What percentage of online ordered fish survive?
- Thread starter Firemanreefkeeper
- Start date
- Tagged users None
I have had very good luck with Live Aquaria. I would say 90% survival rate. I do have several cleaner shrimp and a cleaner wrasse that I think help out, and a good idea on what fish will get along. I have an evil Powder Blue Tang that can get nasty so I have to add fish that won't annoy him too much. Knocks out the Achilles Tang that I want to add.
I put mirrors on the side of my tank when I added a powder blue and a powder brown to a group of tangs I already had. It significantly reduced the aggression. The fish are so into themselves they can't get enough!
Buy all my fish online. LA, BlueZoo, SaltwaterFish.com. Overall I'd guess out of about 30 fish purchased over the years, about ~5 died.
I've had a higher death rate with the ~4 fish I've purchased from LFS (2/4) but the n is too low to make the comparison meaningful.
I've had a higher death rate with the ~4 fish I've purchased from LFS (2/4) but the n is too low to make the comparison meaningful.
Mine was clownfish. They do not secure the icepack and it ends up laying on the bag. Every time I order from LA that is not in WI this happens.
First time I order 2 clowns the ice-pack was on the bag and both dead. I think we tried two more time and ended up with one making it. All shipped wrong which amazes me since they knew what happened the first time..
Water was always below 68 degrees. I Ended buying from Sustainable Aquatics and it came in fine.
I hadn't ordered in a long time so I recently ordered some Bangaii cardnials 3 or 4 I can not remember and two Wyoming white clowns. The whites came from WI and were perfect, and I was only able to get one cardinal to live.
The cardinals water was in the mid 60 and they were all laying motionless on the bottom. The one eventually died but I didn't go after the credit for the last one.
The difference is the shipping, The WI LA has much better packaging. Once I ordered some inverts and they could not get that right and sent the wrong stuff.
Stinks because as a company I like them. They always took care of the problem but I can not stand dead fish.
I will only order fish from WI.. It is rare I order fish online unless it is a really good sale because my LFS can get the same fish and for better prices.
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
The issue with this is that in that layover period the parasites that have been suppressed with low level copper will take over the fish and it will die. Said facility would need to quarantine and treat the fish which is an expensive proposition and will have high mortality due to the condition of the distribution system.
The fish would cost twice what you pay online, in order to make it a viable business.
Last edited:
You know some LFS can order or request fish. It may take a while but any fish I want I can get. One claims he can even beat out LA on rare fish most of the time.
They get list of fish from wholesalers and can grab them. They do not always know if they got the fish till they get the shipment but eventually they do get them.
One of my LFS is actually cheaper almost all the time too. The other is almost always more expensive but has a 15 day warranty on most fish unless they are more sensitive species like copperbands.
I only buy clean up crews, and cheap corals from online locations. Many of these places are very reputable...but first the fish are bagged, then sit ready to ship for a day -- more if it is a weekend, then add a few more days into the mix for shipping. That is a lot of stress, little oxygen, and swimming in their own filth. They are bound to get disease. Recently, I purchased some stuff on a Thursday. I qualified for free 2nd day shipping -- score! They didn't ship the order until Monday and I received it on a Wednesday. It says right on the website that the order is gathered the next day. I'm guessing it was sitting around on a shipping dock all weekend. I generally don't blame the seller -- mostly myself. But I leaned this through losses of my own.
Plus...if you buy locally, you are supporting area business -- which I'm always for.
TheRealDmorty217
Active Member
I have been purchasing fish online for the past 20 years and over that time the deaths have been less than 5%. It has a lot to do with where you purchase your fish from and if you QT or not
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
This is how I handle all fish before they go to my tank.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-current-qt-process.483371/
mfinn
likes zoanthids
LA used to be my first choice when buying fish, with probably 85%-90% survival rate.
But in the last couple years it's dropped closer to 15%-20%.
Even DD has changed. Made several orders from them in the past few months and have been seeing a 50% survival rate on corals.
But in the last couple years it's dropped closer to 15%-20%.
Even DD has changed. Made several orders from them in the past few months and have been seeing a 50% survival rate on corals.
I've ordered from Diver Den since August. 2 Gladiator Clowns, yellow banded possum wrasse, resplendent Anthias, and a flame hawkfish. All alive and doing great. I also live in southern CA so weather is not an issue.
laverda
2500 Club Member
I worked at an online retailer for a while. We always suggested to people to have there order shipped Monday tru Wednesday for best results. Friday deliveries are always risky.
If a seller shipped 2nd day on a Friday that means your fish will not get there till Tuesday. I seariously doubted they banged them untill Monday morning. Most online sellers only ship Monday thru Thursday with overnight delivery. Personally I would order on a weekend or Monday so the order is shipped Monday or Tuesday. To many shipping delays happen, than you order can end up in ups or fedex over the weekend which is not good. It does not mean they won’t survive, it all depends on a lot of variables. Whey add that stress to your animals.
laverda
2500 Club Member
There is no excuse for poor packing! I would defiantly give a poor review for that. There is no excuse for ice packs coming in direct contact with fish bags. Heat or Ice packs should be wrapped to keep them from coming in direct contact and to help regulate the heating and cooling rate. Some times it is tough to no when to use heat and cold packs do to changing weather, and weather at different locations.
Before ordering look ahead a week at the weather forecast for where your located, where your ordering from and the hub of the shipper. Do order when there are temp extreames at any of these locations. Meaning high and low temps as well as temp differences. It can be over 80 in California occasionally in winter and below freezing in other parts of the country. Sadly heat packs are not temperature activated and cool packs keep cooling even after the temp drops.
I usually do most of my ordering in the spring or fall when the temps are more equal throughout the country.
Similar threads
