Buying fish - LFS or Online Stores?

[Smidget121]

I just had a horrible experience with fish from my LFS resulting in a diseased tank and a loss of the 9 fish I had.

Water tests were normal, these fish were sick when I bought them.

I am treating my tank to prepare it for a new set of fish, but I don't want to go back to a LFS.

Do you go to a LFS or shop for fishes online? Why?

For those of you who shop online - what are some reliable sites?

I have a freshwater tank, just fyi.

Thanks,
Sally!

 

[BHead707]

I dont buy fish online and have been lucky and havent had to deal with a terrible outbreak in my tank.

However this is the reason people keep a quarantine tank for their new fish. That way if you do purchase diseased fish you can catch it while they spend a month in the quarantine, therefore you don't have to deal with it in the display tank and don't have your healthy fish risk being infected.

 

[nwsharksfan]

The only online store I know of is liveaquaria.com and the minimum shipping charge is $35. If anyone knows of another online store without the excessive shipping let me know cuz my local store is way overpriced.

 

[BHead707]

have you guys checked out aquabid.com?

its an ebay-like website and there are some reputable breeders on there that you can get some awesome fish from

and normally shipping is quite spendy for fish because they must be shipped one-day.

also check out the classifieds on this site, SeverumMama and HN1 sell alot of fish and ship at a very good rate

 

[Cornstar]

I never bought fish other than from other breeders within my area or a fish store. I like to choose my fish before buying and with a LFS, I am able to witness how it looks like ,any damages and what not. I do not like the idea of my fish in a box being mishandled by shipping carriers.

 

[blert]

I never bought fish other than from other breeders within my area or a fish store. I like to choose my fish before buying and with a LFS, I am able to witness how it looks like ,any damages and what not. I do not like the idea of my fish in a box being mishandled by shipping carriers.

All (well most) of the fish at your LFS are bagged and boxed and mishandled by a shipper. Just show up at delivery time, you'll see. I usually order my fish from my LFS on Tuesday and pick it up on Wednesday when the delivery guy shows up so it never goes through acclimation at the shop, I take it home in the bag it was shipped in. The fish has to go through one less stress session and I get a healthy discount for this too as the LFS guy does not have to do anything with my order.

 

[chagoi]

I like online.

 

[Cornstar]

All (well most) of the fish at your LFS are bagged and boxed and mishandled by a shipper. Just show up at delivery time, you'll see. I usually order my fish from my LFS on Tuesday and pick it up on Wednesday when the delivery guy shows up so it never goes through acclimation at the shop, I take it home in the bag it was shipped in. The fish has to go through one less stress session and I get a healthy discount for this too as the LFS guy does not have to do anything with my order.

I understand, but the fact that the fish are alive at the store reassures me that the fish is ok. You can also look for any symptoms that fish may have had through the huge stress and then you have the option of not buying it. Yet if the fish that you bought online arrive with any sort of sickness or diseases from the stress, you really have no option of returning. (There may be policies for this, but I am not sure.)

But in your case, your LFS seems really horrid. Are there other LFS nearby?

 

[nwsharksfan]

Despite the abhorrent shipping cost I did buy coral, star fish, and live rock from liveaquaria when I had a SW tank and I was pleased with what I received. Their live rock is the best I've seen. But with freshwater - the fish are a lot cheaper and easier to come by at the local stores so, unless you're looking for an exceptionally rare fish, I don't know that online shopping makes much sense.

 

[boadams87]

Another site is livefishdirect.com shipping looks reasonable