Just a PSA to anyone out there that might be looking for feedback/reviews before purchasing from Biota.
I recently purchased a single Yellow Tang from Biota. Tang was packaged and shipped in October (time of this post) to the Midwest. Package arrived on time, but upon opening, the fish looked to be dead. The water the fish was packaged in was 50 degrees (measured with InkBird temperature probe) and there was no heat pack in the box to keep the temperature stable. I followed the acclimation instructions just in case the fish was in shock, but no luck. This tang was DOA. I would also like to point out that this fish had quite a few chunks taken out all the posterior fins. Very disappointed in the quality of the fish I received. I was hoping for a nice looking, healthy, and very much alive fish.
The worst part about this whole experience is that Biota does not refund you for the original shipping and requires you to pay for additional shipping if you would like to have a new fish sent to you. I have now spent nearly $120 on shipping costs alone for one small yellow tang and there is no guarantee the next fish I receive won't be dead as well. I probably wouldn't have even posted this if the shipping cost was covered because sometimes these things happen, but the fact that Biota chooses to short their customers in this regard is very frustrating. It is not the customers fault that they received a dead fish, it may not be entirely Biota's fault either, but a loose fish bag in a large box with a little bit of bubble wrap on one side and no mechanism for temperature control is not exactly going above and beyond to ensure the expensive fish your customers trusted you to ship arrives safely.
Buyer beware!
@Biota_Marine
-TW
I recently purchased a single Yellow Tang from Biota. Tang was packaged and shipped in October (time of this post) to the Midwest. Package arrived on time, but upon opening, the fish looked to be dead. The water the fish was packaged in was 50 degrees (measured with InkBird temperature probe) and there was no heat pack in the box to keep the temperature stable. I followed the acclimation instructions just in case the fish was in shock, but no luck. This tang was DOA. I would also like to point out that this fish had quite a few chunks taken out all the posterior fins. Very disappointed in the quality of the fish I received. I was hoping for a nice looking, healthy, and very much alive fish.
The worst part about this whole experience is that Biota does not refund you for the original shipping and requires you to pay for additional shipping if you would like to have a new fish sent to you. I have now spent nearly $120 on shipping costs alone for one small yellow tang and there is no guarantee the next fish I receive won't be dead as well. I probably wouldn't have even posted this if the shipping cost was covered because sometimes these things happen, but the fact that Biota chooses to short their customers in this regard is very frustrating. It is not the customers fault that they received a dead fish, it may not be entirely Biota's fault either, but a loose fish bag in a large box with a little bit of bubble wrap on one side and no mechanism for temperature control is not exactly going above and beyond to ensure the expensive fish your customers trusted you to ship arrives safely.
Buyer beware!
@Biota_Marine
-TW