Person doing aquarium maintaince make others look bad

[limed]

This is posted on Kijji from a person that got a bad experience. 

Please be warned...

There is a very crafty young man offering his services as a fish rescue and as a cleaner of aquariums.

I was unable to clean or maintain my tanks after major surgery so i contacted him and we agreed he would clean my large tank (30g) and the filter maintenance as well as change the sand substrate. He was also to look over my fish for disease as i was unable. He was also to perform a water change + minor clean using a syphon in my 10g tank and see to that filter.

I expected a certain amount of loss of life. I had to because of the stress on the fish. Maybe 3 or 4 fish.

But 20+ fish???

My large tank is 30 g, it has sand substrate and a fluval 206 filter. The 206 filter i had when this person "cleaned" the tank was less than 6 months old.

As a result of sloppy maintenance and a very huge mistake, i have now had to pay over $500.00 for a new filter as well as get new equipment and buy fish medications to try and save my fish.

The fall out continues- i have a death toll of 3/4 of my fish.

I contacted him and told him (through text) what had occurred- i asked for an apology, for a reimbursement of what i payed him as well as for the amount i had been forced to spend on a new filter due to his poor job. I said that if he wanted to, to come and help right the wrong- because i am attempting to recover from major surgery and i am destroying myself trying to keep up with all the problems.

I also asked for him to tell me how he plans to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else.

I have received no reply from text or email- not even an apology.

Has this happened to anyone else? Can anyone help me?
His name is Cory
He also goes under the titles "Ottawa Fish Rescue" and "Aqua Clean"

I didn't want to have to call him out on his errors publicly but it has been weeks- he has had ample time to respond.

So beware this person- he is kind and nice to your face but he does not properly perform tank maintenance. And he lied about doing a media change in my filter- he didn't even touch it.

Today i had to order a $45.00 bottle of fish medication online to try and save my decimated stock- they will likely die before it arrives-

Oh, and my tank had been stable with no issues or illness for over 2 years until he performed his "maintenance"

An apology would be great- am i wrong?

Cory, if you read this, please realize that there are consequences for anything you do- i can't sit here watching my fish die and euthanizing so many without speaking up.

You need to take responsibility for your choices.

I am asking for -an apology
-the money to cover the amount of the new filter
-the $60.00 i paid reimbursed in full
-for Cory (or anyone) to pick up his forgotten equipment.


Free, fish, warning, ottawa, fish, rescue, cory simpson, aquarium, fish tank, for free, beware, aqua, clean, cleaner, maintenance, there are consequences, take responsibility,

[Stussi613]

This person contacted us on the Facebook page asking us to do something, which we can't since it's a private matter between her and the person she hired.

It's a good reminder to everyone to have a network of people who can help you out, something I think the club really helps to build, and to think really hard about who you pay to do services on your systems. My advice would be that an lfs is a much better choice than someone online who says they are an expert.

[lucius]

I donated some plastic plants to his "Ottawa Fish Rescue" and a few weeks later, he posted them for sale on Kijiji...kind of annoying  .  If I had known, I would have just kept them.  However, he did contact me via OVAS so................

[robt18]

I feel for the poster but unfortunately this is one of the issues with contracting amateurs for work...

One thing I don't understand is what happened to the filter, and how $500 in damage occurred to the equipment... Typically there's nothing close to that value on a small freshwater tank.

Sounds like the story is exaggerated a ways on the posters part but still a pod caution to others out there. Go with a real registered business or someone you trust.