The first two pictures are supposed to be males, but I don't really think they are. They are both around 3". The third fish I am wondering if it has some sort of fungal thing going on. It has some cottony/fluffy looking stuff hanging off of it.
What should I do with poor quality of fish ordered.
- Thread starter stark6935
- Start date
I googled the quote: "If for whatever reason we do not have the specific fish you ordered" and found a seller with initials QF. Most of those fish are obviously female, one or two might leave room for doubt, but don't show male yet. I'd be ticked if I spent $270, if your whole order looked like your photos :
1. If you ordered and were expecting males, anyone who knows what they're doing can easily see some or most are female. It's possible someone could be unsure of one or two, thinking they might be slow developing males, but I'd interpret them as female until they show different. With good conditions and quality food, at 2-3 inches you can usually identify at least some of the males ime, it can vary with species but some should at least be showing early male traits; often, at least a few are already showing decent color at 3 inches, not necessarily full adult color but they're obvious males. Remove those dominant few and others normally step up. There's no excuse at all with the mloto female if it was supposed to be male, it's unambiguously female to someone who knows what they're doing.
2. No way should you receive bloated fish. It implies they're overfeeding (how likely is that?), feeding low quality food, or simply not fussy about which fish they ship if most of their fish don't look that way-- I mean, what are they doing, shipping the least healthy fish because they're eaiser to catch? A common practice is not to feed for at least 24 hours, if not longer, before shipping. You want them to evacuate waste before shipping to minimize fouling their shipping bags.
I'd communicate with them, in my opinion their reputation is involved and I'd give them a chance to make it right. I'd present them with the thought that you don't know who packed the order but maybe it was someone without much experience, so you're giving them a chance to do better before you decide to never order from them again and warn off anyone you know. I assume whatever arrival guarantee they gave you has passed so you can't force them to do anything, but it's worth a shot imo if it's what you want to do.
My opinion...
1. If you ordered and were expecting males, anyone who knows what they're doing can easily see some or most are female. It's possible someone could be unsure of one or two, thinking they might be slow developing males, but I'd interpret them as female until they show different. With good conditions and quality food, at 2-3 inches you can usually identify at least some of the males ime, it can vary with species but some should at least be showing early male traits; often, at least a few are already showing decent color at 3 inches, not necessarily full adult color but they're obvious males. Remove those dominant few and others normally step up. There's no excuse at all with the mloto female if it was supposed to be male, it's unambiguously female to someone who knows what they're doing.
2. No way should you receive bloated fish. It implies they're overfeeding (how likely is that?), feeding low quality food, or simply not fussy about which fish they ship if most of their fish don't look that way-- I mean, what are they doing, shipping the least healthy fish because they're eaiser to catch? A common practice is not to feed for at least 24 hours, if not longer, before shipping. You want them to evacuate waste before shipping to minimize fouling their shipping bags.
I'd communicate with them, in my opinion their reputation is involved and I'd give them a chance to make it right. I'd present them with the thought that you don't know who packed the order but maybe it was someone without much experience, so you're giving them a chance to do better before you decide to never order from them again and warn off anyone you know. I assume whatever arrival guarantee they gave you has passed so you can't force them to do anything, but it's worth a shot imo if it's what you want to do.
My opinion...
The bottom fish just looks like some minor scale damage, possibly due to getting scuffed a bit whiile netting out of a tank. I'd expect it to clear up in good conditions if the fish is reasonably healthy. For minor scuffs, fin damage, etc. I simply keep the water clean, maybe add a little bit of salt (NACL, aquarium salt, canning salt, etc., doesn't take much, couple of tablespoons per 50 gals, for example) and/or a little Melafix (again, doesn't take much, I typically dose 1/4-1/3 what the bottle recommends, minor issues don't need any more than that and the low dose minimizes the temporary fast breathing Melafix can cause).
If it was me I'd feed these guys lightly at first, add a bit of Epsom salt, let them settle in, not tax their digestive system and let them clean out a bit. Generally speaking it's aquarium salt (NACL) for external issues, Epsom salt for internal issues.
If it was me I'd feed these guys lightly at first, add a bit of Epsom salt, let them settle in, not tax their digestive system and let them clean out a bit. Generally speaking it's aquarium salt (NACL) for external issues, Epsom salt for internal issues.
I was thinking the same thing. Maybe someone who has no idea what they were doing or is new did the fish picking. I will contact my credit card company and dispute it if there isn't a resolution. I'm not sure if I would have grounds for it, but I don't feel I got what I ordered or was promised.
QuinnsFins said he would call me back yesterday but didn't. Couple that with the fact he hasn't responded to a single email to me I had to contact my bank and dispute the credit charge. I would say I received about half of what I ordered looking respectable. The thing that makes it so bad is I ordered 4 likoma island mloto cichlids. Which I see they now removed this cichlid from their website entirely. I guess he realized they don't have this fish. They were supposed to be 1.3 but now I just have 4 random females in there and I have to source a male if I can. I would be happy with half of my money back at this point. QuinnsFins was the retailer. I feel obligated to tell people that. They have handled this incredibly poorly.
I'd have hoped for better, but not surprising considering what they sent you. I used to have them and C. mloto are among my favorite haps. These guys appear to have them, haven't dealt with them personally or checked recent reviews but I used to see positive reviews for them.
Pretty sure there is some sort of fungus on some of these fish. The one I thought had fungus died, and there is another one with the same sort of white stuff on it that is really lethargic looking, and acts not disinterested in food. Anyone have any advice on treatment? I just saw another one with a white looking spot on its lower jaw. Like a poofy looking white spot
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Yes, I'm seeing it now in those photos. My process starts with clean water, salt and melafix as I described earlier (I've also used Pimafix in some cases), then meth blue if it's more stubborn. I've used other stronger fungus treatments in the past, but it's been a long time since I've needed them, so others might be more help if you need something stronger.
I need to update that quinnsfins did the right thing and refunded me the full amount.
