Fish By Mail

[markandhisfish]

i have ordered twice online now 1st time was a golden nugget plec from wildwoods which was absolutely top notch 2nd time was a large rotkeil sev from trimar which if im honest didnt live up to expectation , dont get me wrong it was free from disease etc but the overll condition and colour was below par , if id seen it in a shop i wouldnt of chosen it .
so nowadyas i prefer to go somewhere i can choose the fish myself rather than relying on somebody else .

 

[TheHolding]

i have ordered twice online now 1st time was a golden nugget plec from wildwoods which was absolutely top notch 2nd time was a large rotkeil sev from trimar which if im honest didnt live up to expectation , dont get me wrong it was free from disease etc but the overll condition and colour was below par , if id seen it in a shop i wouldnt of chosen it .
so nowadyas i prefer to go somewhere i can choose the fish myself rather than relying on somebody else .

I agree mate I only ordered online as the LFS in Exeter and Taunton are very limited when it comes to brackish fish.

 

[TheHolding]

Has anyone got any experience with "Wholesale Tropical Fish" based In Fareham, Hampshire?
http/www.wholesale-tropical-fish.co.uk/price_list.htm

Besides increasing stocking options for me and being pretty local, I also wonder if buying directly would be less stressful on the fish, which might tip the odd's in sensitive species favour for surviving the trauma of arrivng in our aquaria?

Try Maidenhead Aquatics in Fareham it's down Titchfield Lane I think, also a good place in Romsey called World of Water.

I think if your water parameters are good and you acclimatise your fish properly then you should not worry about ordering online, even the puffer I got that looked dead is looking like a different fish. I would always suggest going to your LFS though as Mark said you can pick your own fish.

 

[Big_eyes]

Has anyone got any experience with "Wholesale Tropical Fish" based In Fareham, Hampshire?
http/www.wholesale-tropical-fish.co.uk/price_list.htm

WOW! Whoever writes their price list is a terrible speller!

Be interested to see people's views on them though.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Has anyone got any experience with "Wholesale Tropical Fish" based In Fareham, Hampshire?
http/www.wholesale.../price_list.htm

Besides increasing stocking options for me and being pretty local, I also wonder if buying directly would be less stressful on the fish, which might tip the odd's in sensitive species favour for surviving the trauma of arrivng in our aquaria?

Try Maidenhead Aquatics in Fareham it's down Titchfield Lane I think, also a good place in Romsey called World of Water.

I think if your water parameters are good and you acclimatise your fish properly then you should not worry about ordering online, even the puffer I got that looked dead is looking like a different fish. I would always suggest going to your LFS though as Mark said you can pick your own fish.

Thanks for the heads up about those two stores... I presumed Maidenhead Aquatics would be in Maidenhead, when in fact they have loads of stores, including another Hampshire one in Fairoak (just outside Eastleigh, which might be a little closer to Bitterne).

 

[TheHolding]

Has anyone got any experience with "Wholesale Tropical Fish" based In Fareham, Hampshire?
http/www.wholesale.../price_list.htm

Besides increasing stocking options for me and being pretty local, I also wonder if buying directly would be less stressful on the fish, which might tip the odd's in sensitive species favour for surviving the trauma of arrivng in our aquaria?

Try Maidenhead Aquatics in Fareham it's down Titchfield Lane I think, also a good place in Romsey called World of Water.

I think if your water parameters are good and you acclimatise your fish properly then you should not worry about ordering online, even the puffer I got that looked dead is looking like a different fish. I would always suggest going to your LFS though as Mark said you can pick your own fish.

Thanks for the heads up about those two stores... I presumed Maidenhead Aquatics would be in Maidenhead, when in fact they have loads of stores, including another Hampshire one in Fairoak (just outside Eastleigh, which might be a little closer to Bitterne).

No worries, I find Maidenhead Aquatics pretty good as a chain been to about 3 of their stores and they usually have a good selection of healthy fish.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

#40## you TheHolding, you made me visit another fish shop this afternoon, on my quest for possible guests in my rookie 240L communty tank... Have a virtual pint!

Must have been ~200 tanks in the FairOak branch, with LOADS of different Rainbow species
Blue (lovely colouring)
Parkinson
Bosemani
Spendid
Red
Madagascar
Fasciata
Celebes
Pop. Furcata (adults have intricate fins)
Threadfin
Praecox
Wild caught Australian Radiants

Some lovely looking dwarf cichlids
Apistogramma Viejita
Agassizii
Malmasteri
Hong Suoi

Other interesting species spotted
Rainbow & Golden Wonder Panchax (Killifish)
Chocolate Gourami
Chain Loach
Rice Fish
Red clawed crab (so tempted, haha)
Blue Morphe / Bee / Amano/ Bamboo/ Red Skunk / Crystal Red Shrimp
Baby (~6cm) Fire Eels... If only they did not grow to be 100cm!

Young lad was very helpful while I was picking his brains!
Strongly suggested RO water mixed with tropical minerals, sold at ~3-50 per 25L, for a softer water and better pH than our very hard pH 8.5 tap water.
Says they will compete with the online Seapets offer of £350 for a Juwel Rio 240 starter kit and cabinet, just need to give them a shout when/if I commit to this idea in the next week.
Reckons they could sort me out a selection of hardy, low maintenance plants, that I could introduce right from the start or gradually replace silk artificial ones.

So, in conclusion, I am now going to look up the details of all these new Rainbow species and then throw combos in aqadvisor (along with a mix of snails and/or shrimp/crab)!

 

[MikeO]

I wish my tap water was 8.5pH. Comes out at 6.5, so hard getting it high and keeping it there for my malawi.

Would you like to swap water supplies?

 

[TheHolding]

No worries mate glad I could be of assistance!

I got my tank from seapets ended up with a Fluval Roma 200 look it up, good starter tank that comes with basics!

Only thing I would suggest is upgrading the filter I got an external filter Tetratec EX1200 on the recommendation from someone on here, very good filter with lots of media!

Are you going to do a fishless cycle? If so get household ammonia from boots it's about £1 if I remember correctly you won't even use half the bottle - just add 4 drops per 10 gallon daily - a water testing kit it also essential, don't waste you money on the cheap paper strips I got a whole kit that included all requirements PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, GH etc it cost about £30 but includes test tubes and mixing solutions, best money I have spent!

Have lost no fish to date as I have introduced them all when the water is cycled and perfect.