Heros notatus

[atmagoulick]

I ordered 5 Heros notatus fry from;

Ron Davis, email [email protected]

on www.aquabid.com

I like to check locally for the fish I want first.  The reason is, I like having friends breeding and raising the same fish I am.  But, their are no known local breeders here.  Then, I checked the national chat sites, starting with aquabid.  I have had good luck with aquabid and I would use any of the sellers with good reviews.  I have found that the cheaper airfare is fine.  They are being shipped today and arrive on Monday.

The five Heros notatus fry are going in a 90g community tank.  I have one wild discus, 5 angelfish fry, a pair of A. cacatuoides and some killifish.  As the fish grow, I'll put the angelfish in other tanks.  I am looking for another wild discus. I love the natural colored discus.

I use metal hallide when I am not showing the fish tank to anyone.  The fish seem to like the shadows it creates.  I have strip lights and use them when people want to see the tank.  Both metal hallide and strip lights will grow plants.  As far as CO2 injection, I have it, but am not using it at this time.  I am still not convinced it helps.  The plants grow fine with out it. 

[djlamonica]

Those severums will eat your plants.  Also when they start to breed they will most likely bully your discus.

[atmagoulick]

I'll find out on Monday if they eat the plants.  I am planning on feeding them regularly.  I have found that fish described as herbivores do not eat the plants when fed regularly.  Heros notatus may bully the discus, but it takes time for the fry to sexually mature.  Time will tell if they bully the discus or not.  It is too early to say.

[atmagoulick]

I received my fish today.   Three died on arrival.  The other three look great.  Bad idea to send fish this time of year.  He tried heat packs.  But, it's just too cold.  I airmail anything until April.  They three fish that made it are super sweet.

[linuxrulesusa]

Bummer on the ones that didn't make it.  Congrats on the rest.  They look promising.

[Regalblue]

Glad you picked these guys up. Shitty about loosing the 3, is the seller going to replace them or at least give you some credit on a future order? 

[atmagoulick]

Yep, it is a bummer about the three that didn't make it.  The breeder did not use a small cooler to line the box.  So, I emailed him and told him that three did not make it.  Then, I filed a complaint with the post office.  The box looked like it was kicked here from Florida.  I sent pictures to the breeder and the post office.  The post office insures $50.00 a parcel.  The total I spent, including shipping, was $40.50.  I requested $20.50 from the post office, because that is the fair price.  Worst case scenario, I lost $20.00 on the deal or I paid 3 for $40.50.  I still feel bad for the three dead ones.  Maybe with better packaging they would have made it.  I'll order again, but not until late April.  Next time I'd ask the breeder to line the box with a small styrofoam box rather then newspaper.  The poor packaging is the reason I'll use another breeder next time.  However;

Yes, the three that made it look promising!  Thanks

[Regalblue]

Woah!  The seller didn't use a styro to ship?  That's terrible!   I make winter orders all the time & haven't lost anything,  yet.  Sounds like you just need to find somebody who knows what they're doing.

[djlamonica]

Did you have them overnighted with morning delivery?  If you didn't highly doubtful they will be replaced.

[atmagoulick]

Yeah, no styro just news paper.  It's sad yet funny.  Good to know about the winter orders.  I'm not expecting anything from the breeder.  I just hope the three little guys make it.  They are super gentle.  They do not eat plants or chase other fish.  But they do lip lock each other with their tiny mouths.  It is cute because they look so fragile, then they wrestle each other.