It's official, sensory overload today…

[Magnum Man]

Got some new tetras today… was supposed to be 6 palmeri emperor tetras, but they only had 2… so I agreed to substitute 2 black emperor’s and 2 blue emperor’s… new fish in the South American tank, has all the tetras breaking into groups by species, plus all the apisto’s ( 6 ) are out of their hidy holes and the 3 electric blue rams… all checking each other out… that tank, and my “over crouded” African tank meet corner to corner there is so much going on in those tanks, it almost makes me dizzy to try and watch all the fish

 

[MuddyWaters]

Do the apistos and rams normally come out and swim around a fair amount or are they ones you hope might stick their heads out every now and then?

 

[Magnum Man]

@MuddyWaters ... actually, yes quite a bit... The electric blue rams are out quite a bit more than the Apisto's, the bigger one claims the middle of the tank... that is if the pair of 4 inch by 6 inch angels let him…. but the apisto’s seem to mostly come out during feeding ( and apparently when new fish are added ), but they don't disappear, they are easily visible near their hang out spots… for the most part the dwarf Cichlids get along… but I have lots of hidy holes and caves that you can see into, but breaks up their view of each other

 

[GaryE]

One of the things I dislike about online ordering is when you face a solid shipping cost, and they don't have one of the fish you ordered. I don't know if that's what happened here, but I always cancel orders if they can't deliver a group of a species. Now you get stuck paying for more shipping for more of two species because you couldn't get enough of one.

Because of the high rates for shipping in my country I tend to collect up orders for 5 or 6 species before I go for it. I just had to put an order on the back burner because two of my target species sold out. But that could change with their next weekly arrival - fish hunting is a .... process. The stock at interesting suppliers can change very quickly.

 

[Magnum Man]

Yep... this is a good mail order seller ( though they are not Dan's ) but they charge a lot for shipping, & already charged my credit card, afterwards calling me, & saying they only had 2 of the fish, after accepting my order on line, for 6... they were wanting me to accept something as a substitution... so, I ended up with 6 Emperor tetras, just not the 6 I wanted... I didn't really want the black ones, as I have a pretty dark background on this tank, but I was intrigued by the fact, that the males had blue eyes, & the females had green eyes... so I told them I would take 2 blacks as substitutions, if they could get me one with blue eyes & one with green... the gal I was talking to, said they were pretty small, & she couldn't guarantee that, but would try... one is bigger with blue eyes... one is smaller & appears to have the green eyes... the other 2 were supposed to be "super blue Emperors"... I'm hoping those 2 color up, after 24 hours in the tank they are light brown, goldish color, with a dark line down the middle... they look just like one of the varieties of Apisto's I already have in the tank... the only way I can tell the difference, is the Apisto's are mostly on the bottom, & the Tetras are mostly towards the top... so I'm hoping those are just immature, & will color up to the blue they were supposed to be, in a month or two...
I've had to make substitutions, 2 or 3 times, after the seller has charged my card... one seller told me 3 weeks later, that one I cancelled my order & they are on my "do not buy from" mental list...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Dan may be a good shipper but his prices are way too high. I cannot comment of the quality of his fish since I have never ordered from him.

He lists "Super Red Bushynose Pleco Hobbyist Bred and Raised in Europe Ancistrus sp. Price: $19.99

I recently bought 3 of these for $14 total, Bred by an experienced hobbyist right here in America and no shipping was needed. Now that is a bargain price that one needs to know how to find. But, I needed a few more algae eaters for my planted tanks. Also, I hate paying retail for things, especially fish related.

 

[Magnum Man]

I've actually bought 4 of those... I think he's started getting quite a few fish from Germany, especially ones he has had quality issues buying in the past, from other / cheaper sellers... he holds his fish for long enough to analyze them & treat them, if he feels they need treating for anything, before selling them, & packages 1 fish per bag... Not saying he's the best you can buy from??? but good enough, that he's one of the only sellers I add fish directly to my tanks, now that I have quarantine tanks set up... so for me... yep I like a good deal, but if I'm adding fish directly to a tank that I feel is close to done, the extra money is cheap insurance... I have got Ich in one of my tanks from bargain fish

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Well, the plecos I bought came out ot the tank of a fish club member. For the most part the members of the club are no youngsters. Most have been keeping fish for many years. What separates us are the difference in the fish and/or plants we keep. Plus a number of us have been spawning fish for some time and have good reps.

I also normally buy fish by the box load. I know when Bellenz farm ships fish from the other side of the globe they do individually pack fish when they are the expensive stuff for sure. But I also know they have a machine that does the bagging. We got 350 fish individually bagged. And they cost between $35 and $72 /fish after all the added costs to get them here.

I have gotten ich from one store and one shipped order of fish. One I failed to Q and paid the price, the other I did Q. But, I lost all of the fish but one- they were tetras and danios.

When I first started in the hobby I bought mostly shipped in fish. Over the years I learned from whom to buy to get healthy fish and also at very good price. It does help if one is buying in numbers.

I never said Dan not sell healthy fish, just that he was pricey. But I expect that all the folks from whom I might buy fish either Q them if bought and if bred I am pretty sure they do this right and only sell healthy fish. I know I have a pretty decent rep. I do not have a site, I am not on social media, but I have rarish fish folks want. Somehow they seem to find me.

Back when I was mostly selling zebras depending on the number of fish purchased, I actually sent an extra. I always ask buyers to let me know when the box arrives and the condition of the fish. It was amazing that some folks think I cannot count to 10 because they received 11.

edited to fix 2 typos

 

[Tacocat]

Got some new tetras today… was supposed to be 6 palmeri emperor tetras, but they only had 2… so I agreed to substitute 2 black emperor’s and 2 blue emperor’s… new fish in the South American tank, has all the tetras breaking into groups by species, plus all the apisto’s ( 6 ) are out of their hidy holes and the 3 electric blue rams… all checking each other out… that tank, and my “over crouded” African tank meet corner to corner there is so much going on in those tanks, it almost makes me dizzy to try and watch all the fish

I thought blue emperors were Inpaichthys kerri. My LFS duped me by selling me "kerri tetras" which turned out to be emperor tetras that they mislabeled, but I only found out by looking at the tail fin. From the pics I've seen Kerri tetras don't have a solid black bar in the central caudal fin, but all other emperor species do(including nematobrycon lacortei).

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Inpaichthys kerri is the purple emperor tetra. I have them. I had gotten them in a few occasions. The first I got from msjinkzd to resell at an event. I had a few unsold and they went into my 75. The I was able to buy 5 from the master breeder in mi fish club who had spawned them. Finally I added some from a speaker at one of my club meeting who had a store about an hour away. The most I had at any one time was a dozen. When in th open water at the front of the 75 ga.,l they can glow purple on their body above the stripe. Very pretty.
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/inpaichthys-kerri/

I am now down to 7 healthy ones. I have an 8th in a specimen box waiting for me to use the clove oil I had delivered today. It was swimming badly and missing the lower portion of ites face, I doubt it could eat. The tank held them, a few bleherii rummy nose, a couple of orange fin zebra danio, some then lf paleatus and albino aeneus corys, 5 small bristlenose plus amano shrimp. It is heavily planted. I am pretty sure the injured one was hit by its budies. I would bet they are also somewhat responsible for the dwindling numbers recently.