In anticipation…..

[rdnelson99]

Anticipating that my tank will start to cycle soon and then I will be ready for a fish or two as well as CUC, I have a couple of questions about ordering on line verses my local LFS.

How do the on line vendors ship them and keep them alive?


Are the fish not totally stressed in the shipping process?


If no one is home when Fed Ex/UPS delivers a package they will leave packages on my door step. I would anticipate finding dead fish when I get home?


What am I missing here because looking through all of the posts on this site it looks pretty common?

 

[carey]

I ordered once from petsolutions.com and found their shipping and packaging to be excellent. I got 3 fish and all arrived alive. They were each in separate bags with black out on the bottom so the fish couldnt see or get too stressed. I acclimated them over about 2 hours and they did fine.

However, if your not gonna be home for delivery the companies will probably not honor their guarantees on live fish. I was home to sign for mine and one of the fish went missing, he was a tiny half inch fish, I called their customer service dept and they gave me a store credit back for the cost of the fish.

if you won't be home for delivery I would be hesitant on ordering them online. Do you have a favorite local store that maybe can order what you want? My not so local lfs orders me in what I ask for, well if he can get it. lol I'm still waiting for a barnacle blenny to come available but dont wanna waste $35 shipping on a $20 fish.

 

[Unicorn]

I got my tomato clown and sun coral from an online vendor and had positive results
Yes, the fish are stressed, and my tomato clown did have some ich once left in the quarantine tank for 2 days, which is a normal sign of stress
But fish are always easily stressed and will develop ich just by transfering them to a different tank when they are not used to the water and I can hardly blame the vendor for that.
Now he is healthy as can be and happy (as far as I can tell)

Also the coral is doing great!!

Just make sure u have a good vendor and read what they have stated on their page on how they ship!!!

Also, the vendor will keep u posted on when the fish will arrive, I had that day off and the delivery came ON TIME at around 2pm

You HAVE to make sure that u will be home!!! They wont leave the fish at ur door and being taken back-and-forth is more stress on the fish!

Hope I was able to help

 

[rdnelson99]

I ordered once from petsolutions.com and found their shipping and packaging to be excellent. I got 3 fish and all arrived alive. They were each in separate bags with black out on the bottom so the fish couldnt see or get too stressed. I acclimated them over about 2 hours and they did fine.

However, if your not gonna be home for delivery the companies will probably not honor their guarantees on live fish. I was home to sign for mine and one of the fish went missing, he was a tiny half inch fish, I called their customer service dept and they gave me a store credit back for the cost of the fish.

if you won't be home for delivery I would be hesitant on ordering them online. Do you have a favorite local store that maybe can order what you want? My not so local lfs orders me in what I ask for, well if he can get it. lol I'm still waiting for a barnacle blenny to come available but dont wanna waste $35 shipping on a $20 fish.

Thanks. It is hit and miss on if someone will be home. My wife doesn't work but with kids she is on the go alot. As for a favorite local LFS, I am still searching. The "almost locals" (three within 45 min) I don't trust much. The "Not so Local" (1.5 hr) I trust a lot but not a huge selection and the distance will make it hard. Going to have to think this one through. If I could schedule them to arrive on a Saturday for certain I could make arrangements to be there.

 

[carey]

They usually deliver on saturdays but it generally cost extra. They also will tell you the exact day it's coming ahead of time so you might be able to have the wife home for it. My UPS guy comes between 10-3pm so thats my window. Not sure how good your guys are. Fedex is pretty good too, alwasy here before noon.

 

[hackteck]

rdnelson what part of Atlanta are you in? they have alot of nice reef stores down here maybe i can point you out a couple

 

[rdnelson99]

rdnelson what part of Atlanta are you in? they have alot of nice reef stores down here maybe i can point you out a couple

I bet I have seen a thousand of your posts and never noticed you are in the ATL. LOL I live in NW Forsyth County. 1/2 to Cumming, Canton Dawsonville and Jasper. LOL Couldn't get farther away. On top of that my office is in Jasper. I have checked the one in Canton and was not impressed with the store or the owner. Check a couple in Woodstock and got bad advice in both. There is one off Barrett Parkway that comes recomended but when I was in there yesterday there seemed to be some sick fish in several tanks. On top of that, I wasn't pleased with the advice. The one I seem to trust the most in in the Shopping Center on Powers Farry next to Microcenter just south of Delk. But that is a long way to go.

 

[rdnelson99]

hackteck, didn't you use ammonia to cycle tanks? I picked up the best I could find from Ace tonight. It is 10% smmonium hyftocife. Is that suitable? Also, how much would be the right dose in a 45 gal tank. Are we talking a couple drops, a cap full, several cap fulls, teaspoon, tablespoon or cup?? LOL I am assuming we are in the cap full range correct?

 

[hackteck]

i actually used raw shrimp so i wouldnt have to remember to dose

 

[hackteck]

I bet I have seen a thousand of your posts and never noticed you are in the ATL. LOL I live in NW Forsyth County. 1/2 to Cumming, Canton Dawsonville and Jasper. LOL Couldn't get farther away. On top of that my office is in Jasper. I have checked the one in Canton and was not impressed with the store or the owner. Check a couple in Woodstock and got bad advice in both. There is one off Barrett Parkway that comes recomended but when I was in there yesterday there seemed to be some sick fish in several tanks. On top of that, I wasn't pleased with the advice. The one I seem to trust the most in in the Shopping Center on Powers Farry next to Microcenter just south of Delk. But that is a long way to go.

ya your a pretty good drive from all the good ones lol pure reef is probably the best but their in alpharetta also you should join Atlanta Reef Club lots of members also they list all the reef stores around the atlanta area and they have alot of members selling used equipment,fish etc

 

[rdnelson99]

i actually used raw shrimp so i wouldnt have to remember to dose

So you are saying you are about the same age as me. LOL Memory went just after the waste line which came after the hair.

 

[rdnelson99]

ya your a pretty good drive from all the good ones lol pure reef is probably the best but their in alpharetta also you should join Atlanta Reef Club lots of members also they list all the reef stores around the atlanta area and they have alot of members selling used equipment,fish etc

Missed this post last night. Thanks for the tips. I will check them both out. Alpharetta wouldn't be any worse than Marietta.

 

[hackteck]

im going to visit them again this weekend to check out their coral selection

 

[rdnelson99]

Are they open on Sundays? I have a full day scheduled tomorrow but might be able to run down there on Sunday.

 

[hackteck]

Are they open on Sundays? I have a full day scheduled tomorrow but might be able to run down there on Sunday.

yup they sure are sunday from 1-5 the address and everything is below you simply must check them out! lol

Pure Reef
12900 Hwy 9
Alpharetta, GA 30004
770-754-7971

 

[rdnelson99]

Happened to have to to Alpharetta on business today so I stopped in. Nice store. Nice prices too. LOL Think they may be a bit pricy for my budget. They want on average $10.00 more per fish for everyday stuff.