Liveaquaria shipping quality

[mhstein34]

Just got back in to the hobby and have started stocking my tank. I have placed 3 orders with live aquaria and all have arrived super cold and half of the items are dead. I do not have a LFS close to me, so online is my only option. The only reason I place orders beyond my original order was due to credit that needs to be used. So far I have had a claim on all 3 orders. I used up the last of my credit on 5 banded trochus snails knowing that the shipping cost more than the snails, but I figured I can not get them locally and snails should be pretty hardy to ship. I was wrong, 2 of the 5 were DOA due to a shipping delay. Now I have credit for 2 snails that I will never use because shipping costs are so high. Just wondering if I just have bad luck or if other people have experienced the same. I have ordered from a different online retailer and had no problems with that order (maybe I was lucky)

 

[Woodyman]

Just got back in to the hobby and have started stocking my tank. I have placed 3 orders with live aquaria and all have arrived super cold and half of the items are dead. I do not have a LFS close to me, so online is my only option. The only reason I place orders beyond my original order was due to credit that needs to be used. So far I have had a claim on all 3 orders. I used up the last of my credit on 5 banded trochus snails knowing that the shipping cost more than the snails, but I figured I can not get them locally and snails should be pretty hardy to ship. I was wrong, 2 of the 5 were DOA due to a shipping delay. Now I have credit for 2 snails that I will never use because shipping costs are so high. Just wondering if I just have bad luck or if other people have experienced the same. I have ordered from a different online retailer and had no problems with that order (maybe I was lucky)

Couldn't count the number of threads I've seen about live aquaria and their horrible shipping practices lately.

So no not just bad luck. It's Live Aquaria.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Yes, I think they changed hands and lost a lot of employees. Their webpage even says they’re low-staffed.
for a place to make that public they must really be short handed.

 

[Double monti 61]

Yes and they are not the only ones!

 

[Projects with Sam]

lol; you read about that Applebees exec?

 

[mhstein34]

Couldn't count the number of threads I've seen about live aquaria and their horrible shipping practices lately.

So no not just bad luck. It's Live Aquaria.

It is not so much the lost money on my part, I just hate that the shipping is killing these animals. I guess I will have to make the 3 and 1/2 hour to the nearest fish store for future livestock

 

[Projects with Sam]

Ouch. I guess that drivetime prevents spur of the moment purchases...

 

[vtecintegra]

I had three consecutive deliveries from live aquaria with DOA. I would only order from the Diver's Den section (too expensive) that ships from WI, or the captive breed section that ships direct, like ORA from FL. Search, there are other options like Blue Zoo, NY Aquatic, etc. No personal experience with those, but I've seen others recommend them.

 

[mhstein34]

Ouch. I guess that drivetime prevents spur of the moment purchases...

There is a petco about 2 hours away, but their tanks and fish always look so terrible. Been tempted to rescue one, but cyano all over and many fish that look diseased

 

[Projects with Sam]

The 7 petco within 10 miles of me all look really decent. That being said, I've personally seen Ich in 2 of their tanks. Then have seen those tanks darked-out for at least several weeks in one store; flipped to freshwater and fresh converted to salt in another so I was really impressed with their handling of it.

 

[mhstein34]

The 7 petco within 10 miles of me all look really decent. That being said, I've personally seen Ich in 2 of their tanks. Then have seen those tanks darked-out for at least several weeks in one store; flipped to freshwater and fresh converted to salt in another so I was really impressed with their handling of it.

I am sure there are some stores with knowledgeable employees that are passionate about the animals. Unfortunately, the one closest to me does not appear to be one of those stores. I am a small business owner and know how hard it is to find help right now. Hopefully this petco will find the right person that can turn things around someday

 

[ShakerBreaker]

about a month ago ordered a tomini tang and Midas blenny from them, they sent me a beautiful two spot on accident instead of the tomini, but other than that, the fish were very healthy and made it through the quarantine without issue.

I think the best advice if you are going to order from them is to make sure you get fish from their diver's den or Wisconsin facility. The California stuff comes straight from the port and in my experience in very bad shape, even the snails they sent me from there arrived dead.

 

[Breadman03]

The 7 petco within 10 miles of me all look really decent. That being said, I've personally seen Ich in 2 of their tanks. Then have seen those tanks darked-out for at least several weeks in one store; flipped to freshwater and fresh converted to salt in another so I was really impressed with their handling of it.

LA is not the only source for salty critters. Corals get all the fanfare here on R2R, but poke around the site vendors and you'll find quite a few places that'll be able to get you stocked up.

 

[mhstein34]

about a month ago ordered a tomini tang and Midas blenny from them, they sent me a beautiful two spot on accident instead of the tomini, but other than that, the fish were very healthy and made it through the quarantine without issue.

I think the best advice if you are going to order from them is to make sure you get fish from their diver's den or Wisconsin facility. The California stuff comes straight from the port and in my experience in very bad shape, even the snails they sent me from there arrived dead.

The packaging material has been Chinese newspaper. I have been wondering if these orders are actually shipped from China? The bag the snails came in was super cloudy and smelled pretty bad when opened. I was surprised 3 made it

 

[mhstein34]

about a month ago ordered a tomini tang and Midas blenny from them, they sent me a beautiful two spot on accident instead of the tomini, but other than that, the fish were very healthy and made it through the quarantine without issue.

I think the best advice if you are going to order from them is to make sure you get fish from their diver's den or Wisconsin facility. The California stuff comes straight from the port and in my experience in very bad shape, even the snails they sent me from there arrived dead.

The packaging material has been Chinese newspaper. I have been wondering if these orders are actually shipped from China? The bag the snails came in was super cloudy and smelled pretty bad when opened. I was surprised 3 made it

 

[threebuoys]

I think all on-line vendors have difficulties with bad weather, too cold in winter too hot in summer.

They are also at the mercy of UPS and FedEx. I've had shipments sit in un-heated or un-AC in Memphis or Lexington hubs for over 24 hours on several occasions. When the planes don't fly.......

Heat or cold packs help, but they can't be regulated very well. Adding enough heat to last for 24 hours or more will create a steam bath for the first 12 hours. Just the opposite for cold packs.

Then, once the item is placed in the delivery truck .... no heat or AC there either.

I'm over 3 hours from nearest LFS, so I buy everything on-line. I've had good and bad luck with LiveAquaria and with other west coast vendors for both fish and corals. When I've had problems because of hot/cold or unknown conditions, the vendors have always honored their warranty and replaced the order. Yes, having to pay shipping twice is a problem, Still a bargain for me at today's gas prices. Six hours round trip 350 miles and no assurance what inventory will be available at that LFS are big problems.

When its 70 degrees in LA and 70 degrees at my location in february, it can be 20 degrees in Tennessee or Kentucky. Heck, it can be 30 degrees difference between my location and the airport in Norfolk where the shipment first arrives from the hub.

So I understand your frustration, but I haven't found a better alternative yet.

 

[ShakerBreaker]

The packaging material has been Chinese newspaper. I have been wondering if these orders are actually shipped from China? The bag the snails came in was super cloudy and smelled pretty bad when opened. I was surprised 3 made it

yeah, I noticed the packaging too, same thing.

Of course, then you get store credit and come back and need to spend enough for free shipping again ...

I still have a good experience when I order from the diver's den or the Wisconsin facility though and I think someone mentioned the ORA stuff and while the wait times are long, the customer service has been nothing but helpful.

Like I said, I would just recommend avoiding the California shipped products in my own experience.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Forget Live Aquaria, there are much better options now.

check out Tankstop. I recently placed an order from them and everything on my order shipped, and no DOA's. Free shipping at $200 too.

I would order from BlueZoo or TankStop over LA any day.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Yes, I think they changed hands and lost a lot of employees. Their webpage even says they’re low-staffed.
for a place to make that public they must really be short handed.

AKA the wages you pay is crap at this point.

 

[Double monti 61]

If you’re looking for good service try aquatic jewels.