That Fish Place- has anyone ordered from them?
- Thread starter Blue Bear
- Start date
Don't forget to mention that their cichlids are tiny. Barely beyond fry stage and they charge as much as Rapps does for solid juveniles. Really feel like they have a weak fish selection.
I have been to TFP quite a few times over the years. I was never impressed with their fish selection. They did have a nice plant section, and their dry goods prices were great. The last time I was there, the place really went downhill. I'm probably a bit spoiled by having had access to some of the best stores in NJ. In additon, I go to many tropical fish club auctions in NJ, PA, NY, CONN, etx. My own club, NJAS, always has the best variety of fish in their spring and fall auctions in addition to the mini auctions at the monthly meetings. Here is a partial list of the fish and plants that will be available in this Sunday's NJAS fall auction: http://www.njas.net/auction_items.html
There are usually somewhere between 500 - 700 bags in the auction. Something for everybody.
There are usually somewhere between 500 - 700 bags in the auction. Something for everybody.
Auction is the best way to find hard to find fish that are rarely or never sold in LFSs. Price wise, auctions can be better or worse than LFSs depending on the supply and demand, and the level of competiton. But it is only fair to compare LFS to LFS or auction to auction, not to each other. I have visited LFSs regularly from Jersey, Philly to Maryland, and still rate TFP the largest in term of selection and total gallons. The one store that used to beat TFP in gal was Aquarium Center in Randalsstown, MD but it was closed 6-7 years ago. The next big LFS is House of Tropical in Baltimore, which is one caliber smaller and couple calibers more expensive than TFP.
For the poster about T. Mac, they are not easy to keep and highly susceptible to bloat and bacterial infections. My previous experience with them had been failure, one died after the other raising from juvies to young adults. I have never had T. aureus before and won't be able to tell aureus from T. Mac unless I can see them side by side.
For the poster about T. Mac, they are not easy to keep and highly susceptible to bloat and bacterial infections. My previous experience with them had been failure, one died after the other raising from juvies to young adults. I have never had T. aureus before and won't be able to tell aureus from T. Mac unless I can see them side by side.
Thanks, everyone. I usually buy from Jeff Rapps aside from my random LFS pickups. I stopped at TFP on the way back to FL from NY It was a nice place. I as well was kind of disappointed of their selection from what I read online on the way there.
I will probably wait until I can find a better source. I figured I'd ask, because you never know.
I will probably wait until I can find a better source. I figured I'd ask, because you never know.
On the t. Mac/aureus-red flash usually means t. Mac. As I mentioned, there is no red varriation.
T. Mac and aureus look similar, but the patterns are completely different. But it's hard to tell when they are so small. I included a pic of t. Mac from Rapps which looks very similar to my fish in the previous post.
I bought this thing as t. Ellioti, which I am convinced it is a hybrid. I couldn't find any variation of t. Mac to look even similar to this fish. It was big too. TL measured out of water was 8". Not even the largest thorichthys species gets that big.
I had T. Mac/Elioti before, so I know how they look. Never seen T. aureus except in internet pics, which is not the same in real. The second pic is a large male Meeki, and I don't see any hybrid in it. Aquarium strain Meeki has fewer sparklings and more red than Elioti, but species Meeki varies in color, size and body shape with locality.
That's kind of what I thought, but it had yellow fins and measured 8" TL out of water. I have meeki from there, and they look much different. In any case it was sold as t. Ellioti.
I do get that TFP has slumped a bit recently, but Ive always felt they had the integrity to get the fish they are selling right. Some of my healthiest and best fish specimens have come from them and I have never known them to misrepresent a fish in an attempt to sell it for more or as a rarity. Id still trust that they know enough to send you the fish they are advertising. Also, I have personally seen the Black Nasties they have and they are real but they are definitely small.
