I'm thinking of trying to buy a tang online that I can't find in my LFS. Any places that are better than others? I have looked at several that have the tang I'm searching for but am very hesitant about it. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Opinions needed for buying fish online....
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um, its not something i would ever do, so i would not be able to tell you where to go.
i just have to watch a fish before i buy, ill spend 45mins just watching a fish at the lfs before i buy it. my lfs owner will even bring me a chair to sit and watch before i buy.
I do know that some people who have gone the online rout are not happy with their purchase, and i have herd plenty of horror story's about some online places.
i did however get in a free trial to test a company's shipping process, the fish i got were alive but not well, and did survive. inverts were dead on pick up.
heres a few sites that i would trust more than others.
1.http://reef-a-holic.com(this is a trt member)
2. http://www.reefhotspot.com/store/home.php
3.http://www.liveaquaria.com (which i have mixed views about)
4.http://www.coralreeffarm.com/index.php (i was there once, pretty cool facility)
5.http://www.orafarm.com
list is not in order of quality, if its hard to read sorry i just had surgery 3 days ago, my brain is a little loopy
i just have to watch a fish before i buy, ill spend 45mins just watching a fish at the lfs before i buy it. my lfs owner will even bring me a chair to sit and watch before i buy.
I do know that some people who have gone the online rout are not happy with their purchase, and i have herd plenty of horror story's about some online places.
i did however get in a free trial to test a company's shipping process, the fish i got were alive but not well, and did survive. inverts were dead on pick up.
heres a few sites that i would trust more than others.
1.http://reef-a-holic.com(this is a trt member)
2. http://www.reefhotspot.com/store/home.php
3.http://www.liveaquaria.com (which i have mixed views about)
4.http://www.coralreeffarm.com/index.php (i was there once, pretty cool facility)
5.http://www.orafarm.com
list is not in order of quality, if its hard to read sorry i just had surgery 3 days ago, my brain is a little loopy
Thank you for your input. I was only considering it because ive been asking for a specific fish for about a month and a half now and my Lfs has been unable to get it for whatever reason. I worry about the transporting of it and the stress it would cause them. So I guess I'll just try and be patient. Thanks again.
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have you ever seen one of the shipments of fish that your lfs gets?
there not what you would call great. nor good.
and shipping to a residential consumer takes more time.
i would always try to arrange with the shipping carrier, for pick up at one of their facility's, this way it can shave some time. And if you need to send a fish back, your all ready at the right place.
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6,501 Posts
I used to work for the LFS and well mine did reject ill or expiring fish. They arrive in Styrofoam ice chests packaged with lots of air. If you dont go through your LFS, I would recommend picking it up at the local facility as mentioned above. Definately QT anything you get regardless where you get it from.
What's the difference of picking up at the local facility or having it shipped to your house? Either way it needs to be shipped, whether to your house or anywhere else. And you can have it shipped Next Day Air Priority...it'll be there in the morning the next day, so it doesn't necessarily take longer.
The only way to avoid having a fish shipped is to go in the ocean yourself.
Again, just make sure the company has a solid guarantee and you'll be fine.
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2,227 Posts
I've only bought livestock online. Where I was living before didn't have an LFS within a 3 hour drive from me. I shopped from Blue Zoo Aquatics, Live Aquaria, Reef Hot Spot, and Vivid Aquariums. All great places IMO. Online fish shopping is a piece of cake.
If you look into Live Aquaria's WYSIWYG section (Diver's Den), they go through an extremely rigorous quarantine for each fish, longer for fish that are known as more fragile.
If I were ordering an expensive fish I would go through them. The only complaint I really hear about them is that they are expensive, but it seems worth it to get a much healthier fish than you're likely to find at an average LFS. They also guarantee the fish will show up alive, and it's easy to get your money back.
If I were ordering an expensive fish I would go through them. The only complaint I really hear about them is that they are expensive, but it seems worth it to get a much healthier fish than you're likely to find at an average LFS. They also guarantee the fish will show up alive, and it's easy to get your money back.
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