Buying Fish Online?

[Cichlid_Man]

Hi all.
I know I saw it posted somewhere before but I can't find it.
I want to add some electric blue ahli and Malawi Blue Dolphins to my tank but the LFS is no longer carrying them.

I came across Aquariumfish.net and they seem to specialize in Malawi's.

Has anybody bought a fish online with success?

Thanks!

[Lady Hobbs]

Joe, I know several who have bought online but you have to have a large enough order to warrant the shipping rates which are anywhere between 25-35 dollars. Some places ship any amount for the same price and other ship by the box so you'll want to watch that, too.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/default.cfm?siteid=20&ref=PE&subref=AA

http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/stressdisease.shtml

http://www.johnnypets.com/

http://www.aquariumfish.net/

http://www.azgardens.com/fish_snails.php

http://www.fish2u.com/index.html

http://www.thatpetplace.com/

Some good deals on cichlids always thru Ebay too. And that reminds me of something. I just heard of a cichlid breeder that sells on Ebay with the seller name of "cichlids from Ohio". I'll see if I can find it.

[Cichlid_Man]

Thanks for all those links Hobbs!

I looked at aquarium.net and they say you can order 1 fish, or 100 fish, but I didn't know the shipping rates were so high.

I am also afraid that whoever delivers the fish will not be able to find my house.
I have had trouble with Fedex and UPS delivering my packages a day late.

I wonder if I can order what I want from a different LFS?

I will have to see. No sense in paying 35 dollars shipping for a 6 dollar fish!

[Lady Hobbs]

Didn't search long enough to find that seller but check out this page.

http://search.ebay.com/cichlids-live_W0QQbsZSearchQQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQc oentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfclZ3QQfcmZ1QQfpos ZQ5AIPQ2fPostalQQfromZR10QQfrppZ50QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1 QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZQ2d1QQsadisZ200QQsargnZQ2d 1QQsaslcZ2QQsbrftogZ1QQsinceZ30QQsofocusZunknown

[Lady Hobbs]

If that link is not long enough, perhaps I could find one longer. sheesh

[Cichlid_Man]

Never saw a link that long!

I think I am just going to have the LFS order what I want.
I was reading all the web sites you sent me and they have this return policy that is kind of gross.
The D.O.A. policy. If the fish are dead on arrival, I have to re-pack them and ship them back. I think I would freak out if I opened a box of dead fish.

[Lady Hobbs]

Joe, I have never seen that policy and I've checked out online purchasing in many places. All they ask is that you contact them immediately with a picture of the dead fish. I know of no where that wants dead fish returned to them.

[Severus]

I cant imagine returning dead fish.haha. If i ever did order online i would make sure there is some kind of guarantee on the fish. I think liveaquaria.com is 14 days. As stated before though, shipping pretty much kills any online fish buying for me.

[kufan]

I use the following site. Shipping is 25 bucks, but if you have more than a couple of fish that you are ordering, it works out great because it is a onetime charge.

http://www.petsolutions.com

[Lady Hobbs]

Shipping
I am confused. Shipping charges are the same for each order you purchase of fish whether it's 2 or 40. The next order would cost the same. Your reference to a "one time charge" left me confused as they charge each time.

[Lady Hobbs]

They all have a quarantee to arrive alive. If one doesn't make it, you take a picture and send it to them and they give you a store credit. They don't ship you another fish to replace the dead one as shipping rates are so high.

The bags are all filled with oxygen. They don't just scoop them up and drop them in a bag like at the stores. And they arrive the following morning so if there were deaths, I don't think they would be often. They use heat pads in the winter months to cold states and cool pads in the summer months, as well.

[Severus]

Wow. i never knew how much care they took in the shipment of the fish. I guess they just arrive in some sort of styrofoam cooler?

[Lady Hobbs]

Yes, all packed up nicely and all quaranteed to arrive by noon the following day. I will probably order my Rainbows this way as it's not that easy around here to find them.

[Severus]

Yea, that is pretty cool. Im ready to order some fish right now! lol
Other than liveaquaria.com would you recommend any other sites?
Im not ordering any fish. Just wondering

[Drumachine09]

Yes, all packed up nicely and all quaranteed to arrive by noon the following day. I will probably order my Rainbows this way as it's not that easy around here to find them.

Rainbow Trout, sharks, or what?

[Severus]

I think she meant rainbow fish? Maybe...

[jeffs99dime]

yeah. probably meant rainbows (bosemani rainbow, etc..)