Interest in a Fish QT Service

[Carson.]

How many of you would be interested in a fish quarantining service?

What would you want from such a service?

[Carson.]

Did not recall that canreef already had a "see results" tab.

For those that voted yes, but especially those who vote "maybe", please specify your concerns.

What are you looking for?

QT of every fish you add? QT for fish more prone to disease, or those more sensitive to medication?

[Trigger Man]

I think it would come down to the cost associated, as well as the QT routine. Lastly, and also of importance, is there a live guarantee (this is where the major risk is held, as some of these fish are pretty pricey) during the process?

[smokinreefer]

for sure would be interested.
but many things come into play.

cost of service for the client.
period of quarantine.
medications?
insurance/guarantees on clients fish? during the process? after deemed parasite free?

IMO, this would be more of a retailer offering. A LFS or online retailer, quarantining fish before they are offered for sale. I would expect to pay some amount of premium for these certified "clean" fish.

unless people are willing to just pay for a quarantine service w no liability to you. I think there's too much grey area here... you would have to have different levels of service.

i.e. if fish has signs of illness, do you refuse service? or no type of guarantee?
if fish looks healthy, is there some type of guarantee to offer?
you would need to have the fish vetted somehow... proof that fish is eating etc?

that's why to me it would sound like a great idea for a seller, but not so much as a service for fish people already have.

[Carson.]

I would be sourcing the fish myself, after a client gives me a species they're interested in. How long that would take obviously relies on the availability of a suitable specimen (my determination).

Client would pay the retail cost of that fish (what it cost me to acquire, e.g. From J&L), a flat rate (to cover the average cost of treatment, i.e. Medication, foods, etc.), and a % fee of the retail cost of that fish (my profit). This would be payed after the completion of treatment and conditioning.

Likely, I would also charge a deposit (x % of the total cost), to discourage abandoning me with their fish.

I would be taking on all risk involved with the success of the quarantine. The % fee of the fish (my profit), may vary in a price tier, and/or in accordance to the species' quarantine difficulty (e.g. Wrasses, etc.), to reflect the added risk I am taking.

As far as hospitalizing already diseased and/or injured fish, I may be open to doing so, however, I certainly could nor would make the same guarantees. I also wouldn't be paying for the fish to begin with, which is the most expensive and risky step of the enterprise. Possibly, I could take in sick fish, treat them as best as possible, and charge the client if successful. The cost of single doses is rather small, my biggest cost in this would be time if unsuccessful.

As far as QT practices go, I would detail these when posting the service for sale.

Appreciate your feedback.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Carson.

I would be sourcing the fish myself, after a client gives me a species they're interested in. How long that would take obviously relies on the availability of a suitable specimen (my determination).

Client would pay the retail cost of that fish (what it cost me to acquire, e.g. From J&L), a flat rate (to cover the average cost of treatment, i.e. Medication, foods, etc.), and a % fee of the retail cost of that fish (my profit). This would be payed after the completion of treatment and conditioning.

Likely, I would also charge a deposit (x % of the total cost), to discourage abandoning me with their fish.

I would be taking on all risk involved with the success of the quarantine. The % fee of the fish (my profit), may vary in a price tier, and/or in accordance to the species' quarantine difficulty (e.g. Wrasses, etc.), to reflect the added risk I am taking.

As far as hospitalizing already diseased and/or injured fish, I may be open to doing so, however, I certainly could nor would make the same guarantees. I also wouldn't be paying for the fish to begin with, which is the most expensive and risky step of the enterprise. Possibly, I could take in sick fish, treat them as best as possible, and charge the client if successful. The cost of single doses is rather small, my biggest cost in this would be time if unsuccessful.

As far as QT practices go, I would detail these when posting the service for sale.

Appreciate your feedback.

I think of you want to make a real go of it you need to take all the risk and basically turn yourself into a basement store. When fish are ready you advertise them for sale.

Nothing against you but how do I know your upholding whatever type of processes needed to ensure 100% chance of no cross contamination. If I have my fish with you with 1 week of QT left and you bring in a fresh fish into a tank around my fish, how could I be 100% sure there was no cross contamination? After all, that's what I am paying for, right?

I think when it comes to QT for sale you do it right with multiple systems and multiple supplies dedicated to each system then offer the fish for sale yourself. Because it's more of a piece of mind for us to do ourselves. 2x 5 gallon buckets for TTM and a 20 gallon tank for any other treatments. Super basic, super easy and the hobbiest knows 100% what's going on.

There is a reason you see virtually noone doing QT fish. It's hard and expensive.