Hi, I need to find the best place/price for the real SAE's - need 12 of them, and our "LFS" who is 2 hours away one way, doesn't have them. I would appreciate any guidance from others so I don't spend forever on the computer looking for them!
Best place to find SAE's (real ones) online?
- Thread starter saganco
- Start date
somebody posted this link in an earlier thread. hope it helps
http://azgardens.com/algae_eating_fish.php
http://azgardens.com/algae_eating_fish.php
i wouldn't buy from AZ gardens, countless threads have been started to bash them and talk about their horrible experiences with this company, who either were sent dead/dying fish and no response or refunds from them.
Not to mention the fact that you don't know the shipping cost until they have already been shipped and you've been charged! I don't mind paying shipping, but want the option of saying "no thanks, that's to rich for my blood!".
Any other good sources?
Any other good sources?
Hopefully I'm not asking the obvious here but, have you asked your LFS if they can order them? If that store that you drove to has a good variety of fish, chances are they might be able to bring them in. If you haven't already tried this, give them a call and see what's what. You might luck out.
I drove myself crazy looking for this fish and almost resorted to ordering them online (at something like 3 bucks a pop plus 30 dollars for shipping). Then, I went to my LFS and asked if they would be able to get them........well, not only could they get them, they actually carry them on a somewhat regular basis. It just worked out that, whenever I stopped in, they were out of them.
Just as an FYI, I think this fish can be hard for commercial suppliers to get their hands on, from time to time. Don't quote me on this but I think I recall reading somewhere on the net that this fish has yet to be captive bred and they have to be caught in the wild. That could have something to do with their availability in the consumer market. I don't know, though. You might want to look into that yourself.
Anyway, bug your LFS about them if you haven't already.
I drove myself crazy looking for this fish and almost resorted to ordering them online (at something like 3 bucks a pop plus 30 dollars for shipping). Then, I went to my LFS and asked if they would be able to get them........well, not only could they get them, they actually carry them on a somewhat regular basis. It just worked out that, whenever I stopped in, they were out of them.
Just as an FYI, I think this fish can be hard for commercial suppliers to get their hands on, from time to time. Don't quote me on this but I think I recall reading somewhere on the net that this fish has yet to be captive bred and they have to be caught in the wild. That could have something to do with their availability in the consumer market. I don't know, though. You might want to look into that yourself.
Anyway, bug your LFS about them if you haven't already.
I would do that but they are over 2 hours away one way. Figure in the fuel alone (nevermind the lost DAY) and you've got over $52 in fuel alone. So shipping doesn't look too bad to me! I think that saving a whole day of driving and diesel fuel... Oh well, still looking for the best place online. As for liveaquaria.com - $7.49 for SAE's!!?? I think NOT!
Yeah, that's pretty pricey, especially for a fish that really doesn't ship all that well. I don't know. It might not be worth it for you get them at all. Are you getting them for the sole purpose of eradicating an algae problem or do you just want them for general algae removal as it pops up? If that's the case, you might be better off with just doing more water changes, cutting back on feeding and monitoring your light duration. That's the best advice I have without knowing anything about your tank setup, feeding regimen or stocking levels. Might not be what you wanted to read but, it is what it is.
The answer would be "both". I'm getting them for terrible algae outbreak that is current, along with basic algae maintenance. I had them in the past and they did such a good job.
Tank maintenance and such: We do weekly water changes, have high output lights (3 watts per gallon in one tank and 4wpg in the other), leave the lights on for around 12 hours per day. One tank is stocked pretty heavily, the other pretty light, I feed them twice a day and only what they eat in about 3-5 minutes. That's all I can tell you.
I think I found a good place to get the SAE's - will post later on the results of how they arrived and such.