Vendor Question...

[Logan A.]

So I plan on buying the majority of my fish livestock from www.liveaquaria.com has anybody had any experience with them good or bad please give me your input, thanks in advance!

 

[eatbreakfast]

The best customer service in the industry.

 

[Logan A.]

The best customer service in the industry.

For real??

 

[Daltrey]

Ordered 8 fish the past two months. Two healthy, one doa, one brooklynella, one disappeared and three currently in qt. I would not under any circumstance add to a tank without qt first unless you like playing russian roulette with a loaded gun.

Great customer service. Refunded no questions asked.

 

[Logan A.]

Ordered 8 fish the past two months. Two healthy, one doa, one brooklynella, one disappeared and three currently in qt. I would not under any circumstance add to a tank without qt first unless you like playing russian roulette with a loaded gun.

It seems like from all the information I'm gathering you are not wise to not quarantine is a small 29g tank sufficient for this?

 

[Brew12]

Liveaquaria is fantastic in my opinion, but be aware of what they are. Their main site is simply a way for you to order fish directly from a wholesaler. A Liveaquaria employee goes to the wholesaler, packages your fish, and ships it in a LA box. These fish will have undergone no observation and no treatments. They are also going to ship in water with a salinity around 1.015. I highly recommend having a QT system set up both to watch and treat for illness and to have a chance to slowly raise salinity.
They also have a Divers Den section which are fish actually in their care that they have performed fairly decent observation and treatment. Its not perfect, but you are much more likely to get healthier fish.

Customer service is absolutely top notch.

 

[Brew12]

It seems like from all the information I'm gathering you are not wise to not quarantine is a small 29g tank sufficient for this?

Depending on the fish you could get away with much smaller. I prefer using a 10g and 20g tank for this purpose.

 

[Daltrey]

It seems like from all the information I'm gathering you are not wise to not quarantine is a small 29g tank sufficient for this?

Yes and make sure to have medications on hand. I use a 40 breeder for tangs and 20 long for everything else.

 

[Logan A.]

Liveaquaria is fantastic in my opinion, but be aware of what they are. Their main site is simply a way for you to order fish directly from a wholesaler. A Liveaquaria employee goes to the wholesalter, packages your fish, and ships it in a LA box. These fish will have undergone no observation and no treatments. They are also going to ship in water with a salinity around 1.015. I highly recommend having a QT system set up both to watch and treat for illness and to have a chance to slowly raise salinity.
They also have a Divers Den section which are fish actually in their care that they have performed fairly decent observation and treatment. Its not perfect, but you are much more likely to get healthier fish.

Customer service is absolutely top notch.

I didn't realise any of this thank you for raising my awareness!!

 

[Logan A.]

Liveaquaria is fantastic in my opinion, but be aware of what they are. Their main site is simply a way for you to order fish directly from a wholesaler. A Liveaquaria employee goes to the wholesalter, packages your fish, and ships it in a LA box. These fish will have undergone no observation and no treatments. They are also going to ship in water with a salinity around 1.015. I highly recommend having a QT system set up both to watch and treat for illness and to have a chance to slowly raise salinity.
They also have a Divers Den section which are fish actually in their care that they have performed fairly decent observation and treatment. Its not perfect, but you are much more likely to get healthier fish.

Customer service is absolutely top notch.

How and in what increments should the salinity be raised?

 

[Brew12]

How and in what increments should the salinity be raised?

I do it very conservatively at around 0.001 per day but you can probably do up to 0.003 per day without stressing the fish to much.

 

[Logan A.]

I do it very conservatively at around 0.001 per day but you can probably do up to 0.003 per day without stressing the fish to much.

K will do! Thank you so much again!

 

[4FordFamily]

I didn't realise any of this thank you for raising my awareness!!

Yup and the vast majority of large online fish retailers share this business model.

 

[Baldguy]

As stated, LA's customer service is second to none but you are getting a fish directly from a wholesaler. I'm much more comfortable with Divers Den than the regular LA site. I'll wait months for the right fish to turn up on DD. You'll see the exact fish you are getting and it will have had at least some QT.

 

[Fourstars]

I had a 30% lose on my order. Refunded me promptly. But still no fun to get sick fish and watch them go belly up not to mention the cost of shipping was not refunded. TRy LFS or order from a breeder and keep it sustainable.

 

[Eva Rose]

Much depends on the quality of LFS that are available to you. I live in an area where there are very few LFS nearby and those do not prioritize quality fish care. Even if you plan on excellent QT at home, it helps to know that the fish you purchased had good prior care. So I have been very happy with Live Aquaria. Their Diver’s Den section is excellent, especially for shy or finicky eating fish (like a Copperband). I like how Live Aquaria recommends that you take any of their fish (LA or DD section) and still quarantine them. If you ever have a shipping fiasco etc., they handle it whereas some other vendors leave the calling (tracking) up to you. I added my fish slowly, mostly from DD and they have been extremely healthy.

 

[oldfishman]

When I had my 300 gal freshwater tank I order from them. They went out of their way to correct and refund me. My complaint and this was for fresh water fish was their size. My rasbors were so small I could not identify them. There idea of 1 to 1 1/2 inches sure was not mine.

 

[Logan A.]

Once again thank you all for the great input I feel much more comfortable now!