Ever get livestock as a surprise gift?

[nuxx]

I'm curious if this has happened to anyone else...

Years ago when my tank was about half stocked, we went out to dinner with my father in law and his wife and before dinner they gave me four bags with four fish.

A Sailfin Tang and three damsels.

Now I had road mapped my fish for the tank and the order they were going in and these were definitely not part of the plan. Even if they were, I had no quarantine tank setup to even take them. Let alone dump in fish from god knows where into my display.

Luckily during dinner I was able to find local reef club members to take them. It was awkward explaining why I couldn't take the gift to my father in law though...

Has something similar every happened to y'all?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'm curious if this has happened to anyone else...

Years ago when my tank was about half stocked, we went out to dinner with my father in law and his wife and before dinner they gave me four bags with four fish.

A Sailfin Tang and three damsels.

Now I had road mapped my fish for the tank and the order they were going in and these were definitely not part of the plan. Even if they were, I had no quarantine tank setup to even take them. Let alone dump in fish from god knows where into my display.

Luckily during dinner I was able to find local reef club members to take them. It was awkward explaining why I couldn't take the gift to my father in law though...

Has something similar every happened to y'all?

Yep - once when I was a kid, my parents bought me an ugly black coris wrasse for my birthday. Luckily it was compatible with what I had in the tank. I asked them for cash gifts going forward though.....

Jay

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Got a rbta for Christmas last year, I was more than elated. Usually I keep a list of desirable fish for the GF when she roams to the store on her own, but she only goes where I go so the employees know my tanks and what I'd be into livestock wise.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

A shop owner just gave me a Porites coral with Christmas Tree Worms for free!

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Yeah, early on a buddy who was into FW tanks would randomly drop by and give me a frag of this or that that he saw at his fish store and like. After a few rounds, I had to explain that I appreciated it, but to check with me first on Anything that isn't a mushroom.

 

[nuxx]

Yep - once when I was a kid, my parents bought me an ugly black coris wrasse for my birthday. Luckily it was compatible with what I had in the tank. I asked them for cash gifts going forward though.....

Jay

LOL good move going forward.

I think they bought us generic gift cards after that.

 

[nuxx]

Got a rbta for Christmas last year, I was more than elated. Usually I keep a list of desirable fish for the GF when she roams to the store on her own, but she only goes where I go so the employees know my tanks and what I'd be into livestock wise.

That works. Actually nice

 

[nuxx]

Yeah, early on a buddy who was into FW tanks would randomly drop by and give me a frag of this or that that he saw at his fish store and like. After a few rounds, I had to explain that I appreciated it, but to check with me first on Anything that isn't a mushroom.

Nice friend

A shop owner just gave me a Porites coral with Christmas Tree Worms for free!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

That works. Actually nice

It works well, I know the LFS won't willingly fleece her. Been dealing with the same two stores for 20+ years in one case and over 30 in the other.

 

[Petcrazyson]

Yes a few times. Once, back in my FW days, I had a planted tank filled with community fish, especially long finned brightly colored fish. My friend’s Dad comes one day to visit and finds out I have a tank. He later in the day comes back with a Blue Betta fish. (Face Slap). I said thank you and took it, except I had no where to put it. I couldn’t put it in my tank because there were fish in there that would terrorize or be terrorized by the Betta. I couldn’t return it because he threw away the receipt and it wouldn’t have been good calling him and telling him the ordeal. Luckily my sister wanted a tank as well and the fish was an opportunity so we set up a tank for her and put the Betta and there. Sad to say it died 4 months later. I told my friend’s dad that next time he wants to treat me he doesn’t HAVE to get me something live lol.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I have started to purchase coral from a person with a reef store in her garage. She used to run a well know store locally, any way, when I purchase a coral she will bag a mystery frag or colony for free and hands it to me and say, that will go best in your reef at such and such location. I get it home and it's a nicer piece then I purchased from her! Always a surprise and loved

 

[Lineatus]

A good friend once got me 5 cherry shrimp as a birthday gift. He could not wrap his head around why they couldn’t be housed in my saltwater reef tank.

unfortunately for the shrimp my landlord refused to allow me to start up a new tank, claiming one was too much of a fire hazard as it is.

the poor things spent the rest of their lives in a large planted vase in my kitchen before passing eight months later…

In hind sight I should’ve just returned them but I felt too rude to do so. Poor little guys

 

[nuxx]

Wow this is a lot more common than I thought...

At least some with good gifts

Oh yeah, pretty sure the fish I got had ich as well... reefers that picked them up were going to QT.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

LOL good move going forward.

I think they bought us generic gift cards after that.

This was long before gift cards were a thing, but we did have paper gift certificates (grin)
Jay

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

This was long before gift cards were a thing, but we did have paper gift certificates (grin)
Jay

My lfs still does paper gift certs. Got one a few years ago from my aunt/uncle in the mail (they live near the LFS in question). I was shocked, still have one of the fish that came from it (Falco Hawkfish).

 

[nuxx]

This was long before gift cards were a thing, but we did have paper gift certificates (grin)
Jay

LOL would have been much better.

Super picky about what I add, but could have good food and stuff

 

[NanoJHB]

I've had to warn family members about adding any surprises to my tank lol.

They are very generous and a bit overly optimistic about what could fit in my 10 gallon nano lol

That being said, when I first got the tank up and running two years ago, a family member bought me a bangii cardinal that they knew I really wanted.

 

[exnisstech]

Always been gift certificates vs livestock here. I don't really have friends and family is small and they are aware I can't just toss random creatures into the tank. My local stores hand writes them on carbon paper and keep a copy on file lol.

 

[nuxx]

I've had to warn family members about adding any surprises to my tank lol.

They are very generous and a bit overly optimistic about what could fit in my 10 gallon nano lol

That being said, when I first got the tank up and running two years ago, a family member bought me a bangii cardinal that they knew I really wanted.

Here's your new Sohal Tang!

 

[nuxx]

Always been gift certificates vs livestock here. I don't really have friends and family is small and they are aware I can't just toss random creatures into the tank. My local stores hand writes them on carbon paper and keep a copy on file lol.

That's cool.

We had a brewpub for a few years, never got around to making gift cards, so we did something similar for people who wanted to get a gift card.