My Fish Is Sick!
Troubleshooting for Customers

By John H. Tullock
Reprinted by permission from Pet Product News
Copyright İ1999 All rights reserved

Planning for your role as "aquarium doctor" requires that you first recognize that being asked to solve customer problems, even for casual customers, is a part of your job.   Develop your "bedside manner."  The last thing you want to do is to make the customer feel as though he or she is imposing upon your time, or worse, has done something stupid. Approach this situation as if it were a sales lead -- because it is.   Successful strategies for coping with troubleshooting requests depend upon how the customer contacts you.

Scenario One: Contact via Telephone, Letter or Email

Not too many people write letters these days, especially for fish health problem diagnosis. The letters Iıve received usually involve system design problems, not fish husbandry or tank maintenance issues. The telephone, and increasingly e-mail, is the medium of choice for customer "distress calls."  To minimize the time spent on the phone (where, unless you do mail order, you are unlikely to make a sale) follow these simple steps.

1. Determine if the problem is real. My fish is sick can refer to completely normal behavior or a life-threatening condition.
2. Get the facts. Careful probing can quickly dispense with two thirds of the calls. I always ask what type of fish it is, what exactly the suspicious behavior is, and what steps the customer has already taken.
3. Often, this leads to a simple solution, much like an appliance dealer asking if the machine is plugged in.

If this approach does not work, I tell the caller politely but firmly that I cannot help them further without testing a sample of the aquarium water.  Water testing is the logically sound way to proceed in diagnosing any fish health problem, but an equally important goal in insisting on tests is to get the customer into the store.

Although many people ask, it is generally best not to have them bring in the fish, as this is only likely to increase its stress.   I do not recommend that dealers try to provide hospitalization services, by the way, as customers are rarely willing to pay enough to cover the costs of doing this, much less provide a profit.  They also tend to hold the dealer responsible if the fish dies anyway, which is of course another cost one cannot afford to absorb.

Sometimes, the caller will state that visiting the store is impossible, and will ask for blanket advice.  Before exiting the conversation as politely as possible, I always suggest a water change of about 30 to 50 percent.  Iım often told later how well this worked to correct the problem.

Scenario Two: Contact in Person

If the customer agrees to bring in a water sample, you have a high likelihood of solving his or her problem successfully and of making a sale as well, so spending more time is justified.  You must be courteous and convey genuine concern, while efficiently getting to the heart of the problem as quickly as possible.

The first thing to do is to perform the water tests.  Different shops have different policies regarding charging a fee for testing water. In my shop, we checked salinity for free, but we charged one dollar per test for any chemical analysis done. Some complex, seldom performed tests, namely those for phosphate and dissolved oxygen, were charged at a higher rate.  Usually determining the cost per test is simple; most kits are designed to perform a certain number of assays and this information is printed on the label.  Since shops in the same market may differ, it is important to post a conspicuous sign indicating the rates for testing, with a list of the tests you offer.  We found that offering free tests invited abuse and reduced sales of test kits.

For any marine tank, routine check for correct salinity, pH and levels of nitrogenous wastes (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate).   Steps to correct any parameters found outside the appropriate range will usually suggest themselves, often including a major water change.  A large percentage of fish health problems results from poor water quality.

In fact, there really is a limited number of alternative explanations for marine fish health problems, despite the many volumes published on the subject.  Stressors such as low oxygen, excess carbon dioxide, or the buildup of waste products can all be corrected by an immediate water change, followed by improving the system design to create additional circulation (for better gas exchange) or to promote better biological filtration.  Another powerhead, or more live rock, might be an appropriate solution, respectively, for each of these problems.   Anticipate water quality problems when fish behavior is abnormal but there are no external symptoms of disease, such as lesions or white dots.  Usually, all fish in the tank, and often all invertebrates as well, exhibit signs of stress when affected by water quality problems.

If water quality checks out, chances are the problem is behavioral, or the result of active disease.  Ask about recent additions of new fish to the tank, or changes in the tank decor.  Both may lead to behavior problems, such as territorial disputes.  Aggression is to be suspected when a single individual shows signs of stress in a community of otherwise normal fish.  I have seen starving juvenile triggerfish and angelfish recover overnight and begin feeding vigorously, after simply being transferred to an isolation tank. Behavioral nuances can be subtle, and many a fish death has been attributed to "internal parasites" when, in fact, the poor creature was too intimidated to eat and thus starved.  Your customer may need an additional tank to successfully accommodate his growing collection of fish.

He or she will certainly need an additional tank if there is evidence of active disease. Fortunately, the vast majority of disease in marine aquarium fish is the result of infestation by two common parasites, Cryptocaryon and Amyloodinium.  Symptoms are similar, and treatment identical, for either problem.  Cryptocaryon is commonly called "white spot" because tiny white dots, similar to the freshwater condition known as "ick," appear on the body surface. Amyloodinium is most often manifested as rapid, shallow movement of the gill covers resulting from a reduced ability to take in oxygen via the gills, which have been attacked by the parasite.  Various stressors, including poor water quality, aggressive behavior from tankmates, and mishandling can all lead to an outbreak of both diseases simultaneously.  To be effective, treatment must be carried out promptly and in a separate hospital tank.  Adding copper ions to the water to raise the measured concentration to 0.2 ppm, and maintaining this level for a minimum of two weeks, is the only effective means of treatment.  Any reference book on marine aquarium management will supply the details.

It is perhaps worth noting that customers are usually quite reluctant to purchase a spare tank for use as a hospital at the time the main tank is set up.  When faced with a disease outbreak, however, the hospital tank is an easier sale.  Copper sulfate solution and a copper test kit are also essential in the proper treatment of Cryptocaryon and Amyloodinium.

That your customers are going to have problems is inevitable.  By helping them find solutions, you increase the opportunity for making sales while improving your reputation for service.  To translate that effort into profit, however, requires efficiency.  Having a plan of action for customer troubleshooting is the best approach.