Ordering fish/corals from online vendors?

[wswftball02]

I have always supported my local fish store when buying my livestock, but I am becoming increasingly interested in ordering things online. I am a little nervous to order something that is alive and it being shipped, but hey thats how lfs get them right? Anyways do you guys think its safe and reliable to order livestock from online? If so what are the best websites for fish?for corals?......I have hurd live aquaria is good, can anyone confirm or share any experiences. Thanks guys.

 

[magdelan]

Live Aquaria is top notch. I don't personally have any experiences with them, however I have "heard" only great things about them. This includes their impeccable customer service. hth

 

[Eastamherstbias]

I just had a $175.00 Latz clown show up DOA from an online vendor. They are sending me another one but I have to pay another $30.00 which is irritating! I will definitely rethink ordering fish online again.

 

[xXxSpyderxXx]

i have ordered rare freshwater fish online in the past (no local fish store carries my fish, i went to EVERY store in a 50 mile radius of my house) and they came perfect. granted it was from a private seller. but its nice and safe to buy fish online in my experiences.

 

[tmz]

Live Aquairia ,Foster and Smith is top notch. Shipping can be hard on fish and you need to be prepared to acclimate them appropriately in a quarantine tank. It's fun to have those packages with livestock come to the door. My preference is for lfs fish and corals but I've had luck on line for special stuff and the lfs's I know will order something for you.

 

[toddmh]

Divers Den is great for fish..Also I have had really good dealings with Vivid Aquariums..

 

[sedorusc]

I like bluezoooaquatics, but liveaquaria does have better selection. My last order from bluezoo got held up another day in memphis due to unexpected weather (thunderstorms). Got a call from them plus emailed extra acclimation instructions. Package arrived casualty-free. Plenty of the sps I order from them usually come with the good hitch-hiking crab.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

 

[Mr Reefer 1690]

Love Live Aquaria. Living in the Utica area I have no LFS and have been driving to Albany and Syracuse for over 20 years. Have recently added Roch and Buff as well.
The $35 I spend on shipping is a bargain compared to what it costs me to travel to stores and I get a 14 day guarantee.
Those with a good LFS nearby don't know how lucky they are.

 

[mr86mister]

Mr. Reefer you could always check out Tropical Grotto....:lol: I've heard the worst of the worst about that place.

On topic, online vendors WYSIWYG sections really are pretty good. Liveaquaria for sure. I would stick for ones with many good reviews and recommendations sometimes other places will try to screw you.

 

[Krypt1979]

+1 for Liveaquaria. I've ordered from them multiple times and they always come through. Bloozoo is good to, never had an issue with them either. Stay away from Aquacon though, they are not so good.

 

[RichT1999]

I use saltwaterfish, usually get better quality fish than local vendors. Free shipping on $200 and you take a picture of any DOAs and they will credit your account.

 

[sg1838]

+1 for LiveAquaria (Drs. Foster & Smith, which also includes their WYSIWYG Diver's Den). I've ordered 8 fish from them on two separate orders, and only one didn't make it after being introduced into the tank. They have an "Arrive Alive" guarantee on most fish, that includes a 14-day money-back (or replacement) policy if the livestock perishes within that time frame. They have now also added a free-shipping option for orders over $225 (I added a couple of corals onto my last order to get the free shipping - in essence, they were free).

Honestly, I can't say enough good things about them, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to order from them. I've heard good things about BlueZoo Aquatics as well, but I have never ordered from them personally.

Good luck!

 

[FRED0]

I buy fish online often. Never had many problems except for when I placed an order with aquaCON. Never order from aquacon. Their name says it all. Live aquaria is what I use the most. Vividaquariums and saltwaterfish.com have never done me wrong either.

 

[rjmayes34]

i have had luck ordering corals from spikescorals.com It is a guy who has the tanks in his basement. Called the day he was shipping them out to make sure it worked with me. Orders over $220 are free shipping. I ordered like 8 corals or so,they all came in mint condition and he threw in a freebie also. All his frags were bigger than i thought they would be. like 2 polyps for x amount of dollars-well I got three or four polyps for the same price.

 

[sandworm]

i orderd zoanthids from That Pet Pace, they opend right up, one frag plug in about 2 gallons of water, had to laugh at that.

 

[Sweet]

I have ordered from Liveaquaria and the stock was great, I have ordered from saltwaterfish.com and the stock was great too, but the service terrible. They cancelled my account and never told me why.

-Sweet

 

[Paradiddle7]

+100 for LiveAquaria. I have placed 6-7 orders with them in the past 4-5 years and have always been satisfied and impressed with their shipping and quality of specimens. Their customer service is unmatched. I only had a problem with 1 powder blue tang that developed ich about 7 days after being placed in my tank. No questions asked, they credited me for it.

Reefs2Go is awesome for cleanup crew and other specimens. Go get on her mailing list. YOu can get great deals on crabs and snails with lots of buy one get one free specials and when you spend X amount she throws in even more snails and crabs. I replenish my CUC every 9 months with her. I've been very satisfied with their service.

I've also placed orders from Blane Perun and lost a $65 yuma in transit. I won't order from him again. I wasn't that impressed. Also SaltwaterFish sent me 2 very sick clown fish that were struggling to breathe and died within 24 hours. They were a pain to prove to them the fish died. I had to cover the fish in salt and mail it back, so I just decided it wasn't worth my time.

I also spend money at the LFS mostly because I see something I want, so there's no reason to shop online. I also think out of principle that it's proper to support local businesses, as my wife and I tend to purchase about 75% of all our goods online.

 

[Eastamherstbias]

Pacificislandaquatics.com was nice to order from. I received two Latz and two black and gold damsels.

 

[kingfisher62]

I have ordered from petsolutions and dr. fosters and have always been happy. I did loose a coral that was DOA this winter but they honored the guarantee. I would recommend checking the weather and try not to order in extreme heat or cold . The spring as a good time to order.

 

[albano]

In the past year, I've received 3 large orders from Finger Lakes Live Rock.
I think that they are actually in the buffalo region, ...alot of specials, and can order just about anything you want.
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