Live Aquaria Question.
- Thread starter RealReef7
- Start date
- Status
skibum9884
Active member
Generally you do not have to send it back, however I would certainly hold onto it just in case.
My experience with them has been fantastic. LA is good, the Diver's Den section is even better. I believe others have had similar experiences.
My experience with them has been fantastic. LA is good, the Diver's Den section is even better. I believe others have had similar experiences.
I bought an expensive $200 fish. It died after 14 days. One phone call and credit is granted. No hassle.
My experience with a LFS is a bit different. My $20 fish died the very first night I put it in. I called the LFS, they said bring the fish in with some water for testing. So I go there. They look at the fish and said something must have killed it. I said just because the hermit crabs ate part of the dead fish doesn't mean they can conclude that. Anyway after some hassle they said it's not their fault and here I am ordering from them in the past and had already put in an order for an expensive carpet anemone. Needless to say I refuse to buy anything more from that LFS. I rather pay more and give my money to Liveaquaria.
My experience with a LFS is a bit different. My $20 fish died the very first night I put it in. I called the LFS, they said bring the fish in with some water for testing. So I go there. They look at the fish and said something must have killed it. I said just because the hermit crabs ate part of the dead fish doesn't mean they can conclude that. Anyway after some hassle they said it's not their fault and here I am ordering from them in the past and had already put in an order for an expensive carpet anemone. Needless to say I refuse to buy anything more from that LFS. I rather pay more and give my money to Liveaquaria.
Otherwise, how would they know it died? In my case, I email them.
You can always roll the dice with any vendor. I personally only order from Live Aquaria.
jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
No offense, and Im not trying to attack, but Im not understanding something. Are you expecting your purchases to die? Deciding on where to get livestock based on who has the longest warranty seems rather sketchy. Again, I am not accusing, nor implying anything of you, but I just dont understand what your thought process is. Why not try to find a retailer or vendor who has a reputation fo selling quality, adjusted fish?
LA or DD a+++++ customer service ....I recently had a doa item one oder just called no questions asked refunded paypal...had one item die during 14 day same thing just called no questions asked.. refund..don't have to send back...will always order from them....even on equipment they always make it right
Kieth71
New member
Buying from petco online is basically buying directly from their wholesaler.This can be risky on some levels depending on who that happends to be and how sensative the fish you are buying is.The good part though is that not one petco employee touches your fish which is a good thing.However given the choice between the two(live aquaria and petco) i would go with live aquaria even if its a few dollars more.
RegalAngel
Member
I would...
1. take a photo of the dead fish;
2. Email LA with photo attached.
LA will provide a credit to your account for your next purchase.
Actually LA will provide a credit or refund depending on which you prefer. Often times, a photo is infeasible if you have a highly efficient clean up crew (CUC) and I have never been asked for such by LA. Now other vendors, that is a different story.
Recty
New member
I usually try to take pictures of the fish when it arrives just to document if there are any problems. Just because Live Aquaria or Diver's Den ships their fish very well doesnt mean the airlines didnt bang it around upside down and sideways for 24 hours or the fish made an extreme bowel movement in his water and is swimming around in it... things happen.
Then if there are any issues, I try to take pictures of that as well. Like Steve said above, a lot of times you cant take pictures, but I just feel it cant hurt to have it. I ordered a $599 male scribbled angel, beautiful fish, from Diver's Den. I documented the first night that it had a swelling in it's side and called them the next day just letting them know. I asked advice and what not about what to do, which they gave. In a week, I called back and let them know the swelling was still there and that the fish wouldnt eat. They again gave advice. At 14 days, I called in again and reported the swelling still there and still no eating. They extended my warranty another 2 weeks.
Right at the end of the 4 weeks, the fish finally died. That day I called them and let them know and they immediately credited the price of the fish back to me. $600 lost for them and they never even questioned me on it. I feel that calling in and letting them know about the fish having problems helped a lot with smoothing the refund process and it also got my warranty extended to 4 weeks.
I can guarantee some of the other more popular online vendors wouldnt provide such service. I had a small meredithi angel from BZ die the first night I had it and it took me 2 weeks to finally wrangle a refund out of them.
It's worth nothing they dont credit back shipping costs, but oh well.
Then if there are any issues, I try to take pictures of that as well. Like Steve said above, a lot of times you cant take pictures, but I just feel it cant hurt to have it. I ordered a $599 male scribbled angel, beautiful fish, from Diver's Den. I documented the first night that it had a swelling in it's side and called them the next day just letting them know. I asked advice and what not about what to do, which they gave. In a week, I called back and let them know the swelling was still there and that the fish wouldnt eat. They again gave advice. At 14 days, I called in again and reported the swelling still there and still no eating. They extended my warranty another 2 weeks.
Right at the end of the 4 weeks, the fish finally died. That day I called them and let them know and they immediately credited the price of the fish back to me. $600 lost for them and they never even questioned me on it. I feel that calling in and letting them know about the fish having problems helped a lot with smoothing the refund process and it also got my warranty extended to 4 weeks.
I can guarantee some of the other more popular online vendors wouldnt provide such service. I had a small meredithi angel from BZ die the first night I had it and it took me 2 weeks to finally wrangle a refund out of them.
It's worth nothing they dont credit back shipping costs, but oh well.
At one point last year, I was looking at the Gem Tangs they had listed. I asked them what the protocol would be if one of them were to arrive DOA or die within the guarantee period. Since the fish was so expensive, they said they would send a package to ship the fish back to them as proof. That is fair considering what they have into it. I have yet to see a place with a better guarantee, selection, and customer service.
I have had great luck with reefs2go.com, their products and pricing are awesome and their customer service is even better. I ordered a pearly jawfish, it arrived alive, barely, but was dead before it was done acclimating. I emailed them and had a credit in less than 20 minutes. Christine rocks!
AuroraDrvr
New member
I'm willing to bet that Petco.com and LA (NOT DD) both drop ship from some of the same wholesaler(s).
But eitherway, LA & LA/DD are by far the easiest to work with. And you can not find a better fish than those listed on Diver's Den... :thumbsup:
inktomi
Aviator
I'm Divers Den all the way. The slightly higher price is totally worth it in my book - you're going to get a very healthy fish that's been eating and has been through a 3 week (or longer) quarantine process and that has already been through deworming/etc. Plus, the people at LiveAquaria are top notch, and they have an amazing selection of relatively hard to get things a lot of the time.
I've bought nearly all my fish from the divers den - and I will continue to do so.
I've bought nearly all my fish from the divers den - and I will continue to do so.
- Status
