Best place to order fish from?

[niks93gt]

I would like to order some hatchet fish since no where around here seems to sell them. I tried Liveaquaria.com but they have a minimum $30 fish order and I don't want that many... Any other good places to order from?

Nik

 

[jbarr]

In some LFS you can special order them. Not sure what the whole deal is as I've never done it, but I hear people advising to ask your LFS if they order them.

 

[severum mama]

Yes, I have special ordered fish. If you have a good LFS they shouldn't charge you any extra for it. If not, I'm sure you can bump your order up to that $30 minimum by ordering something sweet, like a fancy pleco or something, LOL.

BTW, where are you located? Silver hatchets are readily available around here- I just got 6 for myself, but one jumped so I'm down to 5. Make sure you have you tank covered if you find them!

 

[crazyred]

Barring being able to find them locally, I have the BEST luck with: www.aquabid.com You can usually find just about anything you need on there.

 

[niks93gt]

I'm located in the Augusta, Ga area. I called one store that is about thirty minutes away and they have 8 or 9 hatchet fish left. I want to get 8 so hopefully between now and next Tuesday when I'm ready to add more fish to my tank I can get them... otherwise I probably will do as severum mama said and order a nice gold nugget pleco with 8 hatchet fish.

Nik

 

[severum mama]

GNs are awesome but IME they are somewhat difficult to keep. Mine only lasted a couple of months. I think my next fancy pleco will be a snowball or Queen Arabesque- they are so cool. Good luck finding your hatchets!

 

[niks93gt]

I'd rather a Bristlenose but I didn't see any listed. My 75 gallon was cycled with old filter media, lightly planted and hasn't showed any signs of ammonia, nitrites or nitrates since Monday when I added 8 Bleeding Heart Tetras and a 2 inch BGK so I'm gonna go ahead and get a school of 8 hatchetfish tomorrow. I'm pretty sure in a 75 gallon with that small of a bioload that if the bacteria needs to catch up some, that the ammonia/nitrites will disperse and not be at a dangerous level. Will make it a lot easier than having to order the hatchets.

Nik

 

[severum mama]

It will be ok. My personal rule is, when in doubt, do a water change. If it were my tank, I would add the hatchets, then do a 30% water change the next day. Chances are, things would be fine if you didn't bother with the pwc, but I like to play it safe. If nothing else, the fish will appreciate the extra clean water.

 

[niks93gt]

I definitely keep up with my water changes I'll be watching the ammonia/nitrites closely. My wonderful g/f got me a python for christmas (along with a few other fish goodies including my heater and BGK).

Nik

Edit:
Got the hatchets... along with a L199 Pleco. <=== impulse buyer. Gonna keep a close eye on the water params over the next few days but I think I'll be okay. The genious at the LPS put 10 hatchets in the bag instead of 8. I looked at the bag and thought I counted 8 but when I got home I counted 10 when I got home.

 

[severum mama]

I had to Google L199- looks like a VERY cool find. Mind if I ask what yours cost, and how big it is? I've never even seen one available around here.

 

[niks93gt]

I had to Google L199- looks like a VERY cool find. Mind if I ask what yours cost, and how big it is? I've never even seen one available around here.

Its definitely a beautiful pleco. I asked over on plecofanatics.com about it and they said max will be about 4.5". Right now its about 2.5". It was only $28 which according to the pleco site is also about $20 cheaper than normal. They had a few more. I'm considering getting a couple more if they aren't territorial. I'd rather have them than corys... plus my BGK as it gets older won't be as aggressive to the pleco. 4 days since tfish have been added and still no trace of ammonia/nitrite.

Nik

 

[godzilla]

I have great luck with aquabid. their rating system helps you see who is doing what, and it can help you decide on a seller.

good luck.

 

[severum mama]

Cool, I definitely would have paid $28 for that fish!