BEWARE before you BUY

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isnt it very expensive to buy online? do you find the fish that make the trip are in better condition health wise than the ones bought at local stores. i would be interested in knowing if its worth it


Well if you're shipping internationally then obviously the cost will be through the roof..
However, it only works out as a few £ extra from where I buy from.

Also, I'm buying from well-trusted people in the hobby, I know that they take good care of the fish, I know that they breed some of them themselves, I know that they would choose to send quality fish..

I'll always be paranoid about the fish's health on delivery but in reality they are well packaged and quickly delivered.

Most online fish suppliers have a DOA procedure and you will be refunded or resupplied with what you ordered, so there really is no reason to worry.

In all honesty, I'm never surprised if an LFS bought fish develops an issue in the first day or two.

I keep African Cichlids which aren't exactly the cheapest fish in existence, it's nice to know that the people I'm buying off are aware of that as well.


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The DOA policy is usually they will give you an other fish, but you must pay shipping, $50 for that $7 fish that died.

As for the shipping to the store, that's a good point, but sometimes like my local guy, he gets his angels from a local breeder, same with a lot of his ciclids. But also, I'd rather let the store pay the shipping and get to go down and pick the healthiest of the bunch or the color/gender I need.


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Live aquaria is $35

thats what i would like, something that is rare and unique.. an aquarium that will catch peoples eyes and be in awe when they see the fish and how pretty some are.
You would need a little bit bigger tank for rainbowfish. Some guppies are very pretty, or cichlids but they need there own tank.

I would highly recommend a Liquid test kit like the APi master test kit and then also pick up a phosphate test.
 
Have you had good luck with live aquaria? We used Arizona aquatic gardens and was very unhappy with the fish and the customer service.

After that I was too worried to try again.


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i am getting very close to throwing the towel in on all 3 tanks i have. i am so tired of everything going wrong and nothing going right. i have invested alllot of money into this, expecting it to be fairly reasonable. Dont get me wrong, i love the 1 aquaruim i have. i have an angel fish and am trying to get rid of the others so i can have a beautiful tank to look at and relax watching it. just as i thought things were going well and started w/ plants B A N G i get a huge ammonia spike.. who knows how, i tested it 2 days earlier and it was fine, had a lfs test it and he couldnt believe i had fish still living. was bad enough he said he wouldnt even sell me a fish because it would die... what should have been a fun and enjoyable hobby for myself and something to include my little girl in has become a nightmare... now i have 2 tanks. 1 with the fish id like to keep (yup thats the ammonia one), then another 29 gal w/ fish that i want to sell and a 20 gal long w/ goldfish and an african albino clawed frog which i was told when i bought it that it was a dwarf.. i wanted a dwarf NOT one that grows up big.... GRRRRR i often wonder if im the only person who has had so many issues??
 
Yeah theyre full of it. That happened to me too like 6 months ago but I'm glad i noticed they werent otos soon enough
 
I was livid cuz they are extremely hard to catch. I was at LFS the other day and they had them listed as community peaceful AE. I advised the store worker and the man buying them (a guppy tank). That they are CAE and aggressive. Well both were NOT happy with my 2cents worth. He bought 5. I left it at this, when your guppies start to die this is why. I also told him my story. The 1 was killing at least 1 guppy a day, then started to get at their eyes. I tried to help.


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Here's a question about Oto's, flying fox and SAE. They all look the same to me, how can I tell for sure what I'm getting. So many stores have them mislabeled or not labeled where it's clear what's what.


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Here's a question about Oto's, flying fox and SAE. They all look the same to me, how can I tell for sure what I'm getting. So many stores have them mislabeled or not labeled where it's clear what's what.


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Otis are much smaller and flatter. The differences with SAEs vs Flying Foxs are easy. The black stripe runs all the way through the tail and has a zigzag pattern for the SAEs. The FFs have a straight black line, no pattern, and the line ends at the tail fin.
 
As for ordering on line and shipping, aquabid has some very good sellers with very reasonable pricing. You can find free shipping deals all the time. If you take the time to read the reviews about the sellers you'll know who to buy from. You also can either buy or bid like eBay. I get most of my stock from aquabid sellers. I've also never gotten a diseased fish from there.

And yeah, I have ordered from other places as well, but I can't beat the deals I find for shipping and stock on aquabid
 
Thanks so much for the tips. I'll check into that site. I'm restocking my 29 gal and have 2 angels want something to go well with those. Is this a FF or an Oto?ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1409509856.254658.jpg


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Nice! Thank you. That's what it's supposed to be. :) finally labeled correctly


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I was at a store this weekend (the same store that sold me an illegal glo fish) and this family asked for an agae eater. The guy working there pointed to the CAE and said that guy is great! The man asked "is it aggressive?" They employee said "no. Not at all." Didn't ask how big the tank was. What the tank mates were. Nothing.

The employee walked away and I said "there is conflicting advice about CAE and SAE I would do your own research and know exactly what you are buying." The tank they were putting it in was a 29 tall with some plattys and guppies. I told them to try some amono shrimp and nerite snails. This store had neither. So they left to find an other thankful that I stepped in.


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I've been asked to leave and never come back for this, I only have the choice between a couple really good stores to give my money to now lol

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I've been asked to leave and never come back for this, I only have the choice between a couple really good stores to give my money to now lol

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This wasn't a store close to me any way. I happened to visit while visiting my grandma two hours away. I wish they would have said something to me. I went there this second time looking for the glofish so I could turn them into fish and game.


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This wasn't a store close to me any way. I happened to visit while visiting my grandma two hours away. I wish they would have said something to me. I went there this second time looking for the glofish so I could turn them into fish and game.


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I wasn't too attached to those stores either, an acquaintance of mine works part time at one of them and they have a still shot of me from security footage at the register with instructions to escort me out lol.

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OMG, I can not believe they banned you from the store. That is down right WRONG! The employees should be properly trained or honest and say they are not sure. Hanging your picture up like a criminal is wrong too. I'm sure that could be made a deal of through justice system. Isn't that disparagement of character? Gosh you were just helping the guy out. I reported the employeE who gave her customer the wrong info claiming the 5 CAE that he was getting would be compatible tank mates. Oh well I tried to heIdk where you live but I'm curious why glo fish are not legal? Have you considered reporting them?


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Even though I know a little bit about fish, I have still been mislead, over and over again by workers in "good" lfs, all of the stores have given me incorrect info, you thought FW was bad, almost EVERYthing I have been told in lfs about SW have been at least partially incorrect.

Again, not just the big box stores but the locally owned and a couple "renowned", close to legendary ones, :/

I can't even imagine what real newbies go through starting with brand new tanks.

Was at a box store last week and heard much mis info and people going home with pets and fish with the WRONG info :nono:

Ask people here, get a consensus, read, review and try to verify. Pics on the web are not really accurate much of the time once you get past the basic fish.

My experience in the past 4 -5 months with SW corals and fish have been maddening. Similar experience with inverts, mainly dwarf shrimp.

I had a lfs owner telling me something didn't exist because he had never heard of it. But I had seen it and knew people with it and he didn't believe me. I think it was Kordon breather bags. Saying he had been in the business for 30 years. :facepalm:

Hopefully I got that out of my system now.

Beware is right!
 
I'm pretty new to the hobby and already have been given conflicting advice and plain wrong advice from the fish stores with the current situation that my wife wants me to get rid of the tank and me very wary of continuing, although I will try. I posted my story http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f59/starting-new-for-the-third-time-318187.html#post3032202 in the new members section, it's a bit long to repost here, but certainly appropriate in terms of buyer beware. Thanks for the advice.
Ben
 
Tropical fish club

I would suggest u join the nearest tropical fish club the information u get at their meetings is amazing. I belong to the greater pittsburgh aquarium society. It takes me a hour and half to get there but once a month it is well worth it. They will let u know what stores know what they are doing and which are ripp offs. Example, That Fish Place, allows the Lancaster Pa. Club to have their monthly meeting at their store.
Shipping is another story I know of several shippers that do the best they can to get u what u ordered and in the best of shape but what happens between their door and yours is beyond their control
 
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