Drs Foster and Smith

[buckry]

I got my last batch of fish from Dr's Foster and Smith online and I have to say, wow, best transaction ever. Let me start off by listing the things they screwed up:







And now the things they did great.

+Koi were triple bagged, the very outside bag had a silver coating to keep it dark inside the bag. They koi are kind of freaked out right now in my QT, but when I opened the bag they were way less freaked out than other koi I have bought. I think that silver did it.

+Tons of water in each bag, no dead fish, no sickly fish, all were great in great shape.

+Styrofoam cooler perfectly sized for the 3 bags of fish I got. Ice packs on bottom and top of bags.

+Put only 5 fish in each bag, didn't try to make all 14 fish arrive in the same water.

+And last but not least, 12 hours later no deaths

I'm super impressed, I hope to not have to buy another fish, but if I do, they've got my business. Anyone else that needs pond fish, I highly recommend them.

 

[fishin4cars]

I've never heard of them but that's great news to hear. NextdayKoi has been the best I have seen in shipping to my door. I've gotten hundreds of boxes from shippers during the time I worked in Petstores. Many many shippers pack similar to NDK. To hear of a company that goes above and beyond that is welcomed news to my ears. I know the shippers in Calif. and HI ship pretty well but even then I've rarely heard anyone brag about them either. love to see some pics of the new guys. Did they identify them for you?

 

[buckry]

No they did not, here is a top down picture in the bag. They're still too freaked out in the QT for pictures, they're stacked 5 high inside the fake log I've got, the only time some of the braver ones come out is when I've got it completely dark in the basement. I hold my phone up to the glass to see them and usually only about 1/3 of them come out.

First shot is the butterflies, the yellow and black one is amazing. The rest, are boring as hell.

The second is the standards. I love the red headed one, and the two hi-bekkos are really nice. The white and pure orange are boring.

Then the 4 shubuknins are all really nice. Didn't get a great picture of them, they'll be in the 100 gallon pond, I can take their picture any time I want later so not as important at this point.

 

[addy1]

Fishin

drsfostersmith.com they sale all sorts of things for all critters. Great web site, great company to deal with. I have bought things from them for years.

Nice to know their fish came in great shape! bucky thrilled for you

 

[mtpond]

I have purchased stuff from Foster and Smith for years. Never purchased fish, but the things I did buy they stood by it 100 percent.

 

[Mmathis]

When we had ferrets, used them a lot.

 

[fishin4cars]

No they did not, here is a top down picture in the bag. They're still too freaked out in the QT for pictures, they're stacked 5 high inside the fake log I've got, the only time some of the braver ones come out is when I've got it completely dark in the basement. I hold my phone up to the glass to see them and usually only about 1/3 of them come out.

First shot is the butterflies, the yellow and black one is amazing. The rest, are boring as hell.

The second is the standards. I love the red headed one, and the two hi-bekkos are really nice. The white and pure orange are boring.

Then the 4 shubuknins are all really nice. Didn't get a great picture of them, they'll be in the 100 gallon pond, I can take their picture any time I want later so not as important at this point.

They all sure look healthy. I'm with you, The little Hi/Ki bekko butterfly is nice. Best fish of the bunch as they arrived by far. I really like it's pattern. have a strong feeling it will not stay yellow, probably will end up orange and black but still very nice. On the standards. You called the two Hi Bekkos. Do they have black markings on the back? I can't see any if there is. If they are just Red and white they would be called Kohaku. I like the one of those that's in the lower right hand corner. It's got some potential to get a lot better as it grows. Still way to early to tell how defined the colors will be but it's got potential. The bright blue eyes should really stand out on that fish as it gets older. The red headed fish. What would you call it? Not a sanke, not a showa, that's one of those fish that needs to grow some more and then MAYBE figure out what it is. It's does have good color and looking at the gray patches in it's back it has a good bit of sumi (Black) that could still come out.

 

[j.w]

I just ordered a floating gator head on sale from Drs Foster and Smith a few days ago.

 

[pondlover]

I have that Gator head and I purchased it from Fosters & Smith. Great fast shipping and the gator has stayed floating too! His eyes look really neat at night when the light reflects on them.

 

[buckry]

lol, I saw that gator in the magazine that came with my fish. I can't afford it right now, but I'm thinking that's going on my list of must have items. Love it.

Thanks for the ID's fishin, yeah, I guess you're right Kohaku's on those white and orange ones. One of those Kohaku's is really above average, the other's markings are not very clear, plus he's acting really freaked out still, he keeps floating tail down in the QT, not 100% sure he's going to make it, the rest are skittish, but acting healthy.

After looking at one of the white ones I think he's a platinum ogon, so that's a plus.

 

[fishin4cars]

I kind of thought one was a platinum ogon as well. If so It will really stand out after it reaches 10"+ that's when they really start to shine and show off. I recently saw a platinum Ogon Butterfly that was well over 30" long. It was a spectacular fish to see with it's long flowing fins and that shiny white. I don't have one and don't recall ever purchasing one but after seeing that one i think I would like to add one to my collection.

 

[buckry]

Yeah, I got lucky, my last batch of assorted koi had a platinum, so that's 2 I have. They're pretty cool, but both are standard fin, not butterfly. I do have a white butterfly, but it's not metallic, so it's not really anything special.

 

[addy1]

I just ordered a floating gator head on sale from Drs Foster and Smith a few days ago.

nice heads! jw

 

[leet13]

I dig the gator heads with the red eyes!


I have ordered from Dr's Foster and Smith twice now. First order got her so fast and I wasnt even halfway done digging the pond (bought a whole pond kit and it arrived really quickly). 2nd order I placed came within 5 days... I will definitely order again and seeing how you ordered koi, I may consider ordering a new fish through the mail next spring!

 

[CometKeith]

jw, will the gator head scare off raccoons or just birds? I am tired of rearranging my pond plants every morning after they are done making a mess. Buckry, good luck with your fish!