Buying fish online [Archive]

ladyoutlaw50

06-19-2008, 10:25 PM

Has anyone bought fish online before? If so -- where and what did you think??
thanks

fastfly

06-19-2008, 10:59 PM

Has anyone bought fish online before? If so -- where and what did you think??
thanks

I hear great things from liveaquaria.com however, you have to spend atleast 30bucks I think.

skinni

06-19-2008, 11:00 PM

shipping is normaly about $30 - $40 from what i have seen, but i hear that its done pretty well and not a bad way to buy fish

houie925

06-20-2008, 12:42 AM

I've ordered from liveaquaria and a bunch of times from aquabid. All but one aquabid transaction went well.

krisco

06-20-2008, 12:46 AM

I've ordered from live aquaria, and everything is great. Like said, shipping is i think it was 35 bucks. ALso, say you order plants and fish. The plants will have a seperate box from the fish. bad thing about that is this means seperate shipping charges.

And they have a minimum dollar range for invert purchases, not sure about the fish. But the minimum amount is not outrageous. Usually just means you get one or two more.

but great experience.

cocoa_pleco

06-20-2008, 01:03 AM

ive bought fish and corals online, i even ordered corals in -30c weather and with heat packs it went smooth

country_boy454

06-20-2008, 02:35 AM

Ordered my first fish from aquabid.com and it was shipped in 10 degree F weather. Went well. Lost no fish as the heat packs kept it nice and warm. I've only ordered from aquabid. So far I have 3 smooth deals from there! No loss of fish.

toddnbecka

06-20-2008, 03:39 AM

Most of my online fish deals are through aquabid, though I have also bought from retailers and forum posts. I have had a couple losses with Priority Mail shipping, none with overnight/express. It mainly depends on how well the fish are packed, pure O2 or breather bags are better for transit times longer than 24 hours IME. The couple shipments that weren't 100% live arrivals were poly bagged w/out pure O2, and multiple fish in a single large bag. If the seller doesn't offer a guarantee, question their packing methods before buying.

Incredulous_Ed

06-20-2008, 03:42 AM

I bought some rams form Algenco and he used priority shipping and all the fish were in great health when they came. I think alot of it depends on if it gets cold, and if the seller nows how to pack fish. You can pay as little as 8 for shipping though, or over 50, depening on which carrier and service.