Great pickup that is awesome that he ralloy went out of his way like going the extra mile I will go with him when I am ready to make an order 
Box of Americans from Don Conkels (with pics)
- Thread starter BadOscar
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cchhcc;3670317; said:
CLEAR? Would an affidavit or notarized endorsement help? I'll fax that over ASAP
capefeartarheel;3670946; said:
None taken. Nonetheless, not a chance in hell.
Will try to remember to spell "remuneration" right for sure. Terribly sorry my observations are incongruous w/ more refined literary tastes. If there's "a lot to contribute" from someone "obviously extremely knowledgeable," then my advice: leave it be, if it doesn't quite suit your fancy, or ask an expert. That might further clarify. Can I help it if a few folks loose their sense of humor along the investigative trail? At least the gentleman that started the thread hasn't.
If I can't quite cater to your peculiar brand of "infotainment," then I can't promise to tailor it any time soon to fit with the junior-league cotillion that chimes in with little or nothing of substance including "I agree." If you wanted "Just the facts, maam," then maybe you should have dialed up Joe Friday.
To quote someone from about 30 decades ago, "That which can be made explicit to an idiot is not worth my care." No idea why that came to mind, but it did.
My only other advice would be for you to tell your friends to "Suck my Duke."
For anyone having trouble IDing guttulatus (as apparently have in this thread, here's a reminder, sort of a "two-fer":
Paratheraps guttulatus Rio Mosanito
reverse;3670988; said:
5 words or 5 full length manuscripts it shouldn't take that much to figure it out.
Might be mildly amusing to do some sort of "differential distillation" and ask BadOscar about his thread - who has evidently contributed something "worthwhile" (or at least made the effort) and who hasn't? Tho I think that he's answered that already. Thanks in advance to any/everybody who is still "contributing" to Mr. Bad's fortuitous "situation." Hate to beat this into the dust, but some things bear repeating: "That which can be made explicit to an idiot isn't worth my care." That's the answer, I suppose. Pretty much out of time/patience for anyone who would troll around looking for grievances. Man, there's just better things to do. Anyhow, Bad, thanks for sharing and hope you still get a laugh (and some more useful info) here and there.
c ya
My daughter sent me a text message the other day that said my fish are barbaric. I lost another Bocourti and the Bifa / Zonatus were eating it. Is there a way to tell a juvi Bifa from a Zonatus? I started purging the ones with big black stripes to my 150. Not sure if they are actually doing the killing or I am just losing them from treating for the ich. I know I have lost 3 so far but suspect the number is closer to 6. If I could just get them all to swim to the front of the tank, line up and sit still I would know for sure.
OP, you shouldn't be losing fish so easily. Perhaps you need to add a ton of dithers to take the aggression pressure off the cichlids.
Mojarra, thanks for intentionally muddying the waters as to your DCT selling agent status. I suppose it's safe to say your high opinion of yourself prevents you from stooping low enough to answer a simple question.
Mojarra, thanks for intentionally muddying the waters as to your DCT selling agent status. I suppose it's safe to say your high opinion of yourself prevents you from stooping low enough to answer a simple question.
Back on topic: Bad, it seems unlikely that such small bifas or zonatus would predate on small bocourti. Bocourti - which are known to reach upwards 24" in the wild - can generally fend for themselves far and above rhytisma for instance. However, I've seen 2"+ bifas eat ANYTHING they can kill (including each other) when exceedingly hungry. After about 3 days of starvation or very low levels of food they may start to go nuts. It's been some time since I bought fish from a retailer or hobbyist. I'm not expert on "DOA" or "DAA" losses, nor community tanks full of fry, but 10% DAA isn't necessarily cause for great alarm, especially among 1-2" fish.
DCT water generally ranges between pH 7.2-7.8 on any given day, beings well-water (which feeds vats/tanks/ponds) chemistry fluctuates with rains. The hardness is typically moderate.
Acidosis or alkylosis of any kind probably would have been apparent. CA's don't seem to be sensitive to fairly radical perturbations in water conditions, but the smaller the animal the greater the sensitivity. That "caution" normally applies to fry from about 5mm to 1/4" to 1/2" (rather than 1"+) in rough numbers. I lost 30% bocourti the only time they were shipped out from here with no explanation beings the 25 or so remaining I kept all survived months more. Not proud of that, and it's likely coincidental...shipping fish puts on some serious stress even airport-to-airport. I have watched in horror with my own two eyes one of the loaders in Air Cargo literally DROP boxes 3 feet to the concrete. Despite the "LIVE FISH!" warnings printed clearly on the boxes, apparently not everybody handles them with kid gloves.
There's lots that goes into it. DCT takes every preparation/precaution imaginable, of course including "purging" the fish of feces prior to shipping and other procedures as well. That's partly why DCT informs everyone in writing that some orders may take 3 or more days to completely pack. The one or two full length articles on the web I've seen don't address every step necessary to help fully reduce DOA and DAA.
Hopefully, Bad, there won't be any more losses. Sorry to hear of them. Clean water and readily available food - high in fiber and low in protein - that's what works for me. Every cichlid Don sent you was probably grazing on algae for extended periods. High protein flake/pellets is not good. And having your common pleco scouring up any uneaten flake (or whatever) is beneficial.
DCT water generally ranges between pH 7.2-7.8 on any given day, beings well-water (which feeds vats/tanks/ponds) chemistry fluctuates with rains. The hardness is typically moderate.
Acidosis or alkylosis of any kind probably would have been apparent. CA's don't seem to be sensitive to fairly radical perturbations in water conditions, but the smaller the animal the greater the sensitivity. That "caution" normally applies to fry from about 5mm to 1/4" to 1/2" (rather than 1"+) in rough numbers. I lost 30% bocourti the only time they were shipped out from here with no explanation beings the 25 or so remaining I kept all survived months more. Not proud of that, and it's likely coincidental...shipping fish puts on some serious stress even airport-to-airport. I have watched in horror with my own two eyes one of the loaders in Air Cargo literally DROP boxes 3 feet to the concrete. Despite the "LIVE FISH!" warnings printed clearly on the boxes, apparently not everybody handles them with kid gloves.
There's lots that goes into it. DCT takes every preparation/precaution imaginable, of course including "purging" the fish of feces prior to shipping and other procedures as well. That's partly why DCT informs everyone in writing that some orders may take 3 or more days to completely pack. The one or two full length articles on the web I've seen don't address every step necessary to help fully reduce DOA and DAA.
Hopefully, Bad, there won't be any more losses. Sorry to hear of them. Clean water and readily available food - high in fiber and low in protein - that's what works for me. Every cichlid Don sent you was probably grazing on algae for extended periods. High protein flake/pellets is not good. And having your common pleco scouring up any uneaten flake (or whatever) is beneficial.
BobP;3681539; said:
BobP,
Good question.
To help clarify, on what date and how many gutts did DCT ship you, and at what size(s)? Were there other (similar?) species in the box(es)? Did you have any trouble IDing any of them?
Obviously not trying to "interrogate" anybody, but first, accurate "sourcing" (for lack of a better term) is worth while. Apparently, it helps to be precise when persons untold might take a sliver of information and suddenly run amok.
One reason I ask, is that your first animal looks drastically larger than the second. The first picture is pretty clear, and the second, well, not so. Is that the best pic you have of it? From the looks of things, the second animal looks a wee bit raggedy, as well. Was it stressed? Not sure, but looks like Bluegrass Aquatics may have been (or is?) farming guttulatus. Eddie (I think is the owner's name) was advertising them at one time: http://forum.aquamojo.com/index.php?showtopic=11261
The was another gentleman, in Georgia, if I recall correctly, who had many 3-4" guttulatus for sale. I don't know of the current status.
Under various circumstances hartwegi & guttulatus (and sometimes zonatus) can be tough to distinguish. Occasionally photography/lighting merely complicates things.
If there are serious ID concerns, one suggestion would be: net any given animal you purchase direct from DCT, take an (in-focus) digital close-up in good sunlight, and send it to Don. There shouldn't be (or isn't) any reason whatsoever why he couldn't/wouldn't identify it for you. That seems the simplest and most effective way of handling it. You won't encounter any reluctance on Don's part.
If, at that point, there are still doubts, any doubts whatsoever, or, alternatively, there's "positive ID," then posting pics here for further feedback seems reasonable. BobP, hopefully that makes sense.
For those with upwards of 1500 posts at Monster:
is anything about all that "murky" or "mysterious?"
SEE DICK RUN. SEE JANE RUN.
There. That's four good words unless anybody counts repeats - and four good ones to start with. Working up to five may prove difficult.
BadOscar, stuff above probably belongs in another post...thanks for you patience...almost forgot to clarify...10% DAA is considered quite high (and "unacceptable" to DCT is my present understanding- NOT quoting anybody). 2-3% DAA or better on small sizes would certainly be "hoped for." I recall Don sent you about a dozen "freebies" which may somewhat lessen the sting. Call Don about anything that really troubles you. Based on my experience, his goal is to help you in any way he can. If you call him, and simply state your "dilemma," if there is one, I can almost guarantee that he will help you out in a pinch.
Mojarraman,
The fishes posted were bought from Don about 7 years ago. The ones with the red were about 3" and all looked alike. The blue adult was about 7-8". But to his credit, I believe there is some confusion as to what cichlid was originally described as guttulatus in the nomenclature
Don't get me wrong, I think Don is a great source for cichlids. I have a friend that visits Don often and grabs some fantastic species that he shares with me.
The fishes posted were bought from Don about 7 years ago. The ones with the red were about 3" and all looked alike. The blue adult was about 7-8". But to his credit, I believe there is some confusion as to what cichlid was originally described as guttulatus in the nomenclature
Don't get me wrong, I think Don is a great source for cichlids. I have a friend that visits Don often and grabs some fantastic species that he shares with me.
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