Opinion of sellers that send "surprises"

[fish_4_all]

I am just curious what the general concensious is of any company that sends "unwanted" and possibly "nasty" hitchikers with plants or fish. Personally I won't even buy a fish from my LFS that has a dead or sick looking fish in the tank not to mention anything that looks foreign. I can't imagine getting plants from an online retailer and having something get through a screening that winds up being a big nasty and eats my fish.

Is this so common it is accepted as inevitable or am I justified at the horror stories making me a little less than eager to buy plants online?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I believe a lot of the online plant places are plant-only tanks. I don't think they keep fish in the tanks, as it would be more maintenance.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Hi, I have tried numerous online aquatic plant retailers and found a really good one (though it's UK based so probably no good for you).

The questions I eventually found I needed to ask were quite simple really:
a) When do you get your stock in, and when do you dispatch it (i.e. how long between arrival and delivery will I get my plants...the longer the wait the poorer the quality)
b) How do you package the plants for delivery? (i.e. if they come in selophane or plastic bags in a jiffy bag don't bet on your plants surviving: they need to be sealed and packed very tightly in boxes so nothing can move easily inside but isn't squashed too)
c) How are plants treated in between arrival in your store and delivery to my home (i.e. do they use copper washes to clean off any nasties, do they rinse them before delivery, are they kept in solely planted tanks or with fish occupants?)

Reputable sellers will be able to answer all these questions and add more info.

 

[Shubunkin01]

Coldmachine, could you post the name of the site or PM me?
Thanks

 

[coldmachineUK]

Welcome. I didn't know if posting a site/advertising was a 'Bad Thing'(TM) so if it is, apologies to a mod for my ignorance:

http://www.aquaticplants.eu.com/index.html

 

[Jarred Darque]

I go through liveaquaria.com for my online live purchases. I have gotten many fish and a few plants from them, just about everthing came in tip top shape, the plants looked great with no hitchikers.

 

[Devilishturtles]

No worries coldmachine. Perfectly fine to link to another site.

 

[Hara]

Is this so common it is accepted as inevitable or am I justified at the horror stories making me a little less than eager to buy plants online?
________________

I am wondering why you think it is a common occurance. I buy livestock online the majority of the time and have yet to have it happen.

 

[fish_4_all]

Just because I hear so many stories about it happening it seems almost like it is common place. Every plant my LFS gets from their supplier has snails on them or at least seams to so I was just wondering. Some get snails, some get scuds, some get hydra, it just seems like a lot of reports of odd bugs and such that it makes it hard to just find a plant online and not expect anything in them. There are reputable sites out there but even they have their unknowns that come in and I didn't know about any of them taking actions to prevent "things" from going to the ones who order their plants.

I have a hard enough time with my LFS getting clean fish and plants so I am just really leary with site unseen. I have also heard so many say they had no problems and after adding a plant or fish they get an infestation of this or that and it just sucks. I have only gotten ick from my LFS twice in 4 years but every time it wipes out almost an entire stock and it really sucks.

Who do you order from that you have never had anything come in so we all know?

EDIT: I think the main idea is to find out what you would do if a company sent you plants or fish and it had some "nasties" that shouldn't be shipped. Would you complain and let them know so it didnt happen again? Would you send them a nasty email and never buy from them again. Things like that.

 

[coldmachineUK]

I've actually stopped buying plants from the LFS around where I live. The place nearest to me (with shouty LFS lady) never has any decent ones in (maybe 2 varieties, all looking bedraggled); one place I bought from brought in large numbers of snails + hydra which I'm still tackling; and the other place is actually ok but quite far away and they have limited variety (but as I say fairly good quality).

I pay £3.00-odd postage for Green Line Aquatic Plants which is hardly anything, on top of which I get seriously good quality plants without any hitchhikers, and can pick from a massive variety It's like ordering from a garden centre but for fish tanks

So, my experience has actually been the opposite: ordering online has been far safer for me than buying in person.

 

[rkilling1]

It is just part of the planted realm. I have gotten plants with snails, egg sacs, bladderwort, insects, BBA, ect.

When you buy plants you have to inspect them prior to introducing them into your tank just like you do with fish.

some places sell better plants them others, but no one is perfect. I have gotten plants from excellent sellers that had problems.

mind you, if I paid for quality I expect quality and if I didn't get it, I wouldn't purchase from them again.

 

[Shubunkin01]

Thanks Coldmachine; the site looks really good.

Shubunkin01

 

[Satsumas]

I'll second that Shubunkin!

Cheers coldmachine!

 

[dehinrichs]

I have had good success ordering plants from www.aquariumgarden.com. They deal only in plants, have good shipping prices, and usually include an extra plant or two with my order. I've never gotten any 'hitchhikers' from them.

 

[Hara]

I buy the majority of my livestock online and have never had issues. I have been doing it for years, from many sources. I suppose the generic answer on preventing issues would be to quarantine. This is standard advice on the saltwater side. I dont see why it wouldnt be feasable on the fresh side as well.

 

[sarah5775]

Somehow I had a snail hitchhike into my tank from java moss. I got a handful and rinsed it well under the faucet before I put it in the tank. Six weeks later, I noticed a snail. It must have been one egg I missed, because there are no others. It couldn't have come from anywhere else, I never bought any other plants. And it sure didn't hitchhike in a fish!

 

[tropicfishman]

I've only had luck with live aquaria also, except I did kill al plant on accident

 

[petunia100]

I have used aquarium garden several times and have had good luck with them, most of the time their plants seem pretty healthy. They shipped a batch to my parents in december and when my parents opened them they were a cold stressed and wilty. They replaced all of the plants, and shipped them insulated with some styrofoam. I thought it was great if them to do that. I've never had any problems with anything from their site. I have seen some photos of aquatic plant dealers and most of them look like all plant tanks. I would imagine you may be more likely to get snails etc. on plants from the lfs, I often see plants there in tanks with fish or even with plenty of snails aready.