Liveaquaria - going downhill fast or just a coincidence

[FiddlersReef]

"Sisyphus got off easy...Zeus should have given him a reef tank."

Just noticed your tagline quote. That's great!

 

[Tamberav]

Quick update. My shipment arrived late yesterday afternoon after all. Arrived very healthy. I didn't take temp of the bag but could smell some ammonia soon as I opened. That's to be expected on a 2 day ship but also meant that I didn't want to mess around in getting the acclimation done quickly to reduce the ammonia toxicity.

The tang appears very healthy, active and eating and picking at rocks. So far...I'll keep ordering from LA. I usually don't order anything in winter, but haven't seen this tang in a while so wanted to pick it up. New tank is on order. Nice having a tank to use for stocking a bit while building new.

Nice fish. The weather was like 40's here in Wisconsin. Probably helped since it was delayed

 

[greenbean04]

Not going to rant here on the bad experience I am continuously having with ordering fish from liveaquaria - but have been using them for years but now I am to a point of completely removing them as an option to order from... lost fish, to not updating if fish is shipped, to DOA arrival due to no heat pack! Take a look at the picture of the fish I just received with a heat pack that is not hot any more - the previous order from last week had no heat pack and fish lost.

This is 3 DOA cardinals - temp. at around 55 degrees.

Anyone else having negative experience with them?

I ordered from them for my first time, and I doubt I will be ordering again. First of all, my shipment was heavily delayed, which was okay due to weather, but when they finally sent out my packages, one of them got delayed while in transit, and therefore was no longer overnight shipping. With that in mind when I got my package the water was freezing cold and there was no heat pack. My fish was very much so dead and my shrimp was nearly dead and ended up not making it. My feather duster is in horrible condition, and my coral too. The only thing that made it was my green clown goby. I am very disappointed.

 

[greenbean04]

Not going to rant here on the bad experience I am continuously having with ordering fish from liveaquaria - but have been using them for years but now I am to a point of completely removing them as an option to order from... lost fish, to not updating if fish is shipped, to DOA arrival due to no heat pack! Take a look at the picture of the fish I just received with a heat pack that is not hot any more - the previous order from last week had no heat pack and fish lost.

This is 3 DOA cardinals - temp. at around 55 degrees.

Anyone else having negative experience with them?

 

[areefer01]

I ordered from them for my first time, and I doubt I will be ordering again. First of all, my shipment was heavily delayed, which was okay due to weather, but when they finally sent out my packages, one of them got delayed while in transit, and therefore was no longer overnight shipping. With that in mind when I got my package the water was freezing cold and there was no heat pack. My fish was very much so dead and my shrimp was nearly dead and ended up not making it. My feather duster is in horrible condition, and my coral too. The only thing that made it was my green clown goby. I am very disappointed.

Which step of the process are you disappointed if you don't mind me asking?

They delayed due to weather. Makes sense and wise.
Transit delays is out of their control.

 

[bklynbee]

I just received a doa fish from live aquaria. There was no heater pack in the box. There was supposed to be snails and hermit crabs with him but thank god they weren’t in there. I called them and they said they were delayed. I didn’t get any email or anything from them to notify me. I ordered from them a year ago and the fish were great so don’t know what happened. This will be the last time I order from them.

 

[PhilMStudy]

A quick Google search shows that Fedex ground delivered 12 million parcels every day in FY21. If they thought that closely about every parcel then, presumably, nothing would ever arrive on time (and I dread to think what would happen at Memphis if every package was individually checked).

I am not an expert on US consumer laws. Are you not legally entitled to refunds for items delivered not as described (i.e. purchase a live fish and it arrives dead)?

FedEx is a case study in a failed business and failed logistics model, literally.

 

[MinnieMouse2]

PetCo Owned LiveAquaria, in the past when they bought Drs Foster and Smith. From what I understand all their Fish come from them.

Petco no longer owns LIve Aquaria. LA was purchased by California-based Tropical Fish International. Aug 25, 2020
( Service, fish getting worse and worse. ) Every divers den anemone I received as eating and healthy came in sick. Not my tank problem. Bought a red anemone from house wife and is happy and thriving. None of their stuff is any better than what you could get at a local half run pet store. Expect weak animals and their issues are all on you.

 

[Quietman]

Tang is still fine. However, I also ordered 5 Blood Fin tetras and 6 FW Nerite snails for my planted tank. I believe they came from WI so took a bit longer. Why not save on shipping and restock for some losses, right?

I know this isn't FW forum but the Blood Fin all look like a bit like albino fish. But they don't have red eyes as a matter of fact their eyes look underdeveloped (fast moving so pics are hard before I've had my coffee). You can see eye development is not there right? I took a pic of Blood Fin for comparison. If anything they look a lot like Cave tetras (cool I guess but not what I ordered and they don't even carry them). They all arrived healthy though, so there's that.


New Fish (Cave Tetra?)

Current Blood Fin

So I guess LA and I will be talking a bit.

 

[greenbean04]

Which step of the process are you disappointed if you don't mind me asking?

They delayed due to weather. Makes sense and wise.
Transit delays is out of their control.

I absolutely agree with them delaying my package due to weather as the weather was not great, and you are right transit delays are not in their control, but it is always a possibility and there for there should have planned for that, and put a heat pack in. If there would have been a heat pack, I imagine that more of my marine life would still be alive. That is what I am most disappointed about, because those were innocent lives that have been taken due to carelessness in the shipping process.

 

[biecacka]

I too used to order all my fish from them. However, the last batch of fish I order was 10 fish, 2 are still alive and its only been a few months. In fact, when I got the box off the porch, I could smell the bad water. This tang in one of the bags looked like it was decomposing already....disgusting and sad to see all at once. I have used https://drreefsquarantinedfish.com/ before and he was very friendly. He even offers to quarantine them for a nominal fee. I opted not to have him do it and I lost 2 fish, but one came in pretty bad. I have been buying a few from my LFS lately. Pay more, but see the specimen, however their fish selection isn't always great or alive....haha


corey

 

[fish farmer]

Tang is still fine. However, I also ordered 5 Blood Fin tetras and 6 FW Nerite snails for my planted tank. I believe they came from WI so took a bit longer. Why not save on shipping and restock for some losses, right?

I know this isn't FW forum but the Blood Fin all look like a bit like albino fish. But they don't have red eyes as a matter of fact their eyes look underdeveloped (fast moving so pics are hard before I've had my coffee). You can see eye development is not there right? I took a pic of Blood Fin for comparison. If anything they look a lot like Cave tetras (cool I guess but not what I ordered and they don't even carry them). They all arrived healthy though, so there's that.


New Fish (Cave Tetra?)

Current Blood Fin

So I guess LA and I will be talking a bit.

That does look like a cave tetra.

 

[t5Nitro]

Best to avoid shipping this time of year. Not to say thats Live Aquarias problem. Still better to wait until better weather.

 

[Quietman]

That does look like a cave tetra.

Yeah...more and more I'm leaning that way. I sent an email to LA to confirm. I'm also concerned since they're not offered online if they may have still been in quarantine or new arrivals from somewhere. I have 50 tetras in my tank and would hate to suffer any outbreaks of anything.

 

[areefer01]

I absolutely agree with them delaying my package due to weather as the weather was not great, and you are right transit delays are not in their control, but it is always a possibility and there for there should have planned for that, and put a heat pack in. If there would have been a heat pack, I imagine that more of my marine life would still be alive. That is what I am most disappointed about, because those were innocent lives that have been taken due to carelessness in the shipping process.

Thank you for the clarity. When I read it I was not sure of the area. Your concern is on the packaging.

Hopefully you took a few photos of the packaging and reached out to LA/DD. Helps you with return and also helps them improve.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

When I was purchasing large fish, invert, and live rock orders I always stopped ordering in November through February. This was during normal shipping via airlines with direct flights from Quality Marine or others to Spokane. This greatly reduces livestock loss. Shipping via UPS, USPS, or FedEx is a majority cause for livestock deaths. It is creating more mortality and giving the aquarium industry a black eye. I think we should rethink the current model and local aquarium society's should do group buys via airline shipping or support your local fish store. When I say support I mean order everything everything you can locally and rebuild the older much more reliable supply chain. It works and we need to stop sending fish in particular through UPS, USPS, and FedEx period. This will increase the success you all will appreciate. Just a thought.

 

[Smoke-Town]

I use live aquaria a lot for fish... but I only order from. The Wisconsin facility. And whatever is in Florida...Ora or biota I think. Everything I've ordered from California looked like the guy who packed it was a half hour away from quitting and burning the building down. Cold fish. Sick fish. Dead fish. Leaking water. Etc.

I've personally had good luck with everything out of Wisconsin. Never ordered coral or nems from them tho.

I've been considering finding a new place to buy from... especially after learning that it was sold again... if it wasn't good enough for petco... it has to be pretty terrible.

I just don't know who has a good selection and quality these days.

 

[tylo92]

I just received part of my order from live aquaria and ended being happy last week. I got two ORA clowns and a Goby. They were shipped from Florida with two heat packs which kept them very warm in freezing temps. Healthy and active fish. Now part of my order from California is delayed. We shall see what that is like if and when I receive it. The California warehouse seems to have no positive reviews.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I just received part of my order from live aquaria and ended being happy last week. I got two ORA clowns and a Goby. They were shipped from Florida with two heat packs which kept them very warm in freezing temps. Healthy and active fish. Now part of my order from California is delayed. We shall see what that is like if and when I receive it. The California warehouse seems to have no positive reviews.

I think florida is direct from ORA no? Or is that only biota? I believe LA themselves actually only ship from wisconsin and everything else comes directly from wholesale (Quality Marine in LA) or direct from the ORA/Biota facilities in florida.

 

[tylo92]

I think florida is direct from ORA no? Or is that only biota? I believe LA themselves actually only ship from wisconsin and everything else comes directly from wholesale (Quality Marine in LA) or direct from the ORA/Biota facilities in florida.

It must be. The shipment from California was really bad. The Carpenter Wrasse was nearly unconscious from the cold and yellow water. It wasn't packed tight in the box and the heat pack was on the out side of where the fish were. The bags were not sealed also like my shipment from Florida. We will see if he makes it. Also, customer service is lacking as they never let me know this package was delayed. I had to follow up with them and told them not to deliver until this coming Friday and they still delivered it today (changed my schedule so I was home for the delivery). I would no longer recommend them after this experience.