Suggestions on where to purchase

[RBM328]

It will be a few months before I order, but I was planning to purchase my fish from Whattley, who is in south Florida. I am in east central Alabama. I had a pet/fish store in the early 90's and knew of Whattley back then. Between being familiar with him and being in close proximity, I figured it would be a good choice since it would be from Miami to Birmingham airport. I checked into Kennys discus, but he's out of Cal.

My plan is to purchase some rams, tetras and bottom feeders first, then when the tank (75) is cycled, I'd get 6 discus.

Thoughts and suggestions? Especially ya'll that have had fish for decades, I would certainly like your input.

Thanks much!
Rich

[danotaylor]

All of our SD sponsors have been vetted by Al, our site owner, have great reviews, and the ship all over the US...you will do well with any one of them...they're "tried and true"!

I personally have had great experience with Dennis's Discus Fish. He sent lots of pics and videos, separated the ones I chose and sent more just to be sure.

I forgot to mention that if you order >$499 at one time you get free next day shipping with Dennis, so all your hard earned cash is spent on beautiful discus

[Vinni Smith]

Personally, I really like Gabe at Wattley. He always picks up the phone, and always gives me all the time in the world.
Answers all my questions. Just sweetheart of a guy.
I order Metro from him and also discus food.
His youtube videos are all very good.
I have not purchased any fish from him yet.
Maybe for the shop thank? Who knows.

I have to say though, my favorite fish come from Miranda at Chicago Discus.
We have stock from 5 different dealers (I know, not supposed to do that).
The fish from Miranda are my favorites.
I have not tried any of Kenny's fish.

Just my 2 cents

[Iminit]

Lots of good sellers here. I’ve bought from Hans discus though I don’t believe he’s a sponsor. Bought 6 last year and 8 more this year. I’m happy . Also have some local bought discus and a pair from Uncle Sams. All good!! All of the sellers will get your fish to you overnight. Shipping is usually around the same for all. Hans is in Maryland.
Now as to Rams a member here Coralbandit has what I will say the best Rams. Got 6 from him earlier in the year and they are the best looking Rams I’ve ever owned.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Rich and welcome to the forum. I too would recommend you check out the SimplyDiscus sponsors. You can't go wrong with them. Regarding Wattley and Uncle Sams, I would suggest taking a pass on both. There is a SimplyDiscus FB group and some of the fish I have seen recently come from Wattley in the group have been bad. Uncle Sams use to be decent but the fish have gone downhill and the customer service is nonexistent.
Pat

[peewee1]

Miranda is having a buy 5 get the sixth one free sale.

[14Discus]

Kenny’s is the way to go......CA.......makes no difference.

[Willie]

The cost of shipping is inconsequential compared to your total cost of ownership for quality discus. The difference in freight is no more than $30 - $40, but high quality discus is forever. If shipping is that important, ask to have the discus shipped airport-to-airport, which is cheapest and quickest. Depending on flights, I've received fish in 6 hours from either coast.

As for high quality discus, I strongly recommend that you buy from Simply Discus sponsors. I get no financial benefit from pushing these guys, but do so because it's always been the best experience. Discus importers do the bulk of their business distributing to shops, or other distributors. Selling to individual hobbyists is a royal PITA.

SD sponsors are selling to the most discerning of discus buyers. If the fish doesn't meet expectations, someone is going to comment on it. Sometimes the customer loves their discus, post pictures and get slammed for poor quality. So even if the customer is happy, SD sponsored sellers have to please everyone on the website. They are constantly under scrutiny for quality, service and pricing. To keep this business going, they have to make sure you're more than satisfied. They don't use someone else's brand. They rely on their own reputation for service and quality.

[RBM328]

willie- i wasn't looking at the cost of shipping, but the time frame from when they were packaged, till they were in my tank

[Willie]

willie- i wasn't looking at the cost of shipping, but the time frame from when they were packaged, till they were in my tank

The best mode is airport-to-airport. The seller packs up the fish, brings it to the airport, they put it on the plane, you pick it up at the air cargo office when the plane arrives. I've used this approach often because I live within 10 minutes of the airport. It's also the cheapest transportation mode. Good luck, Willie

[captainandy]

Hi Rich and welcome to the forum. I too would recommend you check out the SimplyDiscus sponsors. You can't go wrong with them. Regarding Wattley and Uncle Sams, I would suggest taking a pass on both. There is a SimplyDiscus FB group and some of the fish I have seen recently come from Wattley in the group have been bad. Uncle Sams use to be decent but the fish have gone downhill and the customer service is nonexistent.
Pat

I am interested in specific examples of why you think these sellers are “bad”

[RBM328]

Has Discus.com and Kennys Discus ever resolved their problems (stealing kennys photos)?

Rich

[Second Hand Pat]

I am interested in specific examples of why you think these sellers are “bad”

captainandy, I would suggest if you are on FB please become a member of the FB SimplyDiscus group. Brian (jeep) and I run the group. Recently there has been posts from group members about receiving sick, dead and poorly packaged fish from Wattley. One member went to Gabe's facility and there were dead fish in some of the tanks. Go see for yourself.

Brian recently bought some fish from Uncle Sam's and here is his live stock review http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...fROf_efSEAPWTs. A couple years ago Uncle Sam's changed ownership and has slowly slipped on both fish quality and customer service.

As an admin on the forum I do recommend SimplyDiscus sponsors as a first look for existing and new members. However if I have seen numerous posts on FB concerning the same discus vendor (either positive or negative) I will recommend or suggest a member take a second look. It is a member's responsibility to do their own research IMO.
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

Has Discus.com and Kennys Discus ever resolved their problems (stealing kennys photos)?

Rich

Not as far as I know.
Pat

[peewee1]

Not as far as I know.
Pat

What is known, Pat, that there is a federal copyright law that addresses the unauthorized use of a someone's photographs. Perhaps Kenny, one of the nicest humans and businessmen you would hope to meet, did not want to pursue it to court. A suit he would win.