appreciation to Bruce.

Since more critters were DOA than alive, and what initially wasn't empty shells and seemed to have some movement was split among so many different people that have since experienced loss, who is to blame here? I strongly feel the fault lies with Keyscritters. Just my opinion.

Let's chalk this one up to experience and next time we do a group critter buy lets just go with another vendor. Me and Amy split an order about a year ago from Reeftopia, and had a positive experience. A majority of those critters are still going strong. Their prices are a little more expensive, but if we inquire they may give a discount on a group order.

[Reef4Fun]

i will pay that but want cernith snails instead, and i agree ihat it should be sent free, they have a live guarentee

[coralreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6854430#post6854430 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bneal3
We were shipped 550 blue legs and only 110 are alive. We were shipped 105 Astrea and 50 are alive. We were shipped 900 cerith and lost over 200. Just a little info on the order.
:eek: WOW just read this and Dwights thread in the vendor's forum. I'm dismayed at Key's handling of this problem.
I assumed all week the main problem was the DOA bluelegs which I thought should/would be replaced at no charge once they had the final body count.
Like Essop I only got black ceriths but evidently had good luck with only one empty shell so far. I certainly didn't realize there were so many problems until now.
Bruce thank you again for all the time and effort you've had to devote to this.

[WVfishguy]

As far as algae control goes, you cannot beat a Kole's tang, (Ctenochaetus strigosus). I have one which eats ALL the algae in my 75 gallon reef tank. I'm not kidding; there is no algae in that tank. Before the addition of the Kole, you could not see through the sides.
After keeping a Kole, snails are a joke as far as algae control. Just keep a Kole for a while and see what I mean. They feed constantly, they never touch inverts and don't fight with other fish (except maybe other Koles).
I'll bet the other Ctenochaetus (bristletooth) tangs are just as good, but Kole's tangs also look good.

[firefish2020]

They should replace the creatures at there own cost if there is a live arrival guarantee, if not it says a lot about the business IMO.

[LtPiper]

According to the website they guarantee the livestock but not the shipping.

"* Arrive alive guarantee is on livestock only. No refunds on packing and shipping."

If we are going to get replacements we are going to have to pay the shipping it looks like. Like I said before doesn't matter to me one way or the other I can get what I need locally for about the same cost it would take it would take for them to ship the second set of empty shells (oops did I say that). I just have a problem with the fact that we were shipped so many empty shells that didn't have the animals in them that were supposed to be there. I feel like they should cover the shipping because of the simple fact that they didn't send us anything but empty shells on a good portion of our order.

[crabfan]

You said it Piper. It may be that blue leg hermits don't ship very well, but at least give me some carcasses! It may be that they are being difficult because they know the truth.

Nothing but empty shells and the shaft. Why pay another $50 for that?

[mcox33]

Have they been informed that everyone involved will post negative vendor feedback here on RC if they do not send the replacements at their expense.

I really think that could make a difference. Or forget the shipping just refund the critter cost in cash.

I don't know how much it would actually be, but it is probably better than us paying to ship empty shells, again.

[MattG]

I wasnt involved with the group order but I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience here with keys.

I just wanted to comment about my experiences with ordering blue legs. I have ordered blue legs from maybe 5 different places and have never had a problem. In fact in my experience i have higher survival rates of blue legs vs everything else.

Customer service is one of the big things that drives my decisions to purchase from a company. Every company is going to have problems but it's the way they handle it that sets them apart from the crowd.

[firefish2020]

"I just have a problem with the fact that we were shipped so many empty shells that didn't have the animals in them that were supposed to be there. "


It's just like what happened with us that time we ordered 1000 bluelegs. We got about half alive the rest never moved. Either way that was the last big order of blue legs we made from the place we got them, lesson learned. I agree with Matts last line, written guarantees aside, we deal with this from time to time at the shop. If they want our business they eat the cost 100% and send a new shipment, if not they loose a potential long term customer.

However I don't think these guys care about long term customer accounts or relations, they get newbies everyday to fork over hundreds of $$$ for animals that may or may not arrive alive and if they don't arrive well that was probably something that happened during shipping and they are not responsible bla bla bla. If they really have this high of a mortality rate I personally believe we should not even bother getting a replacement, this could go on for a long time. I suggest we Just post our negative feedback on there forum and make your case clear and without malice, maybe someone else thinking of ordering there wont have to go through this mess.