Picky Pleco

"Tracy Bass" wrote in message
...
You left out the link to the store where you purchased them. Tracy

I purchase them for the LFS I work for (and we don't sell on-line), and I
get them from Singapore through a trans-shipper (who doesn't sell to the
public), so I don't have a link which would help you.

Should I start selling stuff on-line? Snails & plants would be easy,
anywhere across Canada, but crossing the borders, or selling fish would
make me nervous.

In any case, with the common name (Striped African snail) or the latin
name (in the subject bar) you might be able to locate them locally to
you.

An odd characteristic, they almost always have chipped shells (another
annoying feature) but a regular customer tells me that they heal over, so
if you see chips, just pick one with the least damage. I'm not sure what
their ideal water parameters are. They are listed as African riverine
(soft acidic water) but they are freshwater adapted marine invaders (hard
alkaline water), so no clues there.

NetMax

big snip

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

"Tracy Bass" wrote in message
...
You left out the link to the store where you purchased them. Tracy

I purchase them for the LFS I work for (and we don't sell on-line), and
I
get them from Singapore through a trans-shipper (who doesn't sell to
the
public), so I don't have a link which would help you.

Should I start selling stuff on-line? Snails & plants would be easy,
anywhere across Canada, but crossing the borders, or selling fish would
make me nervous.

In any case, with the common name (Striped African snail) or the latin
name (in the subject bar) you might be able to locate them locally to
you.

An odd characteristic, they almost always have chipped shells (another
annoying feature) but a regular customer tells me that they heal over,
so
if you see chips, just pick one with the least damage. I'm not sure
what
their ideal water parameters are. They are listed as African riverine
(soft acidic water) but they are freshwater adapted marine invaders
(hard
alkaline water), so no clues there.

NetMax

Sorry to post on myself, but if someone knows German, this site had a bit
of info on them. Similar snails from the Neritas Genus (from a post from
Mean_Chlorine earlier this month), were quoted as preferring harder water
(14gH), but those I could translate.
http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.cgi?a...show&artNo=085

NetMax

"NetMax" wrote in message ...

Sorry to post on myself, but if someone knows German, this site had a bit
of info on them. Similar snails from the Neritas Genus (from a post from
Mean_Chlorine earlier this month), were quoted as preferring harder water
(14gH), but those I could translate.
http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.cgi?a...show&artNo=085

Neritids are primarily marine snails, although some species are found
in brackish or even fresh water. Also, they have thick shells, and
thick-shelled snails tend to live in water where there's plenty of
calcium.

The species I have, the european Theodoxus fluviatilis, is one of the
relatively few real freshwater species in the family, and even it
prefers hard, alkaline, water, preferrably with a little salt in it.
(I'm currently writing a text about my experiences with T.
fluviatilis, I'll post a link here when I've finished.)

Regarding N. natalensis I have no personal experience with it, but the
author of the species fact-sheet at www.wirbellose.de says he rotates
his snails between a brackish and a freshwater aquarium.

Should I start selling stuff on-line? Snails & plants would be easy,
anywhere across Canada, but crossing the borders, or selling fish would
make me nervous.

I can understand not wanting to sell fish mail order. Even if you stayed in
canada but whay not plants and snails internationaly?? Tracy

"Tracy Bass" wrote in message
...

Should I start selling stuff on-line? Snails & plants would be easy,
anywhere across Canada, but crossing the borders, or selling fish
would
make me nervous.

I can understand not wanting to sell fish mail order. Even if you
stayed in
canada but whay not plants and snails internationaly?? Tracy

The honest answer is that I've never thought about going into the
mail-order business, and never looked into it. When crossing borders
with live goods, I imagine there is extra paperwork needed to verify the
product and associated inspections. Many items which are legal in Canada
and the northern US are classified as invasive elsewhere. Is the onus on
the buyer or the seller to be aware of local regional statutes?

NetMax

"NetMax" wrote in message
...

The honest answer is that I've never thought about going into the
mail-order business, and never looked into it. When crossing borders
with live goods, I imagine there is extra paperwork needed to verify the
product and associated inspections. Many items which are legal in Canada
and the northern US are classified as invasive elsewhere. Is the onus on
the buyer or the seller to be aware of local regional statutes?

I can just imagine trying to get a fish or plant from Canada in through the
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service :-)

I'm not even alowed to import an Apple or a Grapefruit from a neighbouring
state without a certificate. Bringing a live cat from the USA to Australia
mandates 6 month quarantine for the kitty.


Graham.

"NetMax" wrote in message news:Izlhc.51095.
Many items which are legal in Canada
and the northern US are classified as invasive elsewhere. Is the onus on
the buyer or the seller to be aware of local regional statutes?

Wetmax

Usually what happens is that you apply to your local Department of Trade and
industry for an importers license, wether its plants or animals etc etc.
There is usually a small fee involved but its pretty cheap, over here anyway


They'll ask you "exactly" what plants you want to import (latin names), you
send them your list and then they approve or dissaprove certain species.
Once this list is approved you are granted your import license aswell as
some other technical documents regarding importing non-indigenous species.
These get sent to the supplier along with a copy of the Import License. So
the buyer does all the paper work really but the responsibility of reading
that particular country's botanical import rules is up to the supplier as he
will be the one who allows it to leave his shop. For example, in South
Africa we're "not allowed to" import Java Moss or Riccia but you do see it
if you go through the right channels! Tipping off the import inspector etc
etc nudge nudge.

So I suppose the short answer would be the onus is on the buyer to do the
proper research and not waste money on ordering illegal plants, but also on
the supplier to not send requested banned botanicals as per the country's
import laws. hth
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**