Well, it was actually I who ordered these fish offered through Aquabid. I knew it would be a risk, but in correspondence with the seller before buying, he said he collected the fish himself and showed photos of the fish swimming in his tanks at home – healthy and well cared for. He demonstrated a knowledge of paros, said he was keeping and breeding a few more species native to Malaysia and showed a keen interest in the proper care his fishes. He appeared to be honest, reasonable and straightforward. He assured the best of packing and with EMS shipping 3-5 days shipping time to USA – the same as a priority shipment within the US itself – many small delicate fishes can survive this no problem. Yet after making the buy, I had regrets about doing so, reading that rubrimonitis are rare and demanding to keep. I fully realized this was not a good move, but too late.
This fish shipped last Monday; with the July 4th holiday, the shipment took 7 days to arrive at my US post office – not too bad, no problem with Customs or the like – I had hope: I picked them up saving 24 hours time in transit. And, surprise when I opened the box – there were no fish in any of the bags!! Just bags, water – no fish, no sign of dead fish, nothing!
Most likely the seller did not send any fish?, and to my relief, I can say no fish were lost. I will accept the loss of money AND the lesson learned – I’ll never attempt the purchase of fish internationally without the use of a transhipper, as Bill has pointed out. However, even the use of a transhipper is not without problems, as I found out in a previous AB purchase of wild bettas from Indonesia via a US transhipper several years ago. Some transhippers are very reliable, in my experience, but those whom I have worked with successfully in the past will not handle paros, so I’m told, only larger bettas.
So – for US paro keepers it looks like Wetspot is a reliable source for paros, as well as US keepers who have obtained paros somehow and have managed to breed them and can ship locally or have them picked up – but these potential breeders are very, very few and far between, so it seems But there are a few and some distributions may be possible.
This was an experiment that had some potential for success, but it did not work out – it could be said it was a failure, but in actuality it was a success. I’ve learned the risk is too great when attempting an international deal with a private seller – too many variables or issues could arise that may or may not be understood or explainable. Many people do successfully use this method of purchase, but still, especially with paros, the risk is too great. And, it appears, no fish were actually sent or lost in the transaction.
This experiment is done.