MY RANT...

[Civicman86]

Ok so I got on saltwaterfish.com. I added a Percula Clown to my shooping car. Hit check out to see what it would actualy cost with the fees. WTF is a 9.99 surcharge! Then they say I have to spend over 75 bucks to even checkout! That like the cost of all my fish combined! I dotn want to buy them all at once and spike my tank, i just want one clownfish when my tank is done cycling. Do all stores have this hidden charge? I have never ordered fish online but that crazy.

Anyone know any other reliable places that have clowns for around 15 bucks (tank bread) for sale online? Im hoping my tank is wrapping up its cycle and shoudl be able to order the little guy soon.

[Pghjeff71]

You might check drsfostersmith.com; however they will charge you $30 for shipping. If you are just looking for a single fish you're better off finding a LFS. Or you could set up a QT tank, order $75 from saltwaterfish.com and slowly add them to your main. I found it easy to hit that mark by ordering cleanup crews and inverts. All in all saltwaterfish.com does have the lowest shipping you'll find anywhere, IMO.

[lando]

The $9.99 charge is likely for boxing and shipping supplies. Stick with companies that have a flat shipping rate like drsfostersmith.com. May places actaully require a mimimun order just because of the cost of shipping the animals.

[Hara]

once you have done this a few times, you will realize what a bargain the surcharge is. Most places charge a surcharge along with the shipping fees which, in total, usually add up towards 50.00 or so. ONline vendors are not usually very cost effective for the purchase of just one fish. They are great to get things like cleanup crews, corals etc and then add a fish to the box

[Pghjeff71]

As a followup, just realized drsfostersmith has a $30 minimum order.

[Civicman86]

Originally Posted by Hara

once you have done this a few times, you will realize what a bargain the surcharge is. Most places charge a surcharge along with the shipping fees which, in total, usually add up towards 50.00 or so. ONline vendors are not usually very cost effective for the purchase of just one fish. They are great to get things like cleanup crews, corals etc and then add a fish to the box

But if I do that what do I do later down the road when I just want my goby and pistol shrimp. They are not anywhere near the 75 dollar mark.

If I do get a fish from the LFS store (I know they have some clowns there) what do I need to do to treat them just incase they are sick? He will acutally be the only guy in the tank besides 3 snails and two hermits.

I just thought that fee was crazy. But I can see where paking the fish and everything could be costly. I just figured most places added that cost into the price of the fish.

[Fluff]

You'd want to treat any mail order fish the same as one bough locally. QTing it for at least 4wks to be sure it's healthy and shows no sign of ich. And, since it is in a QT tank anyway, should some malidy show itself, it's easier to treat.

[ellisz]

Civicman86: You are in Louisville? There are a few nice LFS in this area. I work in Louisville and and frequent most of them

You can also order from www.premiumaquatics.com and have livestock shipped UPS ground. It comes next day since they are in Indy. They do have a $8 box charge and expect to pay about $10 for shipping. They have clowns for $13-15. After you add the $18 for shipping, you could get one from a LFS. Bigger orders are good for mail order and I have had good resluts with saltwaterfish.com

Check out Aquatica, East End Aquatics, Sandys or Greentree in Indiana. if you need any starter frags, let me know Louisville has a nice Marine Aquarium Society- www.LMAS.org

Let me know if you need any local help

[Civicman86]

Yeah I usually go to sandys on popular level rd and the feeder supply on preston highway.

Im still nto sure I understand a QT tank. I have been reading some and trying to learn. Is new water that has been treated ok for the fish? IM guessing their waste is what messes up a new tank, and that is why we cycle the tanks? Basicallyt keeping new water in the QT tank (like 20-25% changes daily) keep the water in good condition?

Sorry for the noob question.

[ellisz]

For fish, check out East End Aquatics or Aquatica. Their fish look real healthy and they have better prices, IMO.

For QT's, you have no biological filtration so when the fish has waste or you add food, there is nothing there to help out. Water changes have to be done. Adding a seeded filter in a HOB can help too. More water volume the better here.

[Civicman86]

ok so basically the key is to keep fresh water in the tank? (i.e. water w/o fish waste and excess food).

Also ill check those out. Thanks