[francoisj]

My LFS now only aquires fishes from a Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) certified distributer.
Does anybody knows what it really means for us?
Does it really makes a difference in fish health ?

Strange but at first look, all the fishes looked healthy today at the store, which is unusual...

I have looked at the official site: Marine Aquarium Council but real information ( if any ) is hard to find there...

[leebca]

MAC is an effort to bring some standards into the marine live stock trade. They include some requirements which, in order to be certified, must be adhered.

I don't want to downplay their efforts and activities, but like any institution, it has it limits. Can they police their members? Do they verify that those who are certified are living up to the standards? Under what circumstances would a certified entity retain its certification, but let slip one or more of the standards?

For me, I think it means to the hobby some sense of standards and goals for the industry which, if really complied with, have a chance to improve the collection, transportation, handling and delivery of marine live stock. Can cheaters and/or liars still cheat and/or lie? I think so.

Having healthy (looking) fishes in an LFS is not difficult. You just have to pay attention to details -- like before opening up in the morning to let the public inside, taking out all the dead and dying live stock; and checking throughout the day to remove dead and dying not-so-live stock. The verification of the health of each fish is done during quarantine and just because a fish is infected doesn't mean the LFS nor the supplier is in any way negligent or incompetent or in (or out of) compliance with their MAC Certification.