Hongsloi From Apisto Dave?

Going to order a pair of Hongsloi and hopefully 1 male Borellii to replace the one that died. Has anybody ordered from apisto Dave before, he seems to have shipping good cost.

 

Yes, I have recently ordered from him. I got a nice pair of hongsloi from him but the female is smaller than I would have liked. I also got a pair of bitaeniata from him but after a few weeks I'm starting to suspect that the "female" bitaeniata is actually another male. I can't really complain though cause twice in a row my order all arrived DOA and he replaced them all at no charge to me. A++ Third time was the charm. Be polite and he will work with you and help you out. People have problems with him when they start being impatient and rude which can happen when dealing with him because of his (very) poor communication. Whatever email you send him, no matter how long, don't expect a reply longer than one or two cryptic phrases. Sometimes I would ask a few questions about his fish or the order and he would respond with a short phrase that could be interpreted several different ways. Also a long time could pass between replies. Very annoying! But I kept my cool and like I said, he replaced two DOA orders with no charge to me.

So basically, yes, order from him. He is a good guy. Before ordering, I read all that I could about him on aquabid and other forums on the internet. A lot is negative but my experience was good. A common theme with the negative reviews online was from people becoming frustrated and losing their heads over his poor communication.
People have problems with him when they get mad and start accusing him.

When dealing with him, ask only a few questions at a time to get them answered and spell out specifically what you want from him. Do follow up a day before he is supposed to ship. If you don't get a tracking number, ask him for it, he probably forgot to send it. If you want to know something or get what you want you have to be proactive when working with Dave.

This is all just from my research and experience with him over a 3 month period.
Hope it helps!

 

I have never ordered from him, but always got the impression he's a bit eccentric. One thing is for sure - the guy knows apistos!

 

Yeah, I think that's a good way to put it. The way I look at it is that I won't find the fish he offers anywhere else for such a good price, so it is worth the hassle working with him.

 

He does seem to have pretty good pricing, I sent him a E-mail about the Borellii, his web page only shows about 5 or 6 different fish, can I order from his web sight or do I have to go to aqua bid?

 

Dave is a great guy and very knowledgeable about Apistogramma. But he tends to ship fish that are very small, and sometimes they are too young to be sexed properly. By the time you know you have two males, it can be hard to get a female. But he doesn't sell fish unless he spawns them first, so you can be assured of healthy tank raised specimens.

 

I think I was the one who told you to check with Dave for the replacement A. borellii. Reason was that I saw he had a pair on aquabid but I never saw them on his site. He might have only had that one pair. We'll see what he says when he responds to your email.

Don't get me wrong, I completely agree that he is a great guy and one of the great apisto experts here in the US. I was just sharing my experience with ordering from him and what I wished I had known before starting the order.

 

Thanks chrome and ktorg, one of the main reasons I was looking to him is that he states [one pair is male female unless noted otherwise] taken straight from his sight. I don't no how to do the biding or pay pal and really do want to. He has shipping info on his sight but no info as far as phone # or address to send funds to, I'll shoot him a PM and see what he will do.

 

He will send you an invoice through PayPal when you make an order with him, you will need a PayPal account. It's the safest way to go.
Unless you are going through aquabid you won't have to bid. You can just contact him and place an order or make a deal.
On his website their is a form at the bottom of the page with his available fish to contact him. Just scroll to the very bottom of the page. I have used it before

 

Thanks for the info ktorg, I don't feel comfortable with putting any personal info on the web I don't do banking or anything, I guess I'm just to much of a old fart and wont do it. I sent Dave a message asking him about other options.

 

Ok, hope that works out for you. Let us know how it goes.

 

I sent him a message 4 days ago, does anybody know if he is still selling apistos? Or has he closed up shop?

 

He is still selling fish. He replied to an email I sent him on the 10th, just three days ago. If you can't get him to answer you there is a new seller on aquabid selling some A. borelli. They look nice. The price is great too. I've been emailing the seller and he seems like a pretty good guy. Try contacting him on aquabid.

 

Thanks ktorg, will do. I'll give him till tomorrow.

 

It looks like Dave did answer me for some reason my mail shut down, I've been having computer problems. And on the invoice it looks like I can pay by credit card, he has the male Borellii I need and the Hongsloi pair so hopefully I should have new fish soon.