Goldfish, wholesale, from China...  – 06/28/07
Dear Sirs or Madams,
<Howzit?>
We are a private-operated corporation long standing and high reputation, engaged in the import and export of ornamental fish in China. We have a grow-out area of 5000m2, which holds 3000 tons of water. It is especially built to cater for our clients from overseas current and future demands. We stock fishes, feed them with good supply of nutrients and water to further improve their health and colour. We have established a network of good farmers, who adopt good farming management practices, providing quality fishes, advice and support. Meanwhile, we are also equipped with 700 quarantine tanks and good packing facilities for quality assurance.
<Nice>
We have obtained your company from the internet and understood that you are Importers of ornamental fish. As this item falls within the scope of our business activities, we are glad to send you this introductory letter to express our desire to enter into business relationships with you.
To give a general idea of various kinds of ornamental fish we enclose our sample list with prices on FOB Shanghai Airport basis for your kind reference.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours Sincerely,
Joanna
Assistant Trade Manager
Shanghai Luminous Trading & Development Co., Ltd
Tel: 86-21-52730072-202
Fax: 86-21-52732801
E-mail: Ksymm10@163.com
guangli_joanna1@yahoo.com
Ouyangling518@hotmail.com
Website: www.aquariahome.cn
<Thank you for writing. We don't deal in livestock, but will post your
message for others to find you. Cheers, Bob Fenner, WetWebMedia.com>

Fantail fish query...and a bit of a rant! - 6/1/07
> Hello to everyone at WWM, and once again my thanks for being there when I need you!
<Hello!>
> This is just a quick question regarding my fantail fish, Horatio; both my partner (Oliver) and myself have been in touch about him before (we originally thought he was a Pearlscale, but Bob helpfully cleared up any confusion there for us). We're getting a new tank for Horatio based on Bob's confirmation that his tank is way too small (it's 10 gallons and Horatio is already four and a half inches long), but there is one small matter we need clearing up; Bob advised a tank of around 30 gallons, a size I have seen recommended for fantails repeatedly on this site - however, is this US or UK gallons?
<Since Bob's an American, I'd suggest US gallons. But opting for 30 UK gallons (36 US gallons) will do harm at all. Of course, being an advocate of the metric system, I'd say let everyone use litres and be done with it!>
> I ask because Ollie and I are considering getting a 125 litre tank from Juwel (we were going to get another fish to keep Horatio company, but at the moment that's not possible - the floor won't take a larger tank and we're stuck living here until August - obviously Horatio needs the larger tank now). This tank is around 27 UK gallons; however, if Bob meant 30 UK gallons, we don't want to go too small. I just wanted to ask if this would be sufficient, really, as we can't afford to be buying another new tank in a year or so and we want our fish to be happy for a long time to come.
<The Jewel 125 litre tank is a very nice aquarium. It would be a good choice for goldfish. I have the very similar Jewel 180 and enjoy it very much. The only flaw with Jewel tanks is that filter is a low-pressure system. While this means you get excellent biological filtration despite the small size of the pump, it does mean that solid waste is barely sucked up at all. I'm having to siphon out the "wood chippings" from my Panaque catfish almost every day. Adding an external canister filter, such as the Fluval 104 or something similar, as and when funds allow, will make keeping the tank clean a darn sight easier. By the way, the Jewel filters come with a (black) carbon sponge. I happen not to consider carbon even remotely useful, but if you do use it, don't forget to remove it any time you add medications.>
> One other thing - I've just come home from investigating a new local pet shop. I'm never going there again. I saw several fish that were struggling for oxygen, two with cotton-mouth, others with fungus and at least a couple with Ick. The people in there hadn't a clue about how to look after fish, it was really upsetting. Short of buying the sick fish (I can't afford enough  tanks or I would've!) is there anything that can be done when shops are being so horribly callous?
<Welcome to the "Horrified at Local Pet Shops" club. We were thinking of having some jackets made up. Anyway, what you describe is, sadly, too common. In theory, all pet shops need to meet some basic standards to get a license to trade animals, but in practice these don't seem to affect pet fish to any real degree. What you can do is simply not patronise those stores, and instead look for stores that are members of trade associations (in the UK, OATA). While this doesn't guarantee the store will be a slice of paradise for the fish, it is a very good step in the right direction. Buying the sick fish you see in bad shops, sadly, has the reverse effect: the bad shops simply buy more fish to replace them. Sometimes, its genuine non-malicious ignorance, and having a quiet word with the manager helps. This is often the case where the store is otherwise clean and tidy, and the other animals are healthy. It's just the fish they're having problems with. Explaining what the problem is and suggesting a cure will be appreciated. But other times it is not, and if the rest of the shop is seedy, then these are basically bad people who shouldn't be running a pet store. Writing to the local council is the thing to do here, expressing your concerns and itemising what was wrong. The council should send along an inspector, and in theory at least the shop will have to fix things. The reality is, of course, that councils are often over-stretched checking out schools, hospitals, and the rest, so goldfish come pretty far down the list of priorities.>
> Thanks, as ever, for your help and for the wonderful site,
> Sarah
<Cheers, Neale>