Postal Delivery Of My Catfish

[JDs4me]

I was a little dubious about ordering fish via courier...I'm sure we have all had to deal at some time or other with a courier service that didn't really deliver...anyway on recommendation from a forum buddy went ahead and ordered 4 Megalechis thoracata and 2 Agamyxis pectinifrons.

They arrived about ten minutes ago and are presently floating in the tank, and all looking none the worse for the journey from Wildwoods.

Packaging was excellent; h/duty cardboard box outer, then a plastic bag-enclosed polystyrene box of 18mm thickness lined with newspaper, fish within.

No outward signs of stress with the fish all quietly moving in the bags, which were transferred to the unlit tank and floated. A seperate bag of newspaper-wrapped water was also included and water temp in this bag was taken immediately - 25C, exactly the same temperature as when packed, according to the laminated A4 information sheet.

This sheet also gave the pH and dgH of the water the fish were kept in, along with detailed instruction on how to introduce your fish to the tank.

The M. thoracata are going from a dgH of 6 to one of about 18, and a more alkaline pH from 7.0 to 7.8 in mine, so I will introduce them slowly, the A.pectinifrons from dgH 12 and pH 7.8 so closer to what they are used to.

(My Ilyodons showing great interest in the new arrivals - like me!)

All the fish are treble-bagged.

30 mins later and the fish are in, swimming about, looking stress-free!

So Wildwoods get my vote of confidence and I will be happy to use them in future...the fish all look in excellent condition and seem no worse the wear for the travelling.

Glad I took a couple of snapshots as they are now hidden away, all bar one happy hoplo and a raphael that thinks he's hidden...

more pics once the gang have settled in...

 

[BigTom]

I was also very impressed with my recent Wildwoods order. They're not cheap, but the service and attention to fish well-being is excellent.

 

[*pete*]

Great thread, should help reasure members who are worried about getting fish through the post.

I was reluctant to do so myself but gave it a go as it was the only way I could get the fish I wanted, and was amazed at the great shape they arrived in.

 

[JDs4me]

fish seem settled already, been out and fed on algae wafer this afternoon...they have all taken over what is now 'catfish castle', mid-background, where they can swim behind and inside the hollow structure - its suddenly become a very busy catwalk

 

[FishBlast]

Aww, that tiny hoplo is so cute. Though it looks quite different from mine when he was a baby, and same for the other ones I've had. Mine had some kind of diagonal stripes all over their body and a smaller head when they were juveniles.

The Agamyxis looks cool, lots of golden dots.

 

[twingogeekeo]

I bought a few fish from ebay from a guy that posts them out and his was spot on.

 

[Inchworm]

Thanks for posting this thread, JDs4me.

Most folks have no idea about what to expect when they buy online and have to have fish shipped to them. It's also nice to see new fish, no matter how they arrive.

I'll be looking forward to seeing more about them in the future.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Well done for posting this JDs4me, this subject of courier fish comes up regular as clockwork, photos of how they arrived should reassue many forum users of how well Wildwoods at least ship fish.

I might be jumping the gun here, but the one photo of a Hoplo above in the bag, are they all like that with a black vertical bar in their tail fin? If so, that is a definite sign they are Megalechis picta and not M. thoracata.

Any idea of sex ratios at this stage? M. thoracata males have thickened and longer first pectoral rays that turn orange as they mature, plus looking from underneath they have a set of plated that practically touch each other between the pectoral fins (females have a wide gap between small plates). Not sure if this sexing set of clues applies to M. picta without looking it up at PlanetCatfish.

 

[FishBlast]

Well done for posting this JDs4me, this subject of courier fish comes up regular as clockwork, photos of how they arrived should reassue many forum users of how well Wildwoods at least ship fish.

I might be jumping the gun here, but the one photo of a Hoplo above in the bag, are they all like that with a black vertical bar in their tail fin? If so, that is a definite sign they are Megalechis picta and not M. thoracata.

Any idea of sex ratios at this stage? M. thoracata males have thickened and longer first pectoral rays that turn orange as they mature, plus looking from underneath they have a set of plated that practically touch each other between the pectoral fins (females have a wide gap between small plates). Not sure if this sexing set of clues applies to M. picta without looking it up at PlanetCatfish.

So that's why mine were different as juveniles. Though I have yet to figure out what mine is for sure, I think he's a thoracata, minus the odd elongated flaps on the pectoral fins.

I think juvenile males still have that white stuff dangling between their anal fins, at least that's how I used to tell them apart when they were younger. Moustache and Bitza were my only females and I knew they were females due to that.
There were also some pics on the internet about differences shown under the hoplos. But cannot find them anymore.

EDIT: found the website that had them. Here it shows the white thing that males have and females don't.

 

[JDs4me]

Couple more pics...

Thanks NOTG, I'll check out the pack when they come out and see what I have then...not too worried though!

Thanks Inchworm; NObody Of The Goat takes credit for the idea!

Hey Fishblast, may be a different type of hoplo to yours then...I'm well chuffed with them all!

I'm a bit camera-happy so will be putting better pics on when I have the time...

 

[FishBlast]

I think your hoplo in the first 2 pics is male.

 

[JDs4me]

Thanks for those pics FishBlast..the one you ID as male has been out and about the whole time!

 

[FishBlast]

Thanks for those pics FishBlast..the one you ID as male has been out and about the whole time!

I'd be 100% sure it would be male if it has that white thing underneath, keep an eye on him and when he's going up the glass you can see if he has it or not. And yeah, males are braver than females. Moustache used to be quite shy and same as Bitza, while all the males I've had were quite social.

 

[JDs4me]

Is this guy great or what!!

 

[FishBlast]

Is this guy great or what!!

Lol! Looks like he's posing for the picture and giving a Cheshire cat grin!