Dave's Rare Aquarium Fish

[four_by_ken]

Good news, none arrived dead.

(6) Compressiceps, all look good.  One even bigger than I thought it would be.

(1) Peacock, nice.
(1) Peacock ok size, but beat up and very suncken in belly.
(2) Peacocks, VERY small.  Had to remove an existing fish from the tank or they would have been eaten for sure.

(3) Mbuna... I think I bought feeder fish.  Very small...doubtful if they will make it.

Guess I need to make sure I get 3"+ fish from now on.

So, one beat up, sickly looking fish.  That's all I can really complain about.  When it said 1" fish... they mean 1" fish.

[Ron]

I guess I feel with the prices that he was charging, I expected more.

I'm sorry to read. I'm frugal when it comes to my fish hobby and was surprised at the prices being charged for a lot of what was offered. I hoped it would have swung the other way for you guys and the fish were bigger than advertised and packaged better.

When it said 1" fish... they mean 1" fish.

My impression from the hobby of breeding cichlids, if you really intend to turn a sufficient profit to warrant doing it as a business, you grow them yourself for as little time as possible before selling them. Despite knowing this, I don't come anywhere close to breaking even - people typically don't realize how small 1" really is unless they put a few to a ruler.

[Jamie]

Will do, Tony.  There is only one I'm still feeling iffy about - aside from concerns about the lather one wreaking havoc.  I've put the smaller ten in their tank.  I'm thinking im going to continue to QT the larger one for a little while si the smaller ones can stake out their territory, then add the slightly larger fish.   Does this seem like a sound idea to you more experienced folks?  If so, how long should I wait before I add him/her in, do you think?   I don't want to turn the tables the other way, either!

[Regalblue]

Tony, Thank you for putting this together & going out of your way for me.

I'm VERY pleased with my fish. They were listed at 1.5"& they came in at 2-2.5".  The smallest two are a bit chewed up. But, IMO that's to be expected as all of them were in the same bag for a significant amount of time.

[jcunningham0295]

Tony, Thank you for putting this together & going out of your way for me.

I'm VERY pleased with my fish. They were listed at 1.5"& they came in at 2-2.5".  The smallest two are a bit chewed up. But, IMO that's to be expected as all of them were in the same bag for a significant amount of time.

What are all the fish everyone ordered?  I ordered some saulosi and have them accliminating right now.  Some are bigger than expected.  Thanks Tony for putting this together and thanks Dan for picking my fish up for me.

[Jamie]

jcunningham, mine were saulosi as well, but very small save for one - who is beating up on everybody else.  I lost a few in shipping and one driving home from picking them up (I live all the way in grand rapids).  Tony said they bagged the larger and smaller ones together and that may be why (maybe your fish beat up my fish!!).  I think I have one fish that may rival the size of yours....and I'm totally afraid (s)he is going to be a problem right off the bat!    They are such little darlings, though, arent they?!  I can't stop staring and I couldn't be more excited, even if this isn't 100% what I had in mind!

[PowerCerg One]

I have to say I am overall disappointed. My Calvus are nowhere near 1" and are completely colorless. Some of the other fish were appropriate size, but in bags way too small. My four nimbochromis polystigma were packed in a bag I would have put only one in, and I would be worried. The Medusa Pleco is around 2.5 - 3" as opposed to 3.5 - 4". The shining exception to the bad was the beautiful Paratilapia sp. "Marolambo" which is the correct size and absolutely stunning. I fortunately have not yet had any deaths either. If the fish grow up nice, I might take it all back, but:

Sorry Dave I shall not be recommending your services to anybody  at this time.

[Marty]

Will do, Tony.  There is only one I'm still feeling iffy about - aside from concerns about the lather one wreaking havoc.  I've put the smaller ten in their tank.  I'm thinking im going to continue to QT the larger one for a little while si the smaller ones can stake out their territory, then add the slightly larger fish.   Does this seem like a sound idea to you more experienced folks?  If so, how long should I wait before I add him/her in, do you think?   I don't want to turn the tables the other way, either!

If you can keep them separated for awhile, do so.   You can get the smaller ones to grow out faster by feeding them twice a day and doing frequent water changes.  If you have to put them together, try placing a few small diameter pieces of PVC  (just a few inches long) in the tank so the smaller ones have a place where they can hide.

[Jamie]

Thank you for the advice, Marty.  I will do that!

[four_by_ken]

One of the Mbuna has disappeared and same with one of the Peacocks.   



On a good note... we have (7) of the Compressiceps!  Ordered (6)   

[GrizzlysDad]

Well, here is my opinions/comments on this order:

1) The fish I personally ordered all came in alive.

2) Two out of the three species I ordered were the advertised size; one was quite a bit smaller though.

3) The Altolamprologus that others ordered were so small that if they were submitted for one of our auctions, as the Auction Chair I would have refused them for being under the 1" rule. For me to do that they have to be closer to 1/2" which is exactly how the fish from Dave's arrived. Now I expected the Altolamprologus to be small since they were advertised at 1" but IMHO they were too small to ship. However, taking their size into consideration, I do believe the fact that none perished in transit was a positive outcome.

4) The Pseudotropheus saulosi that others ordered had a significant size discrepancy... about 1/3 were larger than advertised and the rest were a lot smaller than advertised...that was an issue IMHO because they were shipped together in one large bag, which was obviously the reason for the DOA's.

5) There was a group of Julidochromis that were ordered, paid for, and included on the invoice but were not in the shipping box. This was an honest mistake on Dave's part but really should not happen with this size order. I am still waiting for the refund on them which Dave assures me will be taken care of.

6) The small bag sizes were an issue with a couple of the species.

7) Several other species that were ordered by others also seemed under the size advertized...a few were larger, but that does not help the people that received the undersized fish.

[vaudeville]

Hey Tony Fish
Big thanks on the efforts.
The fry I received are doing ok when I can find them (LOL)
Please remember that I also ordered some inkfins that did not come in
What was Dave's reasoning in sending the fish fish so small that they could be beat up by some tuff brine shrimp?
Was it just to "close the deal"?
All the Best
Rob

[GrizzlysDad]

Hey Tony Fish
Big thanks on the efforts.
The fry I received are doing ok when I can find them (LOL)
Please remember that I also ordered some inkfins that did not come in
What was Dave's reasoning in sending the fish fish so small that they could be beat up by some tuff brine shrimp?
Was it just to "close the deal"?
All the Best
Rob

Hey Rob...I'm just waiting on the refund to my card. As for reasoning...I cannot answer that at this point.

[four_by_ken]

One of the Mbuna has disappeared and same with one of the Peacocks.   



On a good note... we have (7) of the Compressiceps!  Ordered (6)   

One Peacock died and I think one of the Mbuna got eaten.  And, tonight I get to try to catch two tiny Mbuna that are getting beat up.  Not sure where I am going to put them though.
 

[GrizzlysDad]

One of the Mbuna has disappeared and same with one of the Peacocks.   



On a good note... we have (7) of the Compressiceps!  Ordered (6)   

One Peacock died and I think one of the Mbuna got eaten.  And, tonight I get to try to catch two tiny Mbuna that are getting beat up.  Not sure where I am going to put them though.
 

Oh, the joys of fish keeping