help quick! - 8 saulosi juvies?

[jessey]

i had been planning on waiting for my lfs to special order some saulosi in for me and my 29 gallon tank, but after several weeks of checking in i don't know if she's gonna come through. i just spotted this auction on aquabid: AquaBid.com - Your Aquatic Auction Website

what do you think? should i go for it? i'm SO nervous about ordering fish online, i've never done it before... if i go for it, should i ask for 2-3 more fish in the batch? (i figure if i start with 10-11 fish i can thin out extra males and have a better chance of ending up with 6 fm/2 m or 7 fm/1 m..)

hopefully somebody can give me some advice, because there's only a few hours left! *SUPERSMIL thanks guys!!

jessey<3

 

[Helena21]

I say go for it! and yeah if i were you i'd ask for a few more, just incase some dont make it. Thats what i did, thr auction was for 5 fish but i asked for 8. Two died and now i have six.

But wait- that person is in California and your in Florida, that is a HECK of a long way for fish to travel. I was just wondering, how do they get to you? air mail?

 

[jessey]

eww i didn't even notice where he was :-/ that is a long way.. there's another auction right here in florida (AquaBid.com - Your Aquatic Auction Website, but they're $7/each + shipping.... worth it? it would be $70 + shipping.

 

[Helena21]

if you talking about this one AquaBid.com - Your Aquatic Auction Website then yes, i was just looking at that one too, and i was gonna tell ya about it anyway $70+shipping?? wow im not sure thats worth it....

 

[drumminfish]

How much was your LFS going to charge you per fish?

 

[SinisterKisses]

Honestly, I would skip it. Tampa is a fairly large city, and saulosi are a common mbuna...you should have no trouble finding someone locally to sell you some, if you look around.

 

[jessey]

helena, yeah that's the one... they're listed as $7 each and 7x10=$70.

drummin, i don't know how much my LFS was going to charge. but i'm sure it's as expensive, if not more, than the auction here in FL... which makes me think it might be worth it to go for it.

EDIT: SK, i just saw your post. i'll wait for now... unfortunately, i keep only seeing "mixed africans" everywhere i go, but i'll keep searchin.

 

[Helena21]

im sure if you shop around you will find a local breeder or something, maybe you could post something on the cichlid forums. IMO saulosi arent very common at all, at least their not here, but there most probably will be someone locally that has them...you just gotta find em

 

[SinisterKisses]

EDIT: SK, i just saw your post. i'll wait for now... unfortunately, i keep only seeing "mixed africans" everywhere i go, but i'll keep searchin.

The trick is, NOT looking in stores. I mean, get on the internet, hit up the forums and local classifieds, that kind of thing.

Worst case scenario, is find online breeders that are at least closer to you. If you go to cichlidforum.com and look through the retailer reviews section, you'll find LOTS of really good, reputable breeders online. At least if you do it that way, you'll know you're getting good quality fish from a breeder with a good reputation. I'm not fond of using Aquabid myself...too much is unknown.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I'm late i know...work bleh. Anyways most people won't ship anything but overnight for fish, hence the high costs, and its not as far/long of a trip as it seems. The shipping cost is really what kills though.

$7 per saulosi is average. I've seen them for 5-8 each so 7 is a decent price.

I agree look locally first, like breeders and such. Save on shipping and possibly get a good ID and look at them before you buy. LFS orders may not be what you want.

Lastly, if you can't find anywhere else and are stuck with mailorder i recommend Dykemyster's Homepage He has nice fish. If it comes to this just talk to him and he might try and sex them for you.

 

[jessey]

thanks guys i did email one guy who is local (he doesn't have any in atm, but he thinks he might be able to get some... and he has a great rep on cichlidforums.com), and i'll look at Dykemyster's also, matt.

 

[Helena21]

sounds like you really want these fish, jessey ...Im not suprised!!!

 

[jessey]

i do! i can't wait to get 'em, i think the tank will be so much more exciting and also better looking than my community set up now, lol.

of course, i don't have any rock in the tank yet. i really need to take care of that before these fish get here!