Ordering Online - What to Expect??

D

Dr Colliebreath

New member
My perc clown and sunrise dottyback have just completed quarantine and I want to get a butterfly or two. With nothing at the lfs, I am considering ordering online from DD, LA or Blue Zoo although they don't seem to have many small butterflies right now.

What is the difference among them? I know DD shows the specific fish. All 3 get the fish eating. Is there any difference is how or how long they quarantine their fish? DD and LA guarantee the fish will last 14 days and BZ only 7. Other differences?

Thanks.
 
You are going to want to QT butterflies, regardless of where they come from. One reason is disease. Another reason is to get them eating well prior to plopping them into the DT. Since you are looking at butterflies, I'd recommend the place with the longest guarantee.
 
While I have ordered fish from several online retailers there are a select few that I recommend.

Live Aquaria in my opinion has the best fish out there. The fish (from the DD) go through a great QT period and typically arrive in great condition are are prime examples of conditioned fish. The fish shipped from Cali are great as well and I rarely have any issues. The guarantee they offer is the best out there and is offered on all species of fish.

Aqua Touch also has very thoroughly conditioned fish, and possibly a more intensive QT period than Live Aquaria. The guarantee is not as "good" as others, but the fish do arrive in great shape.

Blue Zoo Aquatics offers a good selection, but the fish are not truly quarantined. I have had hit and miss results with BZ. While all fish have arrived looking great not all have eaten and thrived.

In my opinion you simply cannot go wrong with Live Aquaria.

~Michael
 
DD/Aquatouch/etc quarantined, wysiwyg fish are the way to go if you can, the condition of the fish and survival rates are great and worth the premium $$

Liveaquaria and BZ's non-wysiwyg fish have been similar quality, roughly the condition you'd expect from a fish that's been at the LFS for a week. Both ship well.
 
Yes, but there is a difference in the guarantees. Store credit versus refunds. Also, DD/LA has a guarantee on all fish even sensitive ones.
 
SDguy said:
You are going to want to QT butterflies, regardless of where they come from. One reason is disease. Another reason is to get them eating well prior to plopping them into the DT. Since you are looking at butterflies, I'd recommend the place with the longest guarantee.
Click to expand...

I definitely will quarantine butterflies and all of my fish for disease and feeding. I just set the tank up after many years out of the hobby and am trying to be careful to do it right. I also am dosing with Cupramine and PraziPro during quarantine (first time I ever did this). I am raising the Cupramine levels slowly and just using a 3/4 dose for sensitive fish.
 
I've been successful with half dose with butterflies. I killed a few at full dose, so I'm pretty conservative on the dose now.
 
You guys hit on what I was trying to figure out - degree of pre-sale care and strength of guarantee.

If I understand correctly, guess you are saying DD and Aquatouch do an extensive quarantine, taking time to make sure the fish are healthy and see whether any disease or other problem crops up. However, LA and BZ get the fish eating and send them on to customers, right?

I would definitely pay the premium for the better pre-sale treatment, but there isn't much of a selection at DD. People seem pretty happy with the LA fish from Cali, so perhaps they put more into their fish pre-sale.

7 vs. 14 days could make a difference. Perhaps not so much where the seller kept the fish for a more extended period.
 
I have always had good luck with fish from the Live Aquaria California facility. Simply put, Live Aquaria does not ship out "sub-par" fish.

~Michael
 
I've gotten quite a few fish from LA and everyone of them is a top-grade specimen.

It looks like on some of the butterflyfish from bluezoo, there isnt a 14day guarantee. I just rec'd 2 blackbirds from them a few days ago and it is only guaranteed live-on-arrival.

NYaquatics has some very reasonable price BFs, but he doesnt offer free shipping at certain order price levels. Almost all his fish has 14days guarantees as well.
 
The guarantee and pre-sale period distinguishes the online stores from my lfs. I could have my lfs order butterflies and meet them at the store, but I wouldn't have any guarantee although I would have the opportunity to see the fish. They order from Quality Marine, so perhaps there is a reasonable pre-sale period for the fish to adjust.
 
geaux xman said:
It looks like on some of the butterflyfish from bluezoo, there isnt a 14day guarantee. I just rec'd 2 blackbirds from them a few days ago and it is only guaranteed live-on-arrival.
Click to expand...

I noticed this also. It is useful to know that their experience shows those fish don't handle transport and acclimation well. At least you know you are getting into a risky purchase.
 
A quick glance shows that BZ doesn't give a guarantee on those butterflies that, IMO, they shouldn't be selling anyway ;)
 
Funny about that, eh? It is also interesting to compare how some sellers are more inclined to find a particular species reef safe or able to live in more limited quarters.
 
I just looked at AquaTouch. They provide no post-arrival guarantee but appear to take a lot of time and care in making sure they ship fish in very good condition. I wonder if they treat their run of the mill fish better than other sellers or just describe their process better.
 
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