Koi Fish Information Centre

Um, well, not really.
I had serious adentures today. Someone on another list posted that the Doctors Foster and Smith catalog lists a Fosters and Smith brand aqarium conditioner as containing all three bacteria; nitrospira and the other two. To confirm this, not having a catalog, I looked to see what is online and called Fosters and Smith.
Now, I got home and I find a Fosters and Smith fish catalog in my shipment from them, and I think he may actually be talking about Nite-Out II, on page 158, which is not a Fosters and Smith brand. It does say it has all three bacteria. LOL. I wish I’d had the accurate information to begin with, I ‘d have simply ordered it already instead of spending an hour and a half at work and $50 doing something else, but some things in life are just too much to expect.
Mind you, not possible to ask the guy what product he was talking about, because asking anything specific on that list elicits flames from same person that I’m too deep a thinker, and merely masquerading as a new aquarium hobbyist.
My best guess was Foster’s and smith’s Water Repair Series; Colonize. Fosters and Smith CR checked the catalog and theri online sources and found nothing about it, and they suggested I call Jungle Labs, which makes that product for them, and ask them.
So I called Jungle Labs. Now, she gave me two toll free phone numbers; one for Jungle Labs, and the other turned out to be for United Pet Group.
The CR person at United Pet Group turned out to be extraordinarily knowledgeable. The Colony product contains nothing in the way of nitrogen processing bacteria at all, just some enzymes and some other bacteria. Did I perhaps mean Bio-Spira which is coming out as a Tetra product?
Why was I told to call Jungle Lab about a Fosters and Smith product and reached “United pet Group” and a list of companies; Tetra, Marineland, and Jungle Labs among others?
OK. United Pet Group (Actually, I found out online, Rayovac become Spectrum Brands’ United Pet Group) bought Tetra, Marineland, and Jungle Labs, and some other companies. ASI and Perfecto, and conceivably Instant Ocean. Most of these purchases actually happened in 2005.
Marineland came up with Bio-Spira. They and Dr. Tim had some parting of the ways, and he told me just a bit more than I remember. Guy seemed to wonder about Dr. Tim atleast almost as much as I do. He mentioned patent issues and can’t really understand why Dr. Tim wouldn’t share with people why they’d want to buy his product any more than I do, and it came across that the guy isn’t fully sane.
OK, so, not Bio-Spira is being replaced by a new version of Bio-Spira, though he himself called it that at first. Actually, Spectra introduced Safestart, which IS the new formulation of Bio-Spira, and they introduced it in Europe first. So what has been selling and performing well in Europe is what they’re about to introduce in the U.S. “next week” according to him, though the date I found is mid May.
Now, the same guy told me that just one company still sells Bio-Spira online; that is aquariumplants.com I called them up and ordered it - and hte stuff IS a pain in everything you can think of. I paid as much again for fast shipment on ice as for the product itself, and on top of that I had to pay a UPS Store $5 to accept the package for me since I won’t be home.
Guy said they have a ton of Bio-Spira at the warehouse but no dealer will carry it because it’s a pain in the neck to handle and everyone’s waiting on the new formulation.
Then I want to the lcoal aquarium store that is NOT the one I like so much, because it’s on teh way home and I forgot to buy a couple of items, and they asked me if I wanted a package fo Bio-Spira and pulled a container out of the refrigerator behind the cash register. They said they get it from their distributor. That’s River City Aquatics, between Research and Pond Springs Road, near Anderson Mill Road. OK, my estimation of them just went up, especially as the guy turned out to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Too bad they have little in the way of small catfish, shrimp, tetras and whatever those things that are related to barbs are. They’re more into big colorful round and rectangular fish.
So now I have a package of Bio-Spira in my refrigerator waiting for the rest of my stuff from Pet Smart to show up sometime between Monday and Thursday. They shipped the two orders two different ways, one to arrive Monday even though it’s in Austin now, and the other next Thursday, an dnot they drop shipped it. It went via USPS in two different lots that must have followed very different routes to Oklahoma to be sent to Dallas to be sent to Austin. The other package just made it to Dallas. And they left Petsmart only a few hours apart.
Yours, Dora Smith Austin, TX tiggernut24@yahoo.com

Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society