jasonrusso
2500 Club Member
How many Hobbyist are having fish shipped?
- Thread starter dh350twin
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BradB
Well-Known Member
I want to support my lfs, but a drive to any of them is an hour or more less that I can spend on my tank. Most fish are much cheaper online and most trips to the lfs involves me leaving empty handed as they don't have anything I'd want. Also none of the lfs here do any kind of guarantee.
I have bought several times from liveaquaria, great except prices seem much higher than they were a year ago. NYAquatics would be a no brainer if I lived in the free delivery zone, but I don't. Bought from them once, not worth shipping unless you buy a lot at once. Other online retailers are probably the same situation.
I have bought several times from liveaquaria, great except prices seem much higher than they were a year ago. NYAquatics would be a no brainer if I lived in the free delivery zone, but I don't. Bought from them once, not worth shipping unless you buy a lot at once. Other online retailers are probably the same situation.
jasonrusso
2500 Club Member
I don't mind paying more for a better quality fish. As I said in my other thread, I see the LFS quality going down. I don't mind supporting a small business, but something has to be in it for me as well.
I bought an Apex from my LFS for the same price as BRS. He didn't have it (but I can get it, no ****. I can get it too, if I wanted to wait 3 days I would order it myself), so he ordered it. The place is on my way home from work. It was supposed to be in on a Friday. Well, it didn't show up. I had to drive all the way back there on Saturday morning, and it happened to be snowing. So, I was inconvenienced, put in harms way, and spent gas money to pay the same price as BRS which magically shows up on my front steps.
I don't want to do the same with fish if I don't have to.
BradB
Well-Known Member
Maybe I am not the best judge of quality but to my eyes most fish from both are high quality. I remember a foxface I bought online looked starved to death and died almost immediately but I got a refund. Occasionally I see lfs fish that look bad, but I just don't buy them. Most of my fish losses from any source are in the first week, if I buy online I have a good chance of a refund.
jasonrusso
2500 Club Member
I just notice that the fish at the store seem smaller than before and there seems to be a larger ratio of sick and dying fish on display.
I only use live aquaria and divers den. Had great luck with both , high quality.
Tried vivid before but the fish were poor quality and died in QT.
Would try nya but thier shipping to California cost more than the fish.
Purchased many from lfs in the past but usually avoid them due to disease.
Tried vivid before but the fish were poor quality and died in QT.
Would try nya but thier shipping to California cost more than the fish.
Purchased many from lfs in the past but usually avoid them due to disease.
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dh350twin
Well-Known Member
I buy from tsmcorals.com for the same reasons I used to buy from live aquaria. They give a quarantee on there qt fish. My experience is that tsm has nicer quality then DD
Fernando Rubin
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I have bought from NY Aquatic best place live nearby all his fish are in good condition purchased a hippo Tang about a year ago still living a eat like a hog payed only $25.00 now this was before the movie.
The online market has changed so much 30 years ago it would take minimum of 3 days to get a fish I bought quite a few some were good some not so good but today at least you have the internet. There have been so many changes some great some not so great lol
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dh350twin
Well-Known Member
3 days to ship or 3 days for them to get you what you wanted?
3 days minimum in transport like from Fiji or marshal Islands or the Philippines
joro
That Guy
I've bought a number of fish from my LFS but equally as much from LiveAquaria Diver's Den. I've had 1-2 DOAs with DD and in each case they were fantastic to work with and they shipped new fish and/or gave me a credit towards a future purchase (in these scenarios I had the option of which I preferred). My experience has been that the LFS tends to keep more standard fish and that makes sense because they are trying to move as much stock week-to-week as possible. This said, I recently purchased a group of tangs - Achilles, Blonde Naso w/streamers, and a Purple - from my LFS through special order and could not be happier with that purchase since I got to specify what I wanted (in terms of size, coloration, etc) and they delivered. While no protocol is 100% foolproof, they did hold them on arrival for about 2+ weeks to ensure they were eating and weren't inflicted with ich, plus I went in both weekends to check on them before I picked them up to see how they were doing. All tallied, both the fish I purchased from DD and LFS are alive and thriving in my tank.
I'll mention that the "stay alive" guarantees are nice - for the hobbyist - for sure but I think as long as your conscientious about where you're buying the specimens from you can have success all things considered. None of my LFSs offer such guarantees (and I'm lucky to have about 4-5 in a 30 minute radius).
I haven't personally ordered from NY Aquatics but have heard great things online about them - I may pick up a fish or two from them in the future.
I'll mention that the "stay alive" guarantees are nice - for the hobbyist - for sure but I think as long as your conscientious about where you're buying the specimens from you can have success all things considered. None of my LFSs offer such guarantees (and I'm lucky to have about 4-5 in a 30 minute radius).
I haven't personally ordered from NY Aquatics but have heard great things online about them - I may pick up a fish or two from them in the future.
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dh350twin
Well-Known Member
The one good thing about reputable online vendors. Tsmcorals divers den etc is they take the time to properly qt (not sure about DD as I have had a couple come in with crypto) the others especially the ones who are starting to sell at low prices are a volume store and are not properly qt there fish. Most fish can live for 2 weeks even without being QT but may not last much longer(bye bye guarantee) just because they offer a 14 day guarantee doesn't mean they are qt the fish. And by driving the prices down they are causing a serious long term problem. The old saying applies " you get what you pay for" buy quality fish and pay the extra price and have a healthy fish to enjoy for years not weeks or if your lucky months.
joro
That Guy
I'd be careful saying that fish - whether on DD or others - are "quarantined." I personally have practiced more of an "ich management" system, even though I have extended QT for some fish like the CBB which are more finicky eaters, but nothing is proper QT unless you do it yourself. Sure, DD tends to be higher quality and healthier but it's not a substitute for a full QT protocol. Ultimately what we consider as a full QT varies by individual. For example, I have an awesome red-tailed trigger that I purchased from DD and immediately broke out in ich when he was introduced into the DT. He's healthy (and a pig) today but he's not - nor was he - ich-free when I received him from DD.
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dh350twin
Well-Known Member
Well I agree to a point. I have personally seen a facility and there qt protocol so I can say where I buy mine from are properly qt.
iemsparticus
The Addiction is Real
I'm pretty new to the saltwater side of the hobby, so I'm far from a pro... but I have all of my fish and inverts from DD and Live Aquaria, and have been extremely happy with the quality of animal they deliver. I did have 4 DOA Cerith Snails, but, just as everyone else have said, their customer service and replacement policy are quite good.
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dh350twin
Well-Known Member
The reason there customer service is good is they charge twice as much as they really should be to cover any DOA's however we all are paying for your replacement. The key is to find a place with a proper protocol on QT that sells for a little bit higher then non QT so we're paying then for there efforts of proper qt not twice or sometimes 3-4-5 times the price just to cover there guarantee. How do you think they can afford to employ so many customer service agents lol. Not a kick on them as they try more then most. But there are a very small select that do qt properly and only charge for that not replacing the fish or there own mortality rate because they can't even keep there own stock alive long enough to sell.
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dh350twin
Well-Known Member
I just got one today.
Wart skin?
iemsparticus
The Addiction is Real
The prices on DD and LA don't look to me to be any higher on average than any other reputable online dealer, including TSM Corals. :shrug:
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