I can't figure out why That Fish Place doesn't ship to CA. Anyone know why?

[Maximus]

I called to place an order last week and they told me they don't ship to CA due to "regulations". I was perplexed to say the least. I know about the caluerpa ban in CA but as far as I know, I do not think there is any ban on live saltwater fish. Any ideas?

 

[bullitr]

Almost all the fish in that comes to US Goes to lax.
I don't know why any online store will not ship to ca.
What did you order?
Liveaquaria is ship anywhere in continental us I believe.

 

[smilesmile2008]

Same Question, I'm moving back to Toronto this year.

 

[woodnaquanut]

Strange. No indication on the website about this.

What were you trying to order?

 

[SDguy]

Maybe they're just not that into you?

Seriously though, I wouldn't have half my fish if I couldn't get live stuff shipped here.

 

[Maximus]

I was trying to order a pair of McCulloch clowns. The website would not let me check out so I called them and they verified that they do not ship any livestock to CA.

 

[SDguy]

From their website:
Livestock orders are shipped within the 48 contiguous states with the exception of California. Frozen food orders are only shipped within the contiguous 48 states.

Strange, but true.

 

[Maximus]

I knew I wasn't hallucinating! Thanks for verifying it, Peter.

 

[SDguy]

BTW that's a super cheap price for those clowns. I'm curious what they would look like.

 

[Maximus]

No kidding. I couldn't believe the price!!

 

[FTDelta]

Did you try a price match with another online supplier if they had the same clownfish species?

 

[Barney97]

Here is the regulations on importing fish. For the most part all tropical aquarium fish are exempt. SO the only thing I can think of is maybe they ship stuff that is banned in Ca. so they avoid the state at all costs so they do not run into any issues

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=3257

edit: It also just occurred to me that we passed that internet sales tax law. They may not want to deal with that

 

[eyesinthedrk]

in my opinion they did you a favor. the size of selection is impressive but the quality has left a lot to be desired based on my few visits. id hate to see what their fish look like after a day in the mail

 

[Maximus]

Thanks guys. Perhaps it was for the best after all. It's just confusing to say the least. I think Barney is right about not wanting to ship stuff that might be banned in CA. Rather than go through the hassle of finding out which species are banned, they just stopped shipping all together.

 

[TFP Marine Biologist]

Maximus, We did not stop shipping to California because of a state regulation that bans or prevents us from doing so. This was a decision that we made internally, and it was not an easy decision for us to make. There were a number of factors involved, most importantly, we were not comfortable with quality of service that we were able to provide to our California customers for Livestock shipments. California is very strict about a number environmental issues, especially plants and animals. We had a number of shipments confiscated for "inspection", and while they found nothing wrong with what we were shipping, the end result was not good for the livestock involved, or for the customer who was expecting a shipment. Another serious issue is the transit time, and handling stress from Pennsylvania to California, including delays and lost packages, all at an extreme financial cost for shipping charges and higher mortality rates than we felt were acceptable. I hope you can understand our position on this matter, we made this decision in what we feel was the best interest of our customers and the livestock involved.

 

[Maximus]

David, thanks for clearing that up. I hope you reconsider someday and decide to ship livestock to Ca.

 

[coral_lagoon]

Just order fish from another vendor. I'm in CA and I trust only Diver's Den, Live Aquaria..

 

[davidfrances]

Maximus, We did not stop shipping to California because of a state regulation that bans or prevents us from doing so. This was a decision that we made internally, and it was not an easy decision for us to make. There were a number of factors involved, most importantly, we were not comfortable with quality of service that we were able to provide to our California customers for Livestock shipments. California is very strict about a number environmental issues, especially plants and animals. We had a number of shipments confiscated for "inspection", and while they found nothing wrong with what we were shipping, the end result was not good for the livestock involved, or for the customer who was expecting a shipment. Another serious issue is the transit time, and handling stress from Pennsylvania to California, including delays and lost packages, all at an extreme financial cost for shipping charges and higher mortality rates than we felt were acceptable. I hope you can understand our position on this matter, we made this decision in what we feel was the best interest of our customers and the livestock involved.

Very professional response. Thank you.

 

[Sn8kbyt]

I have ordered from many places online and have to say after the first order from Marine Garden I have not ordered from anyone since. Very professional, customer service is A++ (emails answered the same day and will call you the day order ships), fish and corals ALWAYS larger than advertised. My second order they were not happy with the condition of the only fish left that I ordered and called to ask if they could back order it and ship it for free when available or if I wanted a refund. I went for the back order and they doubled the size of the acan that was shipping and when the fish finally shipped it was also a size up all for no additional charge.