Buying fish online?

[aisforangelfish]

I live in a rural area where the fish market has probably seen better days. I have considered buying fish online before but have discovered a fairly universal $30 overnight shipping fee in the U.S. and am scared that the number of fish I would buy would make this a costly decision, not to mention the possibly questionable health and quality the fish might be in. Has anyone had much success ordering fish online?

 

[HN1]

I should probably abstain from this thread, but I won't. lol

We've purchased from several online sources and only had an issue once. We've also shipped fish throughout the country without issue. Most fish are fine Priority mail (<$10) 2-3 day.

 

[JohnPaul]

Agree. I've bought fish online before, several times, and never paid for overnight shipping. As long as the temperature is reasonable outside, there shouldn't be an issue with prioriity.

 

[HUKIT]

I have purchased from Liveaquaria.com purchasing over 50 fish with only 1 DOA which they quickly credited my account. They have a 14 day no question ask guarantee. I've also had great success with Aquabid.com and mentioned above with 2-3 day shipping and no problems there either.

Only advice would be to acclimate the fish properly when they do arrive.

 

[aisforangelfish]

what good advice! thanks all!

 

[ScottS]

I was nervous, but local availability was VERY limited and I'd not had the best luck. I've ordered twice from Grey Wyman (wetspotcx on aquabid) with pretty good success even with 2 day delivery.

I recently ordered 15 Cardinals, 10 Black Phantoms, 3 Cory Trilineatus and 3 Otos from him. Just 1 Oto was DOA (not surprised given Otos). 1 Cardinal died the first night while in QT, everything else looks great. He has a huge selection and sends out a monthly list of availability and you can order directly. He has a lot of the hard to find Corys, Tetras, Apistos etc. He'll also spend time on the phone answering any questions you have. And no, I don't know him or have any affiliation.

 

[HN1]

Not to be too upfront, but Severum mama and I also sell on AB (Forsythaqua) and directly. We do QT everything before we allow it to be available though so if you're looking for something we don't already have, there'd be a wait. We've got some very cool fish (90% captive bred), inverts, and plants right now. PM either of us and we can let you know if we have what you are looking for and what shipping would be. We guarantee live arrival for 2 day priority and have yet to lose a fish. We use pure O2 in all bags and she is a terrific bagger / packager.

Mods- if too upfront, please delete and accept my apologies.

 

[thuffman03]

Just a quick thought about this....How do you think your local pet store gets their fish? They have them shipped to them via UPS/Fedex or USPS.

 

[Jason7894561230]

They will probably order them from different sources

 

[ScottS]

Not to be too upfront, but Severum mama and I also sell on AB (Forsythaqua) and directly. We do QT everything before we allow it to be available though so if you're looking for something we don't already have, there'd be a wait. We've got some very cool fish (90% captive bred), inverts, and plants right now. PM either of us and we can let you know if we have what you are looking for and what shipping would be. We guarantee live arrival for 2 day priority and have yet to lose a fish. We use pure O2 in all bags and she is a terrific bagger / packager.

Mods- if too upfront, please delete and accept my apologies.

I think that's good to know, obviously as a long time member with your status, you probably wouldn't want to risk a bad rep and can be found for advice.