Old saying in hobby don’t buy a fish unless

[Piranhapat]

Today world is not much different from a decade when buying fish online. Old saying before you pay for a fish. They are things you can check. So when you go home the fish will live more than a day or a week.
First you want to see the fish is eating. Did he go after it or badly had the excitement.
Second just looking at fish eyes. Nice clear no haze or dullness.
Third the fish is breathing. Is his gills working hard or heavy.
Fourth swimming how is he moving.
Firth look well on body and fins. No markings or blurr on fins or spots.
Six the color of fish. Does the fish have Nice color. Nice coat on fish. This is what I look for in a fish. This week I made a mistake from buying online. I no longer will trust buying a fish without seeing. Be careful buying from but some places do have good systems and good Quarantines. Every reason to buy from LFS. You can’t do this from buying online. Unless they send you a video of fish.

 

[Piranhapat]

One reason we buy online is we see a fish that’s rare and less expensive. So instead we take a chance and totally relying on the guy picking you out a healthy fish. Until you open bag you have no ideal. Until a few days go by you start noticing things ain’t right. So in the long run can you do business with someone you can’t trust. Their are times when things don’t work out. Somethings you can’t help or control. But I hate when dealers just don’t see it that way and want to blame the person who bought the fish. Like we are all dump and never took care of fish. Like the dealer never believes it’s his part too. It happens the nature of the Business.

 

[Piranhapat]

And when there is a problem. Is the company going to look for more business with the customer or rather dispute claims. Now I hope with all that’s going on with Hawaii and Indonesia. It might be a calling on aquaculture and buying fish from places that do. Better for the fish and better for environment and better for buyer. Hopefully this is where our future is For our hobby.

 

[azbigjohn]

I can appreciate where you are coming from, and your tips on inspecting the fish in person before buying. Sadly, for some of us, that isn;t an option. My nearest LFS is a 2 hour drive, and it is poor at best. Decent LFS is 4 hours away...

So, I have a couple online vendors I trust, although everyone has different experiences.

 

[ca1ore]

Ok, don't disagree, but if you buy from the more reputable online vendors their guarantee largely insulates you from the risk of a fish in poor condition. I buy mostly online, not for price really, but for selection. I also keep a record of which fish survives and which does not. I do get DoA from online, but my LFS doesn't sell the dead fish. Adjusted for DoA (about 5%), my survival rate is almost the same online versus LFS.

 

[declanisadog]

Ok, don't disagree, but if you buy from the more reputable online vendors their guarantee largely insulates you from the risk of a fish in poor condition. I buy mostly online, not for price really, but for selection. I also keep a record of which fish survives and which does not. I do get DoA from online because my LFS doesn't sell the dead fish. Adjusted for DoA (about 5%), my survival rate is almost the same online versus LFS.

I agree with all of this. While I would prefer to by from any of the many LFS around me, I have been burned more times by them than I have buying online. I've had fish die on me the next day from buying both ways, but I don't get any guarantee from local stores and I typically pay more. Before I started buying stuff online I feel like I just settled for what was close to what I wanted that the store I was in happened to have in stock. Now I always get the exact fish I want.

 

[Piranhapat]

I understand your point. One of the reason I bought online was this fish is hard to find at LFS. Matter who you are and who the seller is there will be times that a fish will die from unknown. Its always the blame on the buyer not seller. Shame what happen to this hobby.Its all about money and shady business today.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Generally speaking, I prefer online. Warranty mitigates the risk and selection is far better.

Some species I prefer lfs. Picky eaters etc. I also try support lfs as much as possible.

So, I purchase fish maybe 50% local, 50% online. I also find survival rates to be comparable, with online being slightly better but local fish being on average more sensitive species.

 

[declanisadog]

Generally speaking, I prefer online. Warranty mitigates the risk and selection is far better.

Some species I prefer lfs. Picky eaters etc. I also try support lfs as much as possible.

So, I purchase fish maybe 50% local, 50% online. I also find survival rates to be comparable, with online being slightly better but local fish being on average more sensitive species.

That's a fair point. I too buy more of the finicky ones from LFS which definitely factors in to the lower survival rate.

 

[Jesterrace]

Today world is not much different from a decade when buying fish online. Old saying before you pay for a fish. They are things you can check. So when you go home the fish will live more than a day or a week.
First you want to see the fish is eating. Did he go after it or badly had the excitement.
Second just looking at fish eyes. Nice clear no haze or dullness.
Third the fish is breathing. Is his gills working hard or heavy.
Fourth swimming how is he moving.
Firth look well on body and fins. No markings or blurr on fins or spots.
Six the color of fish. Does the fish have Nice color. Nice coat on fish. This is what I look for in a fish. This week I made a mistake from buying online. I no longer will trust buying a fish without seeing. Be careful buying from but some places do have good systems and good Quarantines. Every reason to buy from LFS. You can’t do this from buying online. Unless they send you a video of fish.

For me it's a combination of all of those things plus the fact that I either order $100 plus worth of fish (which often isn't the best practice since you can't really QT an individual that way, unless you are buying an expensive fish) or I have to add $30 in overnight shipping fees to boot. I love Live Aquaria as a research tool, but I don't know that I will ever order from them. I can get most fish from my LFS for less money overall and they give me the option to hold onto the fish for a few weeks as an added precaution to ensure it has passed some basic form of health test before I even bring it home. You can't get any of those things by ordering online. I know for a fact that I wouldn't have a Blue Star Leopard Wrasse in my tank right now if I had to order online.

 

[jpas]

Is there anyone else with a good or bad experience with fishybusinessaquatics?

I was looking at s Sohal and some other expensive fish from them, but now I’m having second thoughts.

Thank you

 

[DSC reef]

I would search the vendor feed back, plenty of good experiences as well. I'm sure they would answer all your questions with PM as well.

 

[albano]

One of the reason I bought online was this fish is hard to find at LFS.

Shame what happen to this hobby.Its all about money and shady business today.

What fish?
No guarantee with online dealer?

ALL businesses are ALL about the money, otherwise they don’t last long.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I have been skeptical of some of their (fishy business aquatics) policies and customer service so have stayed away.

Until now. I have two orders that arrived this week, one from fba. I will do a feedback thread later, but so far the responsiveness has been exceptional, more than I could have expected.

I had two issues. First, I added to my original order but was charged again for shipping insurance. I emailed and received a response within minutes, and a refund shortly thereafter.

Second was a shipping delay by ups. No fault of FBA. They have been great throughout the delay. Great communication staying in touch with me and ups. The fish arrived alive a day late. I even got a call today from them checking on the fish. Packaging was appropriate, nothing special but it was good enough to keep them alive during a winter delay.

I am waiting until warranty period ends to actually post a review since their handling of that situation is one of my potential concerns but I have to say so far I am pleased.

 

[saltyhog]

I understand your point. One of the reason I bought online was this fish is hard to find at LFS.

This is the number one reason I buy a lot of my fish on line. There are some that I have never seen at any of my LFS. I have gotten lucky occasionally. I have a Potter's wrasse that I found at my LFS that's been in my tank for over 4 years.

Is there anyone else with a good or bad experience with fishybusinessaquatics?

I was looking at s Sohal and some other expensive fish from them, but now I’m having second thoughts.

Thank you

I just placed my first order with them yesterday. They called me on my cell phone today to let me know that the ice storm in KY was threatening UPS deliveries in my area and they were going to delay shipment out of concern for the fish. I thought that was pretty nice. The person that called was very polite and offered to ship tomorrow for Sat delivery if the problems at the hub are corrected in time tomorrow.

 

[Reefbuds]

I only buy online fish from WYSIWYG, mostly DD. Like said before, they offer 14 day guarantee so you can bet they will ship in the near condition possible. I have heard horror stories on here but never had that experience personally.

 

[jpas]

Thanks for all the responses to my question., you guys are great!