Is ordering fish best option?

[MrFishit]

I live in Fenton MI and im having the worst luck finding a fish store or a local breeder that has healthy discus. I have seen many websites that will ship the fish too you with garenttee they will ARRIVE alive but that wont mean they will have sickness or will die next day..... does anyone know a good company or breeder that is closer to me that is dependible??

[ericatdallas]

check with the sponsors... all have a good or great track record. There are other reputable dealers but the ones here are probably the best.

[Discus PB]

I just ordered my discus (Inland Empire Discus). My honest people will work a deal with you or just replace it if one dies after they get there. To me in the long run if your getting 3 to 5 discus or more your saving money. Sometimes they my be smaller but you save $20 to $30 a discus. The shipping sounds a lot but when you get what you want and have a healthy fish its worth it in the long run.

[chrisb01]

I agree with Eric and Discus PB, go with the sponsors or another member of this forum.

angelfishusa.com is a good one too (sponsors here), I was on the phone with him this morning. It's a family run business, mainly him and his wife.

When they ship overnight with live guarantee you have nothing to worry about, they are as close as your phone and/or computer. IMO, that's the way to go.

Besides, if they are a sponsor or another member here, they know if they don't send you quality fish, they'll be burnt all over this forum, and they don't want that. They want you to do what Discus PB just did with Inland Empire Discus, pass the word.

One last thing (I talk too dang much): The excitement of getting them in the mail and opening the box, can't be beat. Heck I get excited getting food from Kens.

[Corona]

I'll throw in my 2 cents. Discus are relatively expensive compared to other tropical fish in the first place. After buying from various sources, e.g., store, local sellers on craigslist, a sponsor on this forum; the best quality and price-wise hands-down was from a sponsor here (Kenny). IMHO, Kenny's discus from Forrest generally will beat any tropical fish store (even if they specialize in discus) or local seller in a side-by-side comparison of quality and beauty, and his prices are very fair to boot. Kenny is known for some of the best packaging of live discus out there. I feel I saved more money in the long run and have the best quality due to the sponsors here. I've gone through a bunch of discus and I admit it gets addicting at first; but, the addiction has finally been tempered after my last set of discus from Kenny; two of them paired off pretty quickly and became territorial against the other discus so I had to give them their own tank. They are my most beautiful discus I had yet.

[lgomezvi]

At least Mr.Fishit seems to have enough self-control over his Discus Fever to ask for advice on this topic.

Unlike me, I just rushed into ordering discus from other online sources that were not SD sponsors.

All I can say is please do a search on here to know what online sources you should AVOID. It's just as important as knowing which to use. Save yourself plenty of trouble.

Luckily, I didn't order too many fish before realizing my mistake and turning back towards the light (the SD sponsors). The SD sponsors are very trustworthy and have awesome discus for better prices.

[chrisb01]

Unlike me,...

I did worst, I bought four at an auction.
And, luckily too. I didn't pay a big price, and they are still doing great.

[frinklinduds]

i hear only good things about hans, i would go with him personally..... his selection on youtube is incredible aswell

[Jhhnn]

I've purchased groups of discus 3 times from Kenny Cheung, and couldn't be happier. They thrive. I can't imagine anybody doing it better than Kenny.

[ericatdallas]

So far, I personally (not just via online) know and have seen Discus from Mike Beals, Kenny, and Hans. All have had great experience AND the fish look awesome.

The only sponsor I've bought Discus from is Mike though. I've bought Plecos from sponsors of other forums I visit.

My order of preference for Discus are the sponsors here, local breeders, and then -regular- SD members. If they have an account here, but in the last 6 years have maybe 20 forum posts and half of them are trying to sell their Discus, I would probably be hesitant.

[fishcrazed]

just my 2 cent but if you buy a discus from a sponsor here you get stuff that they themself would keep if they had room. in fish stores you get the runts and from local breeder you can get quality but chances are theyll probably give you the less than perfect and auctions all their best ones online.

they sponsors here keep discus knows what quality is and if they wouldnt keep it themself they wont sell it. not to mention they have AMAZING customer support. i personally have bought discus from kenny and i would recomend him to EVERYONE who is even slightly interested in discus. his quality, customer support and prices simply cant be beat. he even helps you after the deal has been done. you never have to worry about bothering him if you have a follow up question or anything. im sure all sponsers here are like that but i can only speak about kenny from experience.

i have bought locally from fish stores and breeder and when its all said and done you pay pretty much the same online (including the shipping) as you would locally and yet you get better quality

[Corona]

I'll throw in another 2 cent of mine, Kenny's bagging and packing of fish left me amazed. I've been lucky enough to visit Kenny twice at his place. Kenny uses multiple plastic bags, with newspaper sandwiched in between the separate bags, which probably act like blinders so the fish stay calm and don't get spooked during transport. The last time I was there, he even had an industrial type crimper to attach metal crimps to seal the bags. He told me I could just cut the bags at the top to float the fish with the bag in water and slowly add my own tank water into the bag over a period of time to acclimate the new fish to the ph from the tank they will be going in to. With Kenny's bagging system, the bags with the fish and water doesn't collapse or flip over like what you would expect when you buy fish from anywhere else. Also, Kenny always fills the bags with oxygen, not air from an air pump like some seller's do. There's even other members' threads with pictures in Kenny's forum section where Kenny sent discus packed with heat packs to areas with freezing conditions and they all arrived in warm temperatures and alive.

[PAR23]

I live in Fenton MI and im having the worst luck finding a fish store or a local breeder that has healthy discus. I have seen many websites that will ship the fish too you with garenttee they will ARRIVE alive but that wont mean they will have sickness or will die next day..... does anyone know a good company or breeder that is closer to me that is dependible??

One of the members here Rick (nc0gnet0) is in MI and he has frys from time to time. It might be worth while to get in touch with him. Good Luck.

[Skip]

Op.. Back to ur question..

They will all guarntee live arrival.. But, u need to have aproper tank ready to go.. U need a properly cycled tank.. If u habe existing tank with fish in it.. U need to qt them in seperate tank for several weeks..

so water quality is all on u.. If u have crappy tank setup.. It dont matter where u get fish they can all die by nect day.. That is not theirbfault it would be urs

[JCFans]

Does anyone ship to Toronto, Canada?

[ExReefer]

I've purchased fish from multiple SD vendors. At the time of purchase, I was happy with the quality, but looking back on it now, I don't think I always received their nicest fish. I've raised my standards over the course of this hobby and I've become really picky.

In my ideal world, I would prefer to hand pick discus from SD vendors or purchase locally from other experienced SD members.

[seanyuki]

Try Evelyn Turner and also a sponsor here......got great discus too.

her link.

http://www.ottawadiscushouse.com/



Does anyone ship to Toronto, Canada?

[April]

Try Canadian aqua farm for Canada also. He's getting a big shipment in from Forrest very soon. He's also a sponsor here. He also breeds.
He can ship anywhere in Canada. Same fish as Kenny gets but for the Canadians.
All good advice. Stick with sponsors as they have to have high standards or they are off the forum as sponsors. They will back up their product and shipping


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=49.275071,-122.835620

[noved]

Does anyone ship to Toronto, Canada?

Before you do anything, check out Cam's Aquatic Services in Mississauga (just down the road from Big Als). He has the best discus I've ever seen in the Toronto area and the prices are unbeatable. I know he currently has a nice batch of red melons that I saw on kijiji. toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-other-Super-Red-Melon-Discus-Cams-W0QQAdIdZ327419864

I bought 8 from him about a year ago but had to sell them. When I am ready to stock my next tank I'll be buying from him again.

[Keith Perkins]

I live in Fenton MI and im having the worst luck finding a fish store or a local breeder that has healthy discus. I have seen many websites that will ship the fish too you with garenttee they will ARRIVE alive but that wont mean they will have sickness or will die next day..... does anyone know a good company or breeder that is closer to me that is dependible??

Mike Beals is just north of Columbus, it might be worth the 3 1/2 hour drive to you. You'd probably be able to glean a lot of knowledge with a face to face visit when you picked up fish. I've only ever mail ordered one fish, but it is the nicest one I have too...and it was definitely from a sponsor.

[afriend]

Just received three beautiful fish from Kenny's Discus. 5.5 inch Classic Leopard, 5.5 inch Hi Body Red Spotted Green, and 4.5 inch Albino Red Spotted Green. All are now in my quarantine tank and adapting well. I have purchased discus from other sources over the last several years, and I can tell you that the service and quality product that Kenny provides is by far the best, hands down. The fish are absolutely beautiful, healthy, and active. They have exceeded my expectations in every way. But the best part of dealing with Kenny's Discus is the service. He takes the utmost care in preparing the fish for shipment, and believe me he knows how to do it. And this results in fish that are in far better condition when they arrive, and much less likely to have problems acclimating to their new enviroment. The fish settle down quickly and begin eating on the first day. They are even quite colorful when they first come out of the bag, which is very unusual for discus after going thru shipping. After three days, their colors are absolutely spectacular! Kenny really knows how to prepare them for shipping such that the fish are stressed the minimum amount possible.

Kenny not only knows discus, but he does everything he can to make sure that the customer is properly taken care of, from getting just the fish you want to helping you care for it properly. He's not just pushing fish out the door, but instead he takes the time to answer all your questions. Frankly, I will tell it to you straight: Kenny is my first and only choice for discus.

As winter approaches it is expecially important to buy from someone who knows how to prepare them from harsh cold temperatures. Kenny takes about an hour on each shipment to prepare them properly. I have had other sources send me discus in the winter time, and they almost died. It's a whole different story with Kenny. He's listed in the sponsor section of this forum. You will not be disappointed.