Order fish online?

[stratmaster]

Does anyone have luck with ordering fish on the internet? I've been thinking more and more over the days about it, I just don't know if I should.

Steve

 

[mfdrookie516]

I have heard alot of horror stories from internet fish... i wondered the same thing and the more i googled, the less i wanted to risk it... i would say you would probably be better off picking out your fish in person... just my opinion though

 

[stratmaster]

No no I agree 100% with you, in fact I feel better now that I've heard somebody else feel the exact same way I do. Thanks!

Steve

 

[RazorbacksFan]

It really depends on where you order from and how much you research the place beforehand from what I read liveaquaria.com is a really good one.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Like i said, ive never done it, nor will i ever... i just prefer to see the fish im paying for, especially the ones that are going to cost alot... my aunt was telling me a few minutes ago after i mentioned your post that she had bought some one time and said she would never do it again... they were sick fish that took her months to nurse back to good health and ended up dead a few months later... i dont like petsmart, but id get them there before id order them online

 

[RazorbacksFan]

Fair enough I was just stating that there are places online that can be very good, but you usually end up paying more than a LFS after shipping anyway so I don't usually recommend it unless you're only local place is a petco or some garbage like that.

 

[r312h]

I just ordered a bunch of snails, a few sexy shrimp and a goby from Liveaquaria, all arrived alive and healthy. Including shipping I probably did end up paying a lil more than the LFS, but I couldn't find these in any of the LFS in my area. I'm not sure about other places, but I just wanted to share my experience with you and let you know some places are probably ok to order from.

 

[mfdrookie516]

just out of curiosity, how do they ship fish? and wouldnt that cause stress moving around like that? just curious...

 

[Zer0]

See, i wasnt really going to get into this thread because this whole thread is all purely preference. Whether you trust the site or not.. or the amount of feedback you've heard from others on the site your buying from. But one thing i was going to say was, if anything, i trust liveaquaria the most. AA is also linked to premiumaquatics which sells living things online. I dont think AA would have linked to them if they weren't trusted right? Not saying that the occasional tragedy wouldnt happen? Also, im not sure how they ship corals or fish, but i know that liveaquaria ships the live rock in an air-tight, cushioned box/bag sort of thing. It says it on their site, and mainly, if you want to know how each site ships their products, its in your best interest to go to that site and either read up on it on their shipping page, or contact them somehow. I know that an online site will have WAY more selections than some LFS's. But then again.. this is all personal preference LOL.

 

[roka64]

I've ordered from plenty of places online and been quite pleased. Liveaquaria, thatfishplace have been the two I have been most happy with. The one place I would never order from again is now out of business...gee, I wonder why! I do like to see my fish before I buy and would rather buy locally, but they sometimes don't have the fish I want. I do constantly buy my inverts online.

 

[r312h]

just out of curiosity, how do they ship fish? and wouldnt that cause stress moving around like that? just curious...

Like Linksyz said, liveaquaria ships in an airtight bubble protected box. I'm sure that the shipping is semi stressful to the fish and inverts that we have shipped, but I can tell you that as of today, all of them are still alive. I guess I can't exactly say how much stress they are going through, but it wasn't enough to kill them. BTW the 14 day guarantee is nice to have if anything does happen to go wrong in shipping.

 

[mtlion]

I have used liveaquaria.com and have had no problems with any livestock.

 

[buddha_red]

Liveaquaria has a stay alive guarantee. It does not cover shipping which is the downside. I ordered some snails from reefcleaners.org and they are a great company to buy from.

 

[fishmonkey]

yeah Buying online is fine as lng as you know who you are buying from.

 

[tlkng1]

Hi All..

Liveaquaria from Drs Foster and Smith. I've ordered any times, both saltwater and fresh. In at least 8 orders, I only had one fish arrive deceased, which LiveAquaria replaced without requiring any proof, and all the others arrived healthy and active. This last order, they did goof. I ordered some freshwater swordtails and platties. The shipment arrived on time, nicely boxed, with a cool pack to combat the summer heat. Only problem was, I got someone else's order and ended up with 10 of the largest snails I have ever seen . LiveAquaria is resending, again, with no actual proof required. As for the poor snails who got a little lost in the mail, they went to my nearest store as I don't have a saltwater set-up.

The look on my face must have been priceless...I can only imagine what the look on the other person's face, the one who had originally ordered the snails, was when he/she got some freshwater fish instead. This is a very unusual occurrence with LiveAquaria who seem to be very careful in their shipping.

 

[melosu58]

Dont get me wrong, I love the good doctors and think they have a great thing going. I buy alot of supplies from them but when it comes to livestock I buy from the LFS because I want to be able to observe the fish before I take it home. I want to make sure it`s eating and does not have an obvious disease or flaw. The eating part is important to me. If they are not eating there then chances are they wont eat at home.

 

[buddha_red]

that's a really good point. if you are interested in finicky eaters its important to see them eat to make sure you dont starve the poor creature.

 

[stratmaster]

Yeah I'm in agreement with most everyone else here, Live Aquaria was the site I was actually going to mention to you about whether I can order online from them or not. Seems like an excellent site, great prices and as somebody stated here a live guarentee. I may take a chance on it when I get my refugium all setup and set to go. My main concern is compatibility. What happens if you order a fish online and it just will not get along with a current fish in your tank? You're screwed it would seem to me. Now on the other hand you can take it back to your LFS and say "Uhh yes I need to try another species of fish, this one fights terribly with my Triggerfish" or something like that.

(Although the one thing I gotta say about Liveaquaria is they always seem to be out of stock of most of their stuff, what's up with that?) I've been waiting for Emp Angels to get in stock forever!

 

[roka64]

But Mike, I don't have a LFS with a 2000 gallon tank! LOL!

 

[tlkng1]

One of the reasons I don't use some of the local places around here is stock availability and basic health. Like many, I am pretty picky and it concerns me when I see dead fish floating in a tank. I owuld prefer local to online ordering of course, but, for the most part, I have never had a problem with Live Aquaria and the health of the fish/plants/inverts I have received, with the exception of that one deceased arrival.

What I defnitely prefer with the local is the fact that water conditions are pretty much the same. Getting livestock online you can pretty much say they are in near perfect tank conditions, something that isn't likely to be in every hobbyists' tanks no matter how hard we try