Sorry you have had such bad luck. I know there is at least one major local store I will not buy fish from based on how clean they keep their tanks, dead fish in the tanks, and the quality of the fish every time I stop in. I actually feel bad for the fish in that place. 99% of my fish come from RCA. Jake and the other guys there are always very honest with me on the health of the fish and how long they have had them. Their tanks are always clean and their fish always seem to be content. I also rarely ever see a dead fish in any of their tanks. Also from the time the fish are bagged to the time they are acclimating in my tank it is less than 10 min.. I think that alone is helpful..