What if My female fish turns out to be a Male

[jesusb]

I would like to know the protocol or rules use by dealers when selling a fish.

for Example : let say I buy a fish for a dealer and at the time of buying the fish is a nissai and I am told the fish is a male or Female and for must of us sex on a fish is important and sometime the deciding factor for buying the fish, but after a couple of month to 6 month the fish happens to be the opposite sex that what we were told. what is the responsability of the dealer if any?

[Akinosan]

I,m pretty new at this, but I am also pretty sure the dealer has no obligation to guarantee the sex of your fish. I have seen too many mistakes by pretty knowledgable people on this matter to believe its a cut and dry call.

[dick benbow]

Most japanese breeders do an extraordinary job of calling it correct. Dealers
also can do a good job depending on their experience level. A three year old is a pretty safe bet. a two year old not quite as good, and a tosai, unless jumbo... well good luck.

all of the people associated in koi will try to do the very best they can by you their customer.


But basically you bought the koi as is. especially in today's world of concern about various health conditions.

[aquitori]

Yeah I think the best bet is to know what is what. As a Tosai the fish's sex is pretty much anyone's guess. Nissai your better off knowing about 85% of the sex and Sansai you have a 99% chance of know the true sex. The dealer is at no obligation to replace the fish unless he or she is 100% sure the fish is what it is.

[MikeM]

If your dealer specifically represented the fish was female, but it turned out to be male, then you should receive a refund. (And be prepared to return the fish if the dealer wants it. With KHV, probably will not stock it, but ....)

However, unless absolutely certain of the sex, most dealers will only say "I think it is female.", or "Most probably female", or "it looks female to me". This sort of statement is not a representation that it is female, just that on that day it looks female. There are fish that are sold "guaranteed female", or are listed on websites as being either male or female or unknown. That sort of specificity should allow you to rely on the dealer's word. Hold them to it. There are fine dealers in the hobby who would appreciate learning of such an error. But don't confuse "believe it is female" with "definitely a female".

[dtbh]

You have to differentiate between a breeder and a dealer on this aspect.

Breeders guarantee, though more accurate and may still turn out otherwise, usually means a replacement from another batch. If you are not happy with the replacment you may ask for a refund.

Dealers (at least with some) sometimes gives a guarantee. One will have to make a deal with them should the koi in future turns out otherwise. Some dealers may give you a female and male price at the onset in which case one can get a refund of the balance. The important thing is to make the deal beforehand to avoid any misunderstanding.

[paulino88]

I think what dtbh said is excellent. Eventhough the dealer said guaranteed female, pls raise the question what if it turns out to be male. The options shud be discussed upfront and dont be shy about it.

I hv experienced this 'guaranteed female' thing with one of the local dealer here. It was an early sansai fish so shud be pretty sure. Only one option discussed: return and replace if he is wrong. But when i asked the dealer to check the fish at my place again, he became uncertain and concludes the fish is hemaprodite since the fish expell no sperm albeit showing concave vent and slighltly rough fin.

Since he prefers not to have to quarantine the fish again so he offer a bonus tosai fish as compensation of this uncertainity and no refund. I belive this way makes both party happy, i am not being robbed paying female price for a male and he elimated the chance of me returning the fish. end of story.