Need a recommendation for an online vendor

[Greg30329]

Hello Everyone,

I'm in Atlanta, GA, and am looking to purchase some Siamese Algae Eating fish (Crossocheilus Siamensis). I don't know of a brick-and-mortar store nearby that sells them, and am looking online. So many of the sites I've found have awful reviews, so, I'm reaching our to this forum for recommendations.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MattW]

Welcome to the forum!

There are many members from NA who can help you find an online seller. I reckon @Magnum Man will know a few; they've picked up some amazing fish online.

 

[otterblue]

I think The Wet Spot is great. I've never received a bad fish from them.

 

[Back in the fold]

@Magnum Man is our resident online vendor expert .

 

[jaylach]

Dan's Fish has a good reputation and I use. I can't comment on the shipping as I live next to their warehouse but reviews are good. They are currently out of stock but DO carry what you want.

https://dansfish.com/product.search/Siamese%20Algae%20Eater/recent/48/1

 

[gwand]

I like the Wet Spot, Aqua Imports, Aquatic Clarity and Dan’s (but only for hard water fish). None of the three have perfect records with me but they surpass many other online vendors I tried.

 

[Innesfan]

I think The Wet Spot is great. I've never received a bad fish from them.

That has been my experience too. I've purchased from them for decades without a glitch so far. There are other reliable vendors but WetSpot has been the best in my experience. And it has a superb inventory. This week alone they added 96 new offerings to their already huge inventory.

Dan's is absurdly overpriced.

BTW, I believe the species you are looking for is Crossocheilus oblongus. "Siamensis" is an outdated name (that might even belong to another species) that is falsely applied to the true SAE on certain websites.

 

[jaylach]

Dan's is absurdly overpriced.

Ya Dan's is a bit pricey but they, as far as I've found, don't buy from farms. Plus, for me, not having to pay for shipping, makes up more than the higher price.

 

[anewbie]

Wetspot, impericaltropical and aquaimports are probably the big three - aquaticclarity is good but a specialty store.

For cheap farm raised there is aquahuna - my experience with them has been mixed as some fishes are diseased and others overly inbred (deformities).
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These days i mostly use wetspot and aquaticclarity.
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I don't like Dan at all as I buy mostly softwater fishes and keeping them in hardwater is not great idea despite what Dan sez and quite frankly for the amount he charges he should be putting wc softwater fishes in soft water.

 

[FishBR]

I strongly recommend Dan’s fish. You can keep fish in hard water, as I do in New Orleans. Hardness becomes an issue only for breeding. I also have good experiences with Imperial Tropicals.

 

[gimme30]

I'd wait until it warms up a little..Frozen fish are good breaded and slathered in tartar but make a helluva mess in the aquarium.

 

[Magnum Man]

it's true, I don't have a good local fish store... I do have a semi local pet store that sells fish, and I have bought some in the past, but selection is poor, and the fish are risky, definitely need quarantine... I have a dozenish tanks, that I'm forced to stock by mail order sellers... the recommendations you have so far, on this thread, I would buy from... myself, for asian fish, like you are looking for, Aqua Imports, would be the 1st choice, by price, and quality... the overnight shipping is expensive, but the only way to go, so I always try to buy more than a couple fish each order, to make the price per fish cheaper...

True Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus cf. siamensis)

One of the most sought after and effective of all of the so-called "algae eaters" in the aquarium hobby, the Siamese Algae Eater is an active

www.aqua-imports.com

 

[anewbie]

I'd wait until it warms up a little..Frozen fish are good breaded and slathered in tartar but make a helluva mess in the aquarium.

I wouldn't - frozen fishes are easier to deal with - they don't jump out or splash you and you can just keep them in the freezer till spring and then give them to the cat.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The two places I would suggest would be Dan;s fish who is very expensive but has a great rep. The other is Wet Spot which also has an excellent rep and should be less expensive than Dans.

An experienced shipper can ship in the cold. That is what a properly insulated box and longer lasting heat packs are for- like 72 hours. Most overnight shippers are generally there the next day, occasionally something goes wrong and it is 2 days. A 48 hour pack is good for 2 days and the 72 for 3. A good shipper will put in two different heat packs. One is a shorter term- 20-30 hours.

The shorter term packs heat up to capacity faster but then tend to fade over the later hours, The longer term ones take longer to heat to capacity but, once there, tend to stay there until almost the end of their useful life. So in many cases the best strategy in very cold weather is to use both. This is a general rule as the specific fish and the size of the box involved may change the best practices.

I have shipped a fair amount of fish over the years. But I am a hobby breeder not a commercial seller. So, I am able to take as much time as i need to do a proper packing job. I do not have employees doing so for me. I was also taught how to ship by a friend who did a home based import business and who shipped more fish out in a month than I ever did in a year. One thing she taught me was not to acclimate new fish being shipped to me but to get them out of the bag and into clean water ASAP. Bear in mind there is a big difference between a fish being in a bag for 24-48 hours than in one for a few hour trip home after getting it.

(edited for way to may typos)

 

[Innesfan]

Wetspot, impericaltropical and aquaimports are probably the big three - aquaticclarity is good but a specialty store.

Agreed. Those are the ones I would have included beyond my initial WetSpot endorsement. I've had excellent history with all of them.