I ordered some fish on the Internet. Really. eBay to be exact.
Not frozen. Real live, swimming-around-in-a-box, fish.
Who ever heard of such a thing?
Not ordinary fish. Fish with bling. Koi. I’ve been on a quest for the last 6 summers to get some in our pond. No success. It’s spring and I am questing yet again. Calls to the local fish hatcheries yield the same redneck remark. ” What do ya want them Koi for? You know they’re just carp. You can’t eat ’em.” Really?
I’m all about shopping local. However, this time I have to bypass local due to the “Jethro” factor. My Google search netted me company called NextDayKoi that sells through eBay. They guarantee live next day and for 24 hours after you put them in your pond. This is a great country.
My biggest concern is size. The Koi need to be big enough so they don’t fit in the mouth of our top predator, the Bass. However the larger Koi are exponentially more expensive. And since I’m not sold yet on the idea that they will arrive alive, I decided to order some smaller, cheaper ones for my Beta Test. I eye-balled the Perch in the pond and figured they were 6″ and still alive so that must be the maximum size that Billy-Big-Mouth would eat. I’m a risk taker, so I ordered a box the 6″ Koi off of a picture on eBay. They arrived as promised the next day just like I was ordering from Amazon. They were healthy and thriving. Like I said…. America… what a country!
I was pleased when I opened the box. The colors were magnificent! Just one small problem….. the size !! Obviously the orders at NextDayKoi are filled by men. It’s a gender specific perception problem. I’ve noticed it all my adult life. Four inches looks like six inches to them. I should have known better and ordered the 8″ Koi.
These little guys are going to be fighting for survival. Oh well. Too late now. Good to know for my next order. I took the bag out of the box and put it in the pond for a few minutes to equalize the water temperature.
Then I start mixing pond water with the water in the bag. They’re flopping around and ready to go. They’re gorgeous. I’m so happy to have them. (However briefly that is)
I set them free. And help the diminutive little 4″ guys swim off.
I hope I see them again.
Soon.
However, I am a realist. I’m already bidding on their big brothers on eBay.
This time I’m ordering the 15″ Koi hoping for 10″.
Love, Cowgirl Red, aka Terah
P.S. Why do I want Koi? For the same reason I have a Paint horse, dye my hair bright red and paint my fingernails purple. Girls get that. Boys do not.
I hope the little guys survive. Beautiful colors.
They are beautiful! I hope they grow big and bring you lots of smiles!
Thanks Thauna and Laura, I have two more 15″ Koi coming tomorrow.
This is how they are delivered to the pet shops. In boxes filled with bags of wiggly fish. I even ran the fish department in the last two independent shops where I worked. Never worked for a chain. It was always so exciting to open up the boxes!
The don’t count just the body in length–include the tail fin, too. But I do agree with you that they always tend to run smaller than you expect. Now I know why. Never thought of that male perspective–ROFL!!
What gorgeous koi!! I totally get it. I have a weakness for orange and white spotted fish in general. Love the spotted fat little goldfish. A pond with koi! Awesome! I hope they survive. 🙂
That’s good to know about counting the tail. 😉 Have a great week Rita Terah
I loved your reference to men thinking that 4″ is 6″ …. how hilarious! I’m hoping the little guys will survive … I think they will. I’m a positive thinker … I hope they are too! nancy
I hope so too, Nancy. Thanks for visiting. Terah
Who would have guessed you can get fish from the internet! I tried Koi in our little 3 feet wide plastic pond thing but it turns out the cats and racoons were hungry, willing and able to fish, so the Koi did not stand a chance. Have my fingers crossed your guys survive and thrive!
Yes Carolyn, I’ve been wiped out by coons, cat and blue herons before. Thans for visiting again. Terah
Of course you want koi. Just look at those colors. I was lol when my DB came to see what was so darned funny. I don’t think he got it. Still laughing. I will be smiling all day.
Whoda thunk it!! Fish swimming in a box and delivered overnight. I sure hope they survive; they surely are pretty. I do get the problem with perception of the male gender and love red hair myself.
xoxo
Thank for visitng Vicki! Yes it’s all about perception. Terah
Those are some beauties. I love fish and mine always grew so darn big because I like to watch them eat. Love your blog and your humor, of course it must be the men handing out those little fish thinking we’re satisfied with that! 😉
Denise, I understand. I have some catfish in the same pond that are morbidly obese. Terah
We used to breed a wide variety of tropical fish. We used to mail order to get certain kinds, as well as go to fish auctions.
Koi are awesome, and can live a very long time. All the best!! They are cool!
Live fish auctions. How fun. You mean I could do it in person? Wow Terah
Oh, your “gender specific perception problem” made me LOL!! Too funny… they’re beautiful. And yes, i get the purple nail polish. xoxo
Thanks for stopping by Pauline !
Hello. My name is Casey, and I’m co-owner of NextDayKoi. I came across your blog post and wanted to thank you for posting.
I know this was posted over two years ago, but just wondering what the outcome was with your first shipment of fish? Did the survive the larger predator fish in the ponds?
Also, just wanted to point out that, just as someone else here commented, all of the fish are measured including the tips of the tail, not just the length of the body. We put great effort into making sure that each fish is measured and represented accurately. Certainly mistakes do happen, but by and large the measurement is correct on the majority of the fish we ship.
Again, thanks for your post. Can’t wait to hear back on how they fared!
HI Casey. It’s my lame attempt at humor. Since all of my blog readers are women. I apologize. The perception issue is mine. The koi were exactly as ordered. I knew the moment I saw them that they would be fair game for the bass. The new, bigger ones have lived for years now.
Thanks Terha
Nice Blog!! These are beautiful koi fish.