My Brief Experience in Customer Service

Posted by Ret Talbot Aug 30, 2008

I have not blogged here in almost a month, but that does not mean I have not been busy. With my new book (The Complete Idiot'sGuide to the Saltwater Aquarium) going into production, I have found some time on my hands, but it is time that I have readily filled (of course) with a variety of projects.

Most recently, I did some customer service work for a friend who is a part owner of a major online retailer of marine ornamental fishes, corals and other invertebrates. It was actually lots of fun (although I suppose the novelty might wear off...lol). I had the chance to "meet" a lot of new marine aquarists and walk them through tank set-up, animal compatibility, battling hair algae, equipment selection, etc. There was one question that kept resurfacing, however, and it is that question I want to address here at Suite101.

It's easy to forget about "marine ich" (it's actually "crypto," not "ich," but I'll leave that to the article) if you follow good husbandry practices like quarantining ALL new fishes before adding them to your display tank. Not quarentining new fishes significantly increases your chances of introducing a parasite called Cryptocaron irritans to your aquarium. Once present in the aquarium, this parasite can, if left untreated, wipe out all your fishes, so you have wonder why everyone does not quarantine their new fishes.

Anyway, as I was answering the third "HELP! Ich" query during my foray into customer service, I made a note-to-self to write a Suite101 article on this parasite--how to identify it and how to treat it. As always, I hope this article proves useful.