Best Online Coral And Fish Store?

[Brew12]

I know this, I was trying to say that they handle their fish completely differently, that they aren't an online embodiment of petco. I should have been clearer in stating that it wasn't true that live aquaria was a bad vendor.

My understanding is that Live Aquaria very rarely ever even handles their own fish. They have employees that coordinate fish to be shipped to customers directly from the bulk suppliers.
Petco gets the exact same fish in the exact same condition as you would get when you order from Live Aquaria. Where Petco tends to fall short is the conditions they maintain in the store. There is no reason a Petco couldn't have an excellent marine fish department. It all depends on store management.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

For coral I deal with @Joe Knows Reefs. Been satisfied if not more with every purchase. Great quality stock. I'm more of a coral buyer than fish so I'll leave that to someone else to advise. Although, his fish are extremely healthy and beautiful every time I've visited his shop.
R2R has tons of vendors to shop from.

 

[Reefahholic]

My understanding is that Live Aquaria very rarely ever even handles their own fish. They have employees that coordinate fish to be shipped to customers directly from the bulk suppliers.
Petco gets the exact same fish in the exact same condition as you would get when you order from Live Aquaria. Where Petco tends to fall short is the conditions they maintain in the store. There is no reason a Petco couldn't have an excellent marine fish department. It all depends on store management.

No offense, but I'm not quite sure that's completely accurate. Are you talking recently or this has been since they opened?

One thing I know because I'm a disease freak when it comes to ICH, Velvet, Brook, Uronema, Bacterial infections, etc. is that Live Aquaria's fish are absolutely the safest I've found anywhere in reguards to parasites.

You are right when you say that Petco has poor store management. Their employee's are not to blame, but people who are higher up the ladder dictate what's done in the fish systems.

However, I find it hard to believe that Live Aquaria doesn't handle their fish much when they have videos online showing what they do. The have acclimation rooms, run their tanks with therapeutic level of copper, etc. I've emailed them about acclimation and quarantine practices and they're definitely handling the fish. Now many this has stopped, but they absolutely were and doing a fine job of it. I just ordered 6 fish recently and not one of these fish have had any problems and this is without any treatment.

Am I wrong?

 

[Reefahholic]

"The fish you purchase from theDiver's Den® are the healthiest ornamental marine fish available. Whether it's $10.00 damsels or a $3,500.00 Gem Tang, every single fish at our Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility receives our full attention and the highest level of professional care. All fish are quarantined and acclimated to captive conditions under strict protocols regardless of species."
Kevin Kohen - Director of LiveAquaria

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=425

 

[Abhishek]

Am surprised no one mentioned about Battlecorals and Uniquecorals ...

Both amazing stuffs and pretty rare ones especially if you are into pricey ones

Regards,
ABHISHEK

 

[Brew12]

No offense, but I'm not quite sure that's completely accurate. Are you talking recently or this has been since they opened?

One thing I know because I'm a disease freak when it comes to ICH, Velvet, Brook, Uronema, Bacterial infections, etc. is that Live Aquaria's fish are absolutely the safest I've found anywhere in reguards to parasites.

You are right when you say that Petco has poor store management. Their employee's are not to blame, but people who are higher up the ladder dictate what's done in the fish systems.

However, I find it hard to believe that Live Aquaria doesn't handle their fish much when they have videos online showing what they do. The have acclimation rooms, run their tanks with therapeutic level of copper, etc. I've emailed them about acclimation and quarantine practices and they're definitely handling the fish. Now many this has stopped, but they absolutely were and doing a fine job of it. I just ordered 6 fish recently and not one of these fish have had any problems and this is without any treatment.

Am I wrong?

You are wrong, but you are also right. If you order a fish from Live Aquaria, and it ships from California, it came directly from their importer. If you order a fish and it comes from Wisconsin then it came from their own facility. This is the stock from Divers Den.
They discuss it in here, especially on page 4, and their reasons for doing it. Most online retailers do it the exact same way as they also point out.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=115

Our customers receive their orders directly from one of the best importers in the country. We have selected an importer that has strict protocols for acclimation, holding, and husbandry, while employing the most advanced filtration equipment and holding systems. After each species is carefully inspected, they are then selected and packed by an expert crew of well-trained professionals and shipped directly to your door.

 

[Reefahholic]

You are wrong, but you are also right. If you order a fish from Live Aquaria, and it ships from California, it came directly from their importer. If you order a fish and it comes from Wisconsin then it came from their own facility. This is the stock from Divers Den.
They discuss it in here, especially on page 4, and their reasons for doing it. Most online retailers do it the exact same way as they also point out.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=115

Our customers receive their orders directly from one of the best importers in the country. We have selected an importer that has strict protocols for acclimation, holding, and husbandry, while employing the most advanced filtration equipment and holding systems. After each species is carefully inspected, they are then selected and packed by an expert crew of well-trained professionals and shipped directly to your door.

Well that's good to know. At least they picked a top notch importer with good acclimation, holding, and husbandry skills. When They say holding...I'm assuming they're holding quite a while to make sure there are no signs of parasites.

What's weird is I've never noticed different packing or boxing. You'd think that a completely different importer would have different materials. Oddly...they don't mention who the best importer is. You'd think they'd be proud if they're one of the best in the country with "well-trained professionals."

 

[Brew12]

Well that's good to know. At least they picked a top notch importer with good acclimation, holding, and husbandry skills. When They say holding...I'm assuming they're holding quite a while to make sure there are no signs of parasites.

What's weird is I've never noticed different packing or boxing. You'd think that a completely different importer would have different materials. Oddly...they don't mention who the best importer is. You'd think they'd be proud if they're one of the best in the country with "well-trained professionals."

I really doubt they hold them for all that long, unless it is a Divers Den fish. Those do get handled differently.

The major fish retailers have employees at these importers that select, package, and ship the fish. The smaller online stores that ship direct from importers use a 3rd party or the importer themselves to select and package the fish. To me, this is one big reason I would prefer to use a larger online presence such as LA. If it is a smaller store, I would want one that ships fish from their own facilities, such as NYA. I wouldn't want some random 3rd party picking out fish to ship with no connection or accountability to the online fish store.

I think it important to keep the role of the importers in mind. They have no desire to hold and treat fish. Even the best retailers only try to reduce fish stress to allow their immune systems to keep them healthy. If they see a fish with obvious signs of ich, they may pull that fish out of their system. They will not treat all the fish even though they know they all have it. They leave it up to the LFS or hobbyists to either treat the fish or keep it in a healthy enough environment that it's immune system remains strong enough not to show symptoms.

 

[helen ann]

For coral I deal with @Joe Knows Reefs. Been satisfied if not more with every purchase. Great quality stock. I'm more of a coral buyer than fish so I'll leave that to someone else to advise. Although, his fish are extremely healthy and beautiful every time I've visited his shop.
R2R has tons of vendors to shop from.

+1 for @Joe Knows Reefs and Will at @AquaSD!!!

 

[ktownhero]

Liveaquaria and Dr Foster & Smith are Petco. Have you ever been to the marine aquarium section of a Petco store?

They aren't Petco, they were bought by Petco. Big difference.

 

[ryan316]

Ive had my best experience with Cherry Corals!! Very reasonably priced, best shipping Packaging I've seen, they respond to questions very quickly, and the size, color and health of their corals definitely exceed expectations!! Check them out

 

[filbie70]

I didn't mean to bash or start a huge debate. I gave my opinion based on my experience. My standard is a bit higher than disease free. I expect a fish to be eating and not hide for days after introduction. Regarding the affiliation with Petco, yes owned means "is" as far as reputation goes. Develop standard operating procedures for the stores otherwise my $s that go to Petco or LiveAquaria.com or DiversDen, is supporting the poor practices in those same stores. I'm sure the practices are different at the online stores, but I have had a low success rate with my purchases from Divers Den and I won't buy from there again. Large conglomerates have to move volume or it doesnt make sense. I'm sure others have had good experiences. Use the collection of experiences and make your own decision. That is what blogging is about. I still stand behind my recommendation of Sustainable Aquatics and their store The Coral Reef, http://www.coralreeftn.com.

 

[Jay6363]

Battlecorals hands down!

 

[schlitz]

What does anyone think about saltwaterfish.com? I have purchased from them and have had much better results with their fish over their corals.

 

[jsbull]

Rethought my post and decided to remove it.

 

[Reagan Harrell]

Just received orders from Blue Seas Aquarium and Extreme Corals. I was very impressed with their selection and they both kept excellent communication with me. If you are looking to order corals online, these two are defiantly worth your time to check out.

 

[cwalton00]

This is not true. Live aquaria has a business deal with Petco but their fish are handled completely differently. Live aquaria and Divers Den are probably the best place to get healthy, beautiful fish but they can be a little pricey

+1 to this

 

[Reagan Harrell]

Live aquaria is defiantly the best for fish and Diver's Den is great with corals, but Blue Seas Aquariums and Extreme Corals are spectacular for corals.

 

[wherenext]

Avoid aquarium depot, can get different corals than what you ordered.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

My top 3 are the following:
Unique Corals
World Wide Corals
Vivid Corals