somethingsphishy feedback

[Bainbridge Mike]

I deleted a few posts above that were wandering a bit too much. Lets please try to keep discussion in this section limited to first hand experiences with the product or breeder at issue.

Thanks,
Mike

[poconogal]

That is because he corresponds by email only ~ he told me because: " I have to cut cost somewhere Marie "......O...kay...then...

That was a red flag for me.

I have a dear friend that was sent crap and they died ~ he would not replace them and only refunded a small portion of her money ~

I simply can not believe he is still in business ~

Where is Connie? I know she dealt with this fool too!

Here I am Marie! I posted before you - I was one of the lucky ones in my dealings with somethingsphishy!

[aquaworks]

Hi,I Purchased Mixed Discus from SomethingsPhishy,they were Mixed Discus, so I wasn't Expecting Perfection.When they got here I noticed a few were Stunted,and about three weren't,the three that weren't stunted belonged to the same Strain,they looked like White Pigeon Bloods.After I Acclimated them to my Aquarium,Two of the Three that weren't Stunted Started to Rock back and forth and eventually Died.I've never had Fish do that before.Well after Eighty Percent Daily Water Changes, and a variety of Food. The Fish started to Pack on some Muscle,and after Feeding Plankton the Fish Started to Fill out.All of those fish are still alive after a year and a Half.I ordered a 2.5 inch Show Quality Aqua Green Scribble from him about Eight Months ago,and when it arrived it looked like a Decent Fish,but I didn't think it was Show quality, It has Grown into what I would call a show quality fish.How he knew it was going to be a show quality Fish at Two Inches I have no idea.I think I have figured out why the Fish are Dying at Arrival,he say's he ships them in Pure Reverse Osmosis Water,in all the Book's it says that nothing can live in Pure Reverse Osmosis Water.When they arrive, most People are using Conditioned Tap Water,what a shock for the fish.I think that if you Order your Fish through him you should be using Soft,slightly Acidic water.If you order Mixed Discus from them,some of the Discus are most likely going to be stunted.The person that runs the Place is hard to get ahold of and acts like he really doesn't want to talk.I hope this helps.It really is the best bet to get Quality fish from the beginning.I've heard alot of people suggesting International Discus,and KC Discus.

[thebeaunes]

I ordered from Somethings Phishy about 6 months ago. I received my 6 2" mixed discus on time, but 1 was DOA and 2 more died within 1 hour of being acclimated to the quarantine tank. Since then the other 3 are still alive but one is stunted. It has not grown at all since I got it. Still only 2"....the other two seem to be doing fine, I have not had any problem with them being ill, although when I de-wormed them they had ALOT of worms. They seem to be a bit small but have started to fill out and grow, they are about 4" now. They have nice color, but their shape is not quite right...they seem a bit long with straight foreheads...quite different from my other discus. All in all the experience with Somethings Phishy was not a good one, even though I did receive a refund for the DOA, I would not recommend ordering from them.

Also, they were not shipped with rubber bands. The bags were sealed with plastic ties and much of the water had leaked out before they got to my house. I had never had that happen before and every fish I have ordered in the past was always sealed with rubber bands.

[White Worm]

I saw the discus that Colette received from them and she also decided to never mix those when any of her nice discus that she received from quality sources. They never grew and then they died so she didnt have to worry about it after that. After I saw how she grew the others, I know it was bad fish from phishy.

[TRAKURT]

[Apistomaster]

I bought my Heckels from Keith, my breeding Sturisoma stock and altogether nearly $3000 in fancy plecos and wild discus.
I also bought these discus as youngsters from Keith. One could argue whether it is show quality but it has been the favorite of all my discus by those who have seen what I have.

I think you should have experience handling trans-shipped fish or as a beginner, you may get in over your head and should stick with sponsors. I have a great deal of experience with handling trans-shipped fish because that is how I bought when I had a store. I bought in box lots, fish were often half dead but I saved most so my mark up could be quite high yet remain competitive.
I did have a separate large holding facility to condition and treat my trans-shipped fish.

So my advice is to be prepared if you order from trans-shippers. It is an entirely different business than discus breeding or discus specialists.

[discus bob]

Already not looking good. He was supposed to give me tracking info. today, but I cant seem to reach him. Hopefully he shipped them out, tomorrow is the only day I have arranged to be here for delivery.

I guess if they dont show I can cancel and hopefully find a local breeder, or try one of the sponsers here....

What happened? I was following this, then..... Did the fish arrive?

[Max Power]

I ordered from Keith, and then prompty did some internet research right AFTER ordering, unfortunately. Many negative comments, almost no positive ones except on his own website(duh), a policy page that references profanity from customers and CC chargebacks (a serious red flag if there ever was one), so I got cold feet and cancelled the order an hour later. After an hour he had already run the card even though I was scheduling delivery for three weeks from now (most reputable businesses run the card when they ship), and got nailed with a 20% restocking fee.

I consider it a fine for stupidity on my part, but damn, the picture of the Fire Dragon on his site is a beautiful fish. Lesson learned. I am new to this community, but have raised many Discus in the past. In the future I will be using sponsors of this site for stock.

[Apistomaster]

Wow Apistomaster,Thats a beautiful Fish.What Strain is that?I think I would call that a Show Quality Fish.Do you know of any good Quality Discus Wholesalers in Florida or the United States?

That is a "fire dragon". Pretty but not like what is shown on the website.
I have not been able to find a source of nice wilds for almost two years.
Everyone tells me they are going to Japan at 4X the price we will pay for them.

[happygirl65]

I wish I had seen this area of the site before I ordered from them. They are my first discus experience and I wish I could say it was better.
They communicated well though so far and promised to give me a refund for the 2 DOA so hopefully they will. It has only been a day and the 4 that survived are struggling but I suspect it has more to do with a 2 day ordeal in shipping than bad health or anything like that.

Time will tell I guess but in the future I will stick to sponsors here especially because I am a newbie to discus (and to having fish shipped to me)

[happygirl65]

I wish I had seen this area of the site before I ordered from them. They are my first discus experience and I wish I could say it was better.
They communicated well though so far and promised to give me a refund for the 2 DOA so hopefully they will. It has only been a day and the 4 that survived are struggling but I suspect it has more to do with a 2 day ordeal in shipping than bad health or anything like that.

Time will tell I guess but in the future I will stick to sponsors here especially because I am a newbie to discus (and to having fish shipped to me)

Well, It has been almost a week two of the 6 are ok. One is very sick. Three have died so far. They gave me a refund for the two that were DOA. I would not suggest a newbie order from them...although for all I know they sent me some that werent great because they knew I was a newbie and thought I might not know better? I am speculating on that but they didn't seem in the best of health...but then 2 days in shipping who knows what could have happened. I felt they mislead me about the long shipping stating that the fish would be fine for two days or even longer. They were not fine, not healthy. Whether they started out that way or the shipping did it, I can't say.

My suggestion for anyone reading this is not to buy from them. Stick to sponsors here or people that have overwhelming positive reviews here and other places. I think if you can visit their facility and pick your fish it might be ok...but you better have an isolated QT.

[jgentry]

Hi,
I am new to the forums and found this thread only a couple of days after I had ordered from somethingsphishy.com. That made me extremely neverious and I pretty much expected half or all my fish to show up dead. I ordered 3 assorted 2 in discus and a gold nugget pleco and an albino brushynosed pleco. All arrived alive and well packed. I got the fish on Saturday, today is Wed and all seem to be eating well and active. One is a blue diamond, one is some sort of firey red/orange color and one is more plain with a blueish red color and strong vertical bars (this ones not showing much color yet). The blue diamond arrived a little beat up and a little thin, he didn't eat for the first 2 days but is now swimming arround the tank and attacking food. The other 2 ate within 24 hours and were fat and healthy. Keith the owner answered my questions quickly and seemed like a good enough guy. I think if you fallow the instructions he emails you when they ship and there website policies you will not have any trouble with refunds or keeping your fish alive. The only thing wrong with my fish is one of the discus has showed a spot or 2 that is most likely a pariste, so your definately need to quarenteen the fish like he says to. I'm hoping some good care and my addition on a U.V. sterilizer will take care of it. These are my first discus after being a long time saltwater and aggressive cichlid hobbiest so I hope all continues to go well.

[aquagal]

Hi,
I am new to the forums and found this thread only a couple of days after I had ordered from somethingsphishy.com. That made me extremely neverious and I pretty much expected half or all my fish to show up dead. I ordered 3 assorted 2 in discus and a gold nugget pleco and an albino brushynosed pleco. All arrived alive and well packed. I got the fish on Saturday, today is Wed and all seem to be eating well and active. One is a blue diamond, one is some sort of firey red/orange color and one is more plain with a blueish red color and strong vertical bars (this ones not showing much color yet). The blue diamond arrived a little beat up and a little thin, he didn't eat for the first 2 days but is now swimming arround the tank and attacking food. The other 2 ate within 24 hours and were fat and healthy. Keith the owner answered my questions quickly and seemed like a good enough guy. I think if you fallow the instructions he emails you when they ship and there website policies you will not have any trouble with refunds or keeping your fish alive. The only thing wrong with my fish is one of the discus has showed a spot or 2 that is most likely a pariste, so your definately need to quarenteen the fish like he says to. I'm hoping some good care and my addition on a U.V. sterilizer will take care of it. These are my first discus after being a long time saltwater and aggressive cichlid hobbiest so I hope all continues to go well.

Your experience sounds better than some I have heard. As a contrast, I ordered 6 juvenilles from Cary with GLD (a sponsor of this site) and all six arrived fat and healthly, no signs of disease and ate like pigs from the first day they arrived. I've had them now for 3 months and I could not be happier. Buyer BEWARE!

[jgentry]

I'm satified with what I got from them, but I think this many bad experiences definately says something. Buy the time I paid shipping I probably would have been just as well of to buy them locally.