shop tour Enfield area

[wrasse]

I met up with a couple of cichlid mates (gasp!) today and we did a quick tour centred on Wildwoods but including a few garden centre stores nearby that had fish outlets...

Catfish-wise, I'm afraid we didn't see anything outstanding at all. Perhaps I had too high expectations )-: We did see some lovely marine displays.

It was actually my first visit to Wildwoods and I must admit I was somewhat surprised... it wasn't as big as I thought it would be. A mate was buying some retroculus cichlids that he'd ordered. I also saw some beautiful Satanoperca Acuticeps, hmmmm. And, I was very tempted by some stunning snakeheads! - I've never kept them, but wow! I'm still considering...
However, IMO quite a lot of the fish on sale needed worming, quite frankly. And the tanks needed cleaning. Also there were a few dead bods that had been there a while... This was not what I expected to see.

[Richard B]

However, IMO quite a lot of the fish on sale needed worming, quite frankly. And the tanks needed cleaning. Also there were a few dead bods that had been there a while... This was not what I expected to see.

This doesn't sound typical in my experience

[MatsP]

I agree with Richard, it doesn't sound like the Wildwoods I've been to - of course, I've only been a few times. After all, it's further than to MA @ Oxford.

--
Mats

[racoll]

I have to admit, with Wildwoods, it isn't usually the catfishes that I get excited about there. Pier is a lot better for catfish.

They do usually have lots of other very nice stuff though. What were the snakeheads?

[andregurov]

Retroculus? And dead fish? What a bizarre contrast. I'd give my left arm to find ANYONE who stocks/special orders Retroculus here. Dead fish we can find by the dozens.

The snakeheads sound very nice. It's been years for us to find 'em locally.

[wrasse]

Retroculus? And dead fish? What a bizarre contrast.

That's very true. My thoughts exactly.

This shop has a very good reputation, this was my first visit there so I was expecting a lot. The very first tank had 9 x S. Acuticeps, beautiful fish. In another there were some young L123, very nice, I've only seen them once before.

2 tanks each had a dead pleco around 12cm, that had been dead for more than a day, more like 3 or 4 days. Not impressed by that. There were other dead fish as well.
There was also a tank that had 1 syno flavitaeniatus and I guess a dozen syno soloni. The S Soloni were concave, at least one had whitish streamers hanging from its anus. I observed the same symptoms in some other tanks and fish species.
The entire bank of tanks housing gouramies was grubby.

I was shown the quarantine room and in there were 3 types of snakehead. One was unidentified, the others were Channa Bleheri 'red' and a larger Channa Aurantimaculata - serious WOW factors and much nicer in the flesh than any photos I've seen.

Richard

[Viktor Jarikov]

The snakeheads sound very nice. It's been years for us to find 'em locally.

What species of snakeheads can you keep in Lousianna? I thought all were banned in all the states?

The S Soloni were concave...

My soloni has never had a full, rounded tummie - almost always just flat. Maybe, it's just their nature. But seeing worms hanging from the anus is, of course, definitive.

[andregurov]

What species of snakeheads can you keep in Lousianna? I thought all were banned in all the states?

Oh, none. I remember right before the ban the LFS I worked at got in about 6 different species from a wholesaler on the West Coast, who shipped them all as "gobies".

My understanding - and I'm sorry to hijack - is that interstate commerce is illegal, but there are still a few states (like Maine) where they are legal to possess, if they were acquired before the federal ban.