Mail-order fish?

solid14th · 10/04/2007, 08:30 PM

Does anyone have any experience and/or recommendations for an online fish seller?

bertoni · 10/04/2007, 08:42 PM

You might want to look in the vendor experiences forum for some reviews there.

cutegecko3 · 10/04/2007, 08:44 PM

Ive heard nothing but bad things about saltwaterfish.com.drs. foster and smith are the only ones ive ordered from and they were good even very cheap compared to lfs.

Cajun Reefer · 10/05/2007, 02:26 AM

I have only made one online live fish order thus far, and I was impressed with Saltwaterfish.com. They have a 15 day fish guarantee. The fishes were extremely well package. They're prices are cheaper than some other online store. Plus, they have a customer loyalty program; whereby, they offer you free items for repeat buyers. I have thought about using LiveAquaria and MarineDepotLive but keep coming back to SWF.

From my research, I learned that it is beneficial to have your live order held at the shipping facility (Fedex or UPS) instead of bouncing around all day in a hot/cold delivery truck. About a month ago, my order was shipped out late Wednesday afternoon, and it was sitting at my local Fedex office at 9:00 AM Thursday morning. SWF's overnight shipping was under $20, compared to everyone else's $35 & $45 overnight shipping.

All of the fishes arrived alive, however, I ended up losing a few of them over the next few days. I had no problems getting a credit. You rarely can get that at your LFS. Someone mentioned the same thing about SWF to me but I was definitely satisfied. Thank goodness because I was extremely leary about online ordering but I found it to be safer than my LFS.

REMINDER: Always quarantine new additions whether they come from your LFS or online.

shuturhole316tx · 10/05/2007, 06:26 AM

I send rhe recomendation for saltwarerfish.com, And I havve also had good luck with Reefhotspot.com. Both place are good about giving credit when needed, and good shipping. The best thing about saltwaterfish.com is the low order requirment 79 bucks, where reefhotspot.com is 225.00 if you wont free shipping.

techreef · 10/05/2007, 07:42 AM

I'll second Liveaquaria. Besides their guarantee on livestock, their customer service is exemplary (sp?). I've also read a couple posts in their RC Sponsor forum where they are educating reefers about how and where fish are caught, what areas use bad methods such as cyanide, and how shipping stresses can be minimized by the wholesaler buying from specific areas of the world that mesh with the retailer's storage facilities. Liveaquaria just seems extremely professional about everything, and they also state that they QT all of their fish for 1-2 weeks before putting them up for sale. Not all online stores do that.

solid14th · 10/05/2007, 08:01 AM

Thanks everyone for your input. I now have a little more confidence to order fish online.

riley290 · 10/05/2007, 11:21 AM

I used marinedepotlive.com for a cleanup crew and a few other items and they were very helpful. The shipping became a bit of a mess because of out of stock items but they ended up getting all of my items to me for just one shipping charge. All items were as specified and I was given an individual representative to contact should I have any problems (was given personal email address as well as direct telephone contact number).

10/04/2007, 08:30 PM	#1
solid14th Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Philly burbs Posts: 234	Mail-order fish? Does anyone have any experience and/or recommendations for an online fish seller?

10/04/2007, 08:42 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	You might want to look in the vendor experiences forum for some reviews there. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

10/05/2007, 02:26 AM	#4
Cajun Reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Houma, LA Posts: 215	I have only made one online live fish order thus far, and I was impressed with Saltwaterfish.com. They have a 15 day fish guarantee. The fishes were extremely well package. They're prices are cheaper than some other online store. Plus, they have a customer loyalty program; whereby, they offer you free items for repeat buyers. I have thought about using LiveAquaria and MarineDepotLive but keep coming back to SWF. From my research, I learned that it is beneficial to have your live order held at the shipping facility (Fedex or UPS) instead of bouncing around all day in a hot/cold delivery truck. About a month ago, my order was shipped out late Wednesday afternoon, and it was sitting at my local Fedex office at 9:00 AM Thursday morning. SWF's overnight shipping was under $20, compared to everyone else's $35 & $45 overnight shipping. All of the fishes arrived alive, however, I ended up losing a few of them over the next few days. I had no problems getting a credit. You rarely can get that at your LFS. Someone mentioned the same thing about SWF to me but I was definitely satisfied. Thank goodness because I was extremely leary about online ordering but I found it to be safer than my LFS. REMINDER: Always quarantine new additions whether they come from your LFS or online. __________________ ~ Dennis ~ Equipment: 90G Perfecto, 100 lbs LR, 75 lbs LS, 2-Vortech MP40w's, Octopus HOT Skimmer, 2- Phosban Reactors (PhosGuard & Activated Carbon), IceCap 660 w/ 4- T5HO & SLR Reflectors. Working on setting up a Glass-holes.com 700 gph overflow, 29G sump w/ Mag 7 return pump, Tunze DOC 9010 skimmer. 2- IceCap 250W electronic ballasts w/ PFO mini HQI pendants. Upcoming Upgrade: 180G Project, Neptune Systems Apex w/ WPX, 4-MP40w's, Bubble Magus NAC 9 Skimmer, & Undecided LED lighting.

10/05/2007, 06:26 AM	#5
shuturhole316tx Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Killeen, TX/Camp Taji, Iraq Posts: 315	I send rhe recomendation for saltwarerfish.com, And I havve also had good luck with Reefhotspot.com. Both place are good about giving credit when needed, and good shipping. The best thing about saltwaterfish.com is the low order requirment 79 bucks, where reefhotspot.com is 225.00 if you wont free shipping. __________________ Thanks, John 180 Gal Reef & Fish Starfire Tank Current Tank Info: 180 Gal, Starfire Tank, Corals, Fish, inverts, lots of money!

10/05/2007, 08:01 AM	#7
solid14th Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Philly burbs Posts: 234	Thanks everyone for your input. I now have a little more confidence to order fish online. __________________ Genetic blends with uncertain ends on a fortune hunt that's far too fleet --N. Peart Current Tank Info: 120g reef

10/04/2007, 08:44 PM	#3
cutegecko3 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Springdale, AR Posts: 974	Ive heard nothing but bad things about saltwaterfish.com.drs. foster and smith are the only ones ive ordered from and they were good even very cheap compared to lfs.

10/05/2007, 07:42 AM	#6
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	I'll second Liveaquaria. Besides their guarantee on livestock, their customer service is exemplary (sp?). I've also read a couple posts in their RC Sponsor forum where they are educating reefers about how and where fish are caught, what areas use bad methods such as cyanide, and how shipping stresses can be minimized by the wholesaler buying from specific areas of the world that mesh with the retailer's storage facilities. Liveaquaria just seems extremely professional about everything, and they also state that they QT all of their fish for 1-2 weeks before putting them up for sale. Not all online stores do that.

10/05/2007, 11:21 AM	#8
riley290 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: College Station, TX Posts: 167	I used marinedepotlive.com for a cleanup crew and a few other items and they were very helpful. The shipping became a bit of a mess because of out of stock items but they ended up getting all of my items to me for just one shipping charge. All items were as specified and I was given an individual representative to contact should I have any problems (was given personal email address as well as direct telephone contact number).