Peer to Peer: Buying Corals, Fish and other Livestock?

[don_chuwish]

If there was a local club option, that would be my preference. If anyone on R2R was local to me, that would be my preference. Really the only option I have that comes close is trading in my overgrown corals for store credit and using that at a store about 1 hour away.

 

[motortrendz]

the local frag swap scene in Michigan is heavy swaps every month. most have corals that look as good as the best pic's you see online for half the price. plus if i do buy from a online vendor it's cherry corals they are about an hour drive from me. i tried the online live sale here on R2R once i had never bought coral from outside Michigan before but i got 24 acro's shipped from the other side of the county, thought i got a great deal but i got aefw infestation instead. thank god i have a qt tank i lost all of them but it could have been much worse without the qt tank so that was a first time last time for me i just buy local now.

Luckily for me, everyone I've ever bought from on here has been good, I dip everything that goes in my tank and inspect every piece with a magnifier. (I've learned my lesson in the past) I've found more pests in local stuff... everything from red bugs, aefw, to just annoying algaes on the plugs.

 

[blstravler]

I like buying on R2R the best everyone is usually great to deal with. I had one bad encounter recently but it won’t discourage me.

 

[fuelman]

Luckily for me, everyone I've ever bought from on here has been good, I dip everything that goes in my tank and inspect every piece with a magnifier. (I've learned my lesson in the past) I've found more pests in local stuff... everything from red bugs, aefw, to just annoying algaes on the plugs.

Ya pest can come from anyone, & had I been better with the ID of what aefw was I might have been able to beat them but I had never seen it before & at that point didn't realize what I had. it was after Coral's started dying that I figured it out. I could have gotten the same thing from a local guy you never know, but so far so good with the local reefers for me. The bigger online vendor's not so much.

 

[Admann]

I have never purchased from anywhere but online vendors. Since really digging in the forums here I have decided I will be tapping someone on R2R in the future

 

[GoVols]

Online corals: WWC and Battle
Those are top notch and... pest free!

Fish:
TSM Aquatics or Reefwise / Full QT, and will not sell unless a fish meets their high standards.

I'd rather pay extra on price, to get the quality and QT'd

 

[Treasure Coast]

Active members that actually support R2R and good reps = always a great experience.

 

[SebastianReefer]

There are many ways and places that allow you to connect with your aquarium peers to buy and sell livestock whether it be R2R, a local club meeting, social media or other forum. But what is your preferred method/place and why do you like to do your "business" that way? So let's discuss and do me a favor by answering the following question.

1. How and where do you like to buy and sell aquarium livestock?

2. Why do you prefer one way over the other?

I buy from two lfs I have not had the chance to buy from anyone else but would love to

 

[drblakjak55]

At three years. Looking for showcase pieces. Pictures from on line don’t seem to correlate with what arrives. Now I only buy from R2R sellers or frag meets where I see the piece and can trade or buy bigger pieces for less.

 

[Kevan Sharp]

I’ve bought on line from Cherry Corals and WWC
otherwise lfs. While the on line shopping has a lot more variety, I’ve had issues with the frags. Too small and in some cases, are still the same size as when I bought and other cases didn’t survive more than 3 months. I went to WWC in Florida and bought a lot there but still, very tiny frags

I’ve looked for a local club (fb group) but have not found one (Denver area). I wish there was one.

I have found my lfs to carry hardy stock, although common. . They quarantine and clean fish and coral. Plus I get good advice from them. One of them even ordered an elegance coral for me. I can get larger frags also and I prefer sizes bigger than a frag. None of those 1/2 inch frags. Their prices are competitive and no shipping cost.

I would purchase from R2R people though if they were experienced. I just haven’t looked there

I am going to my first aquarium event here in Denver. Hope to find some nice pieces.

 

[Rilo]

I like seeing a face when I buy coral. It gets me comfortable buying coral and keeps me coming back.

 

[fishguy242]

like to see what i am buying,tank/tanks come from

 

[Haydn]

I live in the UK and would be quite happy to buy from here but the sellers won't pay my travel cost to come and get their items- rotten lot

 

[Bolingsw]

I like to buy local, not only from the local hobbiest but from our local shop. We have 4 reef shop in my area. These guys are all great. I am not against buying on line, or in another city. But I prefer supporting local hobbies and shops.

 

[nsuderman]

I wish my area had a better/any local community of frag swappers. The northwest seems to be dead zone outside of big cities

 

[Rukk]

I voted "other" as I have and probably will again order livestock online.

However my preference is just about any scenario where shopping costs are not involved and I believe I am getting healthy specimens.

 

[AZMSGT]

I prefer the old fashioned way. See inventory in front of me and select the items I want. I can see the health of what I’m getting in reasonable lighting conditions. This Ebay, facebook, online stuff has burned me and I don’t see a need to shop that way anymore.

 

[sp1187]

other social media.
local sellers so no shipping expense. (Cherry is local for me)

 

[Ryan Doolittle]

I put other social media because there is not a large Canadian presence here, the majority of the selling I see is done via facebook, MeWe, kijiji and good old text message.

 

[mitch91175]

I've purchased coral from users on here and have had nothing but positive experiences. You can get coral a great prices compared to online vendors. Not knocking online vendors, but hobbiests don't have the overhead they have to cover in their prices. I purchased from @epleeds @Reef-Tank @Bpb and a couple others. If you find a great user on here you keep coming back

I've purchase a few things from R2R, but instead of purchasing anything, I'd rather do old school trading. For me too many doctored pictures floating around to inflate pricing. So trading for something that I've grown and receiving something that I do not have is a big plus.