Red Alert from the DMV

[jjohnwm]

"George? George! George!!!"

"What? Why are we whispering? What's the matter?"

"She's still here."

"Whaddaya mean? Who's still here?"

"That lady with the buckets of HRP's and convicts. She's still here."

"Huh? She is? Why? What's she doing?"

"I'm not sure. For awhile she was dancing around with her hands in the air, reciting some weird poetry...but now she's making...suggestions..."

"You're a happily married man, Carl..."

"No, no, nothing like that; you think I'd tell you if it was? No, she's making suggestions about how to keep those fish."

"Well, I'm gonna keep my share in the freezer, right next to last year's deer. My Jelly Cat will eat them just fine after they're thawed out. So will your oscars and piranhas. Or does she mean we should keep them...alive, like, in a fish tank? Why would we do that? Feeding them alive would be...barbaric..."

"I know, right? But I think she means actually keeping them alive in their own tank...you know...permanently!"

"What??? Wait...oh, I get it now. Good one, Carl. You had me going there for a minute. Yeah, right...that would be like raising mosquitoes as a hobby! Fat chance..."

"George, I'm serious. She thinks other people will come in to buy some of them, you know, to take home for their own tanks."

"Well...did you tell her that the only people who come in interested in HRP's and convicts...are looking to get rid of some?"

"Well, yeah, I sort of tried to break it to her...but she just started waving her hands in the air and yelling 'Party time!' I'll be honest here, George...I'm getting a little scared of her right now!"

"Yeah, I get that; I sure as hell know I'm not going out front right now. What are we gonna do? Should we call the cops?"

"Well, that might be an overreaction. I was thinking...maybe I could sneak out the back way, go around front, open the front door and just stand there holding it open. Then you could turn out the lights in the store, and with any luck she'll just naturally head for the light like a confused bird and escape..."

"Yeah...okay...that sounds like a plan. Just watch yourself when she bursts outside; try not to make eye contact. When she's out, you run back in and we'll lock the door and just stay here inside with the lights out until she loses interest and leaves. You ready?"

"I was born ready. Let's do this thing! But...I'm still a little scared..."

"Yeah, me too, Carl. Me, too..."

 

[FINWIN]

Mmm hmm.

 

[jjohnwm]

Lol, back in the day I also spent some time working in pet stores. Do you know how quickly the local market can be saturated with any given species of fish? And especially a species as prolific as these critters are? I'll give you a hint: you've probably already exceeded that point. But, as feeders...cichlids are thiaminase-free and very healthy, far better than goldfish or rosy reds.

You've slapped a bandaid on this particular booboo, but that's all this was, i.e. a very temporary solution to a very permanent problem. Those horny little guys are not going to slow down, and in a few short months you will be back at the LFS, sheepishly standing at the front door with a bucket in each hand, wondering why the lights went out as soon as your car was put into Park out front.

You won't have to worry about the new addition becoming yet another fish that you will need to re-home. That thing will become a valued and permanent employee, with a job that never ends...and, of course, it will be the coolest fish in your house...

 

[FINWIN]

Lol, back in the day I also spent some time working in pet stores. Do you know how quickly the local market can be saturated with any given species of fish? And especially a species as prolific as these critters are? I'll give you a hint: you've probably already exceeded that point. But, as feeders...cichlids are thiaminase-free and very healthy, far better than goldfish or rosy reds.

You've slapped a bandaid on this particular booboo, but that's all this was, i.e. a very temporary solution to a very permanent problem. Those horny little guys are not going to slow down, and in a few short months you will be back at the LFS, sheepishly standing at the front door with a bucket in each hand, wondering why the lights went out as soon as your car was put into Park out front.

You won't have to worry about the new addition becoming yet another fish that you will need to re-home. That thing will become a valued and permanent employee, with a job that never ends...and, of course, it will be the coolest fish in your house...

My final word, bub.

 

[jjohnwm]

Oscars are wusses.

 

[FINWIN]

Oscars are wusses.

Heh. Brick's good for three fingers. Four on a good day.

 

[FINWIN]

Slight twist in plans. Due to the upcoming monsoon weather the hrps will be delivered to Petco another day. Lookin' like a wipeout starting tomight straight thru Sunday...



Every man for himself!!!!

 

[jjohnwm]

So...what's the deal here? How did it go? Did you move The Horde to their new digs? Were the sales staff at the store as happy to see them as you expected?

...or did the store go dark as you approached?

Have there been another couple generations of new mouths to feed due to the delay? How are things on the home front?

I'm not very savvy on how to find and post cute pics off the internet, but this is the one that always leaps to mind when I read about your cichlid tanks



"...close that door!"

Or, maybe better: "...unplug that filter!"

 

[phreeflow]

Not sure where John lives that they are overwhelmed with Honduran Red Points but there are zero in about a dozen LFS here in SoCal. It’s been 5 years or longer since any were spotted. I’d think it’s the same in the DMV but guess not.

Have you tried selling them online on Aquabid or EBay? I’d imagine plenty of hobbyists would want some

 

[dmyersWv]

I have tried using HRPs as feeders. It didn't work as they breed faster than my oscars, jags, And various catfish can eat them. Not to mention if 2 are left over in the tank they bully the much larger fish and then breed there. They are the only fish I have ever seen that your odds of getting a pair is around 99.99 percent when buying 2. But I still have 1 in a grow out tank with Red Terrors larger then it to keep the piece. It doesn't allow any fighting without being involved and the don't want any of that.