shopping for fish online or lfs

[zeroeffect]

Was woundering what you all do when it comes to buying your fish.

Do most of you deal with the lfs or do you order them online?

If you do order them online how good has the shipping been for you?

[aixelsyd18]

We are down to just one LFS where I live and they don't get a ton of new livestock in so I have had to resort to shopping mostly online. As of late I've been shopping at SWF.com but shipping can be quite high if you only want one or two lower priced things. But if your purchase is over 250 its free. So I usualy pool an order with friends and get the shipping free or at least spend enough that it is discounted and then spit between all that are ordering so it is palletable.

[travis32]

Some sites sometimes offer free shipping on over $99 or $175. or just watch for deals. Some online companies randomly invoke a free shipping on certain items or all live stock if ordered within a 1 or 2 week period. Check back often!

As to LFS vs. Online, I've done both, and both orders have done relatively well. It seems I have better luck with Corals Purchased from LFS than online. All my corals purchased locally are great. The ones I bought online well, 1 died, I didn't file a claim, probably should have, and the second one a candy cane, I lost 3 or 4 of the coral's heads, and the rest of it is still recovering. Most of it looks healthy, but there's a few heads that still show signs of damage. I'm not sure if it will recover or not.

The fish I ordered online are doing good. Granted 1 was eaten by the other fish I ordered. And 2 of the fish were intolerant of each other, so of the 3 I ordered online, I kept 1, gave away 1, and the 3rd is in the belly of another fish.

The 1 I kept is doing as good as the other two fish I got locally. They seem to ship well. And I saw my LFS restocking it's tanks on an order day. Their fish were shipped the exact same way mine were. Identical packing, packaging, and etc. So, I don't see a difference betwen ordering online vs. Purchasing locally. Both go through the same process.

[DON CORALEON]

Shopping online will help to send that last lfs out too,I prefer to shop at lfs only.Its nice to be able to see what you are actually getting.I have bought fish online before I learned my lesson.

[dcombs44]

Nearest LFS is an hour from me, so shipping vs. gas pretty much evens out, and I don't always have time to drive 2 hours for livestock.

Foster and Smith have always provided good quality livestock and customer service.

[joeychitwood]

There is no LFS withing 220 miles of my house, so I buy online. Becasue of the brutally cold weather here, I can only order during the warmer months. I've had great luck with survival, losing only one fish and two corals in the past four years.

[zeroeffect]

Thanks for all the reply's back and so fast. I have 3 lfs in the area that do salt water and one just changed hads after 40 years and the other two I just found out about a few min ago.

Anytime I ask about where to find salt water fish and coral everyone has told me just the one. So I will be checking out the other two tonight to see what they are like.

It's nice to know that I might have online shopping to fall back on if I need to. That and it just seem's to be cheaper to buy some of the fish online. But I will check the other two before doing anything.

Thanks again for all the info.

[mikid]

never ordered fish on line,we here in sacramento,ca have 7 lfs and they carry alot of fish,they will order for ya also,as for fish, i always want to see the fish eat in the store,unless it was ordered for me, then i dont even want it to be put into the stores tanks,just mine at home so they dont have to be re bagging and stressed out again........ive had good luck and have only lost 3 fish in the last 3 years....i now have 8 fish in my display and will adding another small tang in the next following weeks.....mike

[Ron Cote]

I would certainly recommend a LFS should one be available to you. Having established a rapport with the LFS owner has come back to me in spades.

[mikid]

second that!........................

[nickandkara]

If you have a local reef club then you can wait for a group buy so that you get not only a discounted price but also free shipping. I have often done this and haven't lost a fish yet. Also you can use the local reef clubs classified section to find not only fish but equipment as well, usually at a very reasonable price.

[DeepFreeze]

I say LFS. There is just something about being able to see the fish before taking it home. Most are also good about replacing lost fish and it will save time if that is needed.

[Steve175]

Keep an eye out for local clubs and on craiglist. I actually have $$$ to spend but prefer to "recycle" from other reefists leaving the hobby as their critters (both fish and coral) usually are much more durable ("natural selection": my tank is very stable and if they survived/multiplied in theirs, they always do well in mine). $0.02

[jchase1970]

I but a few things from my LFS, but I have also bought from swf.com and lately I bought from reefs2go since they have a 150 order gets free shipping, I've been happy with both. I only buy online if I spend enough to get free shipping, so sometimes I go in with other people to get a bigger order.

[joeychitwood]

One other benefit of shpping online is that you can find specimens that may never be available at a LFS. There was a great LFS here that closed, and the proprietor was always willing to take a fish back if it did not get along with the other fish in my tank. I miss the store a lot.