Recent experience ordering from liveaquaria

[SamsReef]

I ordered my first set of fishes/frozen food from LiveAquaria. Below is my feedback for future buyers.

Awesome With frozen food - the frozen variety pack was awesome. Packed with dry ice. Came Nice and frozen. It was way cheaper And better quality than buying locally. It just feels fresh compared to what I used to buy from LFS...

Not so good - the fishes came in tiny. Especially the $95 dollar mandarin was a huge let down...

All is all, I will be ordering frozen food from liveaquaria. I will stay with LFS for fishes.

Sam

 

[Fishingandreefing]

I ordered my first set of fishes/frozen food from LiveAquaria. Below is my feedback for future buyers.

Awesome With frozen food - the frozen variety pack was awesome. Packed with dry ice. Came Nice and frozen. It was way cheaper And better quality than buying locally. It just feels fresh compared to what I used to buy from LFS...

Not so good - the fishes came in tiny. Especially the $95 dollar mandarin was a huge let down...

All is all, I will be ordering frozen food from liveaquaria. I will stay with LFS for fishes.

Sam

Just curious if they ship the frozen food together and if over $149, free shipping for both?

 

[JasonK84]

I ordered my first set of fishes/frozen food from LiveAquaria. Below is my feedback for future buyers.

Awesome With frozen food - the frozen variety pack was awesome. Packed with dry ice. Came Nice and frozen. It was way cheaper And better quality than buying locally. It just feels fresh compared to what I used to buy from LFS...

Not so good - the fishes came in tiny. Especially the $95 dollar mandarin was a huge let down...

All is all, I will be ordering frozen food from liveaquaria. I will stay with LFS for fishes.

Sam

Their site says the ORA blue mandarin will be 3/4” or larger. 3/4” is a small fish but as long as it was that size or bigger then I don’t see a problem.
The target mandarin from ORA is listed as 1” or larger.
I love @LiveAquaria and will be ordering from them anytime I need more livestock. They are Awesome!

 

[Hendrix]

I had a similar experience with Clownfish. All of them were just under the advertised size! The Aquacultured Cheato came with 30 plus "Free" hitch hikers.

On a positive note, I ordered clean up crew for tank from Top Shelve Aquatics and they blew me away with what they sent.

 

[poidog]

Anything ORA is shipping directly from the ORA hatchery here in FL, so expect the same size your LFS would receive from them (usually as they just meet the minimus size for shipping). ORA also ships out in large numbers so they are not holding fish to "get bigger." Once they meet the minimum size/age off they go either to a LFS or to you direct through LA. Fish are coming from a sterile environment, so there should be no health issues.

 

[SamsReef]

Just curious if they ship the frozen food together and if over $149, free shipping for both?

Frozen and livestock shipping are separate as far free shipping is concerned. It was still worth ordering frozen from them even cost wise.

Sam

 

[SamsReef]

Their site says the ORA blue mandarin will be 3/4” or larger. 3/4” is a small fish but as long as it was that size or bigger then I don’t see a problem.
The target mandarin from ORA is listed as 1” or larger.
I love @LiveAquaria and will be ordering from them anytime I need more livestock. They are Awesome!

I did not measure the length whether the fish was 3/4 inch or not. I had tough time seeing the fish and looked like a fry. Hoping it will survive.

Anyways, in my feedback, I have provided credit where credit was due. My feedback should be more to warn buyers that if they say 3/4 inch, to be mindful that one might need a magnifying glass( I did use that to see the color). Hope that clarifies my feedback.


Sam

 

[LiveAquaria]

I ordered my first set of fishes/frozen food from LiveAquaria. Below is my feedback for future buyers.

Awesome With frozen food - the frozen variety pack was awesome. Packed with dry ice. Came Nice and frozen. It was way cheaper And better quality than buying locally. It just feels fresh compared to what I used to buy from LFS...

Not so good - the fishes came in tiny. Especially the $95 dollar mandarin was a huge let down...

All is all, I will be ordering frozen food from liveaquaria. I will stay with LFS for fishes.

Sam

@SamsReef Good day! Happy to hear the

I ordered my first set of fishes/frozen food from LiveAquaria. Below is my feedback for future buyers.

Awesome With frozen food - the frozen variety pack was awesome. Packed with dry ice. Came Nice and frozen. It was way cheaper And better quality than buying locally. It just feels fresh compared to what I used to buy from LFS...

Not so good - the fishes came in tiny. Especially the $95 dollar mandarin was a huge let down...

All is all, I will be ordering frozen food from liveaquaria. I will stay with LFS for fishes.

Sam

@SamsReef Thank you for your feedback. We are happy to hear of your satisfaction with the frozen food delivery! Our recent switch to dry ice for these orders is very beneficial this time of the year! We apologize for your disappointment with the sizing of your fish. The Approximate size is 3/4" or larger, of course the size range may vary between individual specimen. Please keep us posted and reach out to our customer service team if you would like to discuss further. Thank you for your recent order, we appreciate your insights and are here to assist you in any way we can. Have a great day!

 

[mfinn]

Most of the time the fish size has been pretty close, although there have been a couple times.
I once ordered a small leopard wrasse, suppose to be 1" -1-1/2". Came in at nearly 5"
This last time I ordered a file fish that was suppose to be 1"-1-1/2", but this time it was about the size of a nickle nose to tail.

 

[secret_reefer337]

With fish they are fine based on my own experience, but with corals they hit or miss.

Just recently I bought a yellow tree coral and it’s been maybe 20 days and the coral doesn’t have any hint of yellow at all. I’ve sent an email @LiveAquaria customer service a week ago no response.

 

[LiveAquaria]

@Rogie337 Good morning. I apologize we didnt receive your communication, as our typical response time is within 24 hours. We would like to look into and resolve your concerns. Please PM your order details and we will work towards satisfaction. Have a great day!

 

[MoreReefPlease]

@LiveAquaria is super awesome! Their customer support and their prices are almost unbeatable IMHO.

I just got done ordering a ton of frozen food myself! Hikari Coral Gumbo, Silversides and Clams on the half shell along with some Ocean Nutrition chopped clams.

The food is a fantastic value even with the $30 shipping. I don't want to count how many times I've seen "frozen" food from my LFS sitting out in the open after a delivery, one time for almost an hour. No thanks.

I also just got done ordering some more Banggai Cardinals and Blue Green Chromis and they've been fantastic as well!

I ordered the LiveAquaria brand salt for the first time and just had it delivered. I just mixed up a 5 gallon bucket of it and WOW! this stuff mixed up SUPER clear SUPER fast. I was using Tropic Marin Pro Reef before the LiveAquaria salt and this LA salt mixes just as fast and is as clear too. IMHO IO has a haze and leaves a film in my mixing containers.

And not but least! My super duper Green BTA and Tomato Clowns, both from @LiveAquaria of course!

 

[LiveAquaria]

@LiveAquaria is super awesome! Their customer support and their prices are almost unbeatable IMHO.

I just got done ordering a ton of frozen food myself! Hikari Coral Gumbo, Silversides and Clams on the half shell along with some Ocean Nutrition chopped clams.

The food is a fantastic value even with the $30 shipping. I don't want to count how many times I've seen "frozen" food from my LFS sitting out in the open after a delivery, one time for almost an hour. No thanks.

I also just got done ordering some more Banggai Cardinals and Blue Green Chromis and they've been fantastic as well!

I ordered the LiveAquaria brand salt for the first time and just had it delivered. I just mixed up a 5 gallon bucket of it and WOW! this stuff mixed up SUPER clear SUPER fast. I was using Tropic Marin Pro Reef before the LiveAquaria salt and this LA salt mixes just as fast and is as clear too. IMHO IO has a haze and leaves a film in my mixing containers.

And not but least! My super duper Green BTA and Tomato Clowns, both from @LiveAquaria of course!

Thank you for your order and kind words! BTW... Our salt won Best In Show at 2017 MACNA. As you know, it mixes quick and clean with out the funky brown residue that accumulates over time.

 

[Phil D.]

I ordered a blue/green mandarin from @LiveAquaria last month and when he came in, I was very happy with his size, (11/2") and the way he was packed. He was very active when I started to acclimate and ate the pods I put into the cup. He's doing great and goes in and out of my rocks all day. I think he's started to eat frozen because after i feed the tank i see him with a fat belly.

 

[mfinn]

@SamsReef Good day! Happy to hear the

@SamsReef Thank you for your feedback. We are happy to hear of your satisfaction with the frozen food delivery! Our recent switch to dry ice for these orders is very beneficial this time of the year!

I am so happy to have received my last frozen food order that was shipped with dry ice.
Nice to not have to toss all those re-freezable ice containers.
I already have about a hundred of them and there is no more room. lol

 

[Hendrix]

All vendors / relationships will always have positive and negative things happen. The positives are very easy and feel great. You really get a much better feel for someone from the problems and how they handle those negative experiences:
- Responsiveness
- Accountability
- Simplicity - Ease of resolution
- etc..

I’ve had issues with multiple suppliers and measure and judge them by the above!
- BRS - Awesome!!!
They jump on it and resolve quickly
- Oceans Motion!!!!
Paul the owner is awesome!!!
- Transparent
- Apologetic
- Relentless follow-up

Im a believer if you do right buy your customers, your balance sheet will be great. Measuring customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score are critical to building a business.

It’s awesome to have a forum like this to share the good / bad experiences & outcomes.

 

[tjclapp]

I definitely recommend buying fish local. Less stress on fish fish, relatively same pricing.

 

[Hendrix]

I definitely recommend buying fish local. Less stress on fish fish, relatively same pricing.

I agree, it removes all the subjectivity. I can:
- See the fish
- See the tank-mates
- See the system
- Get some history on the specimen
How long they had it?
What it’s been eating
- See it eating
I just visited an LFS that I had never been to before. An hour away with one of the largest fish selections I have seen in a long time.
- Variety
- Size from tiny to massive
- 30 plus years in the wholesale and retail business.
- Polite, professional, knowledgeable, great pricing.
- Haven't has a problem yet, can not judge them on they respond. Fingers crossed!

 

[secret_reefer337]

My recent order though there's minor mixed up, after contacting them via DM was resolved easily. As I've said earlier, it is a hit or miss with them but things are being resolved.

Thank you @LiveAquaria !

 

[ca1ore]

I once ordered a small leopard wrasse, suppose to be 1" -1-1/2". Came in at nearly 5"

That has been my experience too. Sure, sometimes a fish comes in a bit smaller than stated, but much more often a fish has been larger. Not necessarily a good thing though .