Retail fish Stores VS. Online

keenstyle1 · 11/03/2010, 06:28 AM

So going forward with my new tank, i walked into a new store in my area that wasn't yet open. Then I had flash backs of my last tank, where I would walk in for saltwater, and come out with hundreds of dollars in coral rock and other stuff.

So the question is, are there good online stores that anyone has had good or bad experiences with?

MBVette · 11/03/2010, 06:30 AM

liveaquaria

isildursbane · 11/03/2010, 06:40 AM

Really depends on the LFS. Most of the time I would say you are better off with liveaquaria.com. However, there are those good LFS out there that will not try to sell you everything in the store and the utility sink. Best thing you can do is develop a stocking plan for your tank and stick to it. If you want to add a scooter blenny to your tank and it is time. If the LFS has a good specimen, I see nothing wrong with getting it. Just be ready to leave any LFS where they are trying to push stuff on you.

jeff@zina.com · 11/03/2010, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keenstyle1

Then I had flash backs of my last tank, where I would walk in for saltwater, and come out with hundreds of dollars in coral rock and other stuff.

That happens online way too easily too. I usually tell myself that I'm paying shipping anyway, I might as well add a few extra items. Then American Express want's my $428.63 and I only wanted to order 2 bulkheads when I logged in...

Jeff

Alunai · 11/03/2010, 09:59 AM

I've always been wary of buying online, just because unless it's wysiwyg, you don't know what you're getting. Plus, I've never ordered livestock online so I don't have any experience good or bad with that.

webos · 11/03/2010, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff@zina.com

That happens online way too easily too. I usually tell myself that I'm paying shipping anyway, I might as well add a few extra items. Then American Express want's my $428.63 and I only wanted to order 2 bulkheads when I logged in...

Jeff

Its like going to Wal Mart for Q-tips and walking out with a bill over 200 bucks.

teesquare · 11/03/2010, 10:25 AM

But a good LFS can add so much more in value...emergency needs - and items that may not make sense to mail order/internet shop ( tanks, stands, etc..)

Unfurtunately - there sem to be few really good LFS. Economics, internet sales, and maybe even forums have taken their toll.....

Perhaps it is just that times are changing.
T

djkms · 11/03/2010, 10:55 AM

Any other good WYSIWYG online retailers besides Liveaquaria? I do like liveaquaria dont get me wrong but man, you really have to be fast on the draw clicking the add to cart button to get something rare or a item in high demand. i get the notifications when they add new stuff and more than half of it is gone by the time I load the page LOL.

bertoni · 11/03/2010, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keenstyle1

Then I had flash backs of my last tank, where I would walk in for saltwater, and come out with hundreds of dollars in coral rock and other stuff.

What was the downside? I'm having trouble placing that...

I've had good experiences with LiveAquaria.com and MarineDepot.com.

Stuart60611 · 11/03/2010, 11:44 AM

I have ordered from quite a few on-line retailers who sell live fish. I am very impressed with liveaquaria, blue zoo aquatics, and vivid aquariums. I have ordered from these on-line retailers multiple times and have always had good experiences. Prices on-line are often much less than through a brick and motar retailer even when considering the cost of shiping, particularlly when you purchase multiple items to spread the shiping costs and that you oten are not charged state sales tax.

I am not overly impressed with Reef Hot Spot. I have had several fish arrive dead, and the thing I really do not like about them is if you place an order for a bunch of fish they will ship your order without one of the fish because it is out of stock or does not look healthy and not even tell you before they ship the order. As such, if you order two fish, one fish which is expensive and another cheap fish you order just to take advantage of the shiping, they will ship you just the cheap fish and not the expensive one when the expensive one is out of stock or not healthy without checking with you first. In such a situation, most people would cancel the order or at least put he order on hold because the shiping is too expensive for just the one cheap fish.

You need to careful because there are a bunch of very shady on-line livestock sellers which sell very sick livestock, often ship the wrong livestock, and are known for not doing business in a very honest fashion. As such, you are much safer dealing with established companies who have great reputations like the ones I listed above.

Overall, unless you are lucky enough to have an LFS which is very good and reasonably priced (which is, as stated above, a very rare commodity these days), you are usually better off buying livestock on-line because of the guarantee you get (which is usually never available when purchasing locally), and the quality and health of the livestock available on-line. People are often put off from buying livestock on-line because they feel that the shiping is very hard on the animals. Although true, remember that most of the animals we see at our LFS did not swim to the store and arrived at the store the same way that the on-line retailer delivers animals to you in the mail. In fact, it can be argued that purchasing livestock from an on-line vendor is usually easier on the livestock because you are taking one less step ouf of supply chain by skiping the brick and mortar retailer.

Jstdv8 · 11/03/2010, 12:02 PM

never ordered from them but I've heard good things about saltwaterfish.com

I prefer buying locally when I can, but alot of that has to do with me living in Alaska so i know what I'm getting before I buy it and that it allready survived the ship up here.

djkms · 11/03/2010, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jstdv8

never ordered from them but I've heard good things about saltwaterfish.com

I prefer buying locally when I can, but alot of that has to do with me living in Alaska so i know what I'm getting before I buy it and that it allready survived the ship up here.

Interested in hearing more about saltwaterfish.com. They seem to have a good selection and from the photos it appears to be WYSIWYG

Edit: ahh not all wysiwyg, just found their "eye it and buy it" section..

aleonn · 11/03/2010, 01:14 PM

I purchase livestock from my LFS because I want to see their size, condition, whether they're eating, and if they're stressed out. I'm able to put a deposit if I like them, and want to observe them over a period of a week or two to make sure they're doing well.

jeff@zina.com · 11/03/2010, 01:44 PM

Saltwaterfish is a decent location, they sponsor our local group too. I like that they sell the ORA stuff, my one LFS will tell you just about everything in there is aquacultured from ORA when I know half of it can't be.

Bluezooaquatics is another good place to order from, though it's easy to get carried away and blow all your lunch money if you venture into the weekly top 50.

And Diver's Den on LiveAquaria is just as bad. Fortunately my credit limit won't cover most of what I want there.

Jeff

whorulz1147 · 11/03/2010, 03:18 PM

I've ordered from saltwaterfish.com several times in the past and was always satisfied with their livestock. They seemed to send the healthiest and best looking fish they could.

SuperNemo · 11/03/2010, 04:32 PM

i would order from the online stores (liveaquaria), but then when you add in the shipping cost, it makes each fish way overpriced.

and i do agree, that you should always observe the fish you are buying. thats why i mostly buy from my LFS. they have good items also, just have to be paitent and wait for them. in this hobby, it takes so much time that a lot of people cant wait and impulse buying is a killer.

thast why only buy when your last fish is done with its QT process. I dont move my QT fish to the DT until I get my next fish on my fish list.

Kates · 11/03/2010, 06:19 PM

Blue Zoo is my recommendation, I was really happy with their shipping and they even include a nice acclimation kit, with airline tubing and some of their special food blend, that is really good.

eric@tampa · 11/03/2010, 07:04 PM

Had very nice live rock,coral and fish from Pacific East, plus check out the sponsor forums.

Agu · 11/03/2010, 07:20 PM

I haven't bought livestock online in years, but in general I haven't bought much livestock. Almost all of my corals come from local aquarists via club auctions or frag swaps. (Which btw means most of my corals are captive propagated.)

I'll buy an occasional coral at an LFS because I can see what I'm getting.

Camel413 · 11/03/2010, 08:18 PM

I just received an order from saltwaterfish and couldnt be happier. All specimens looked great. When I order online I try to add the cheaper things that I really want and then fill the order out with just enough expensive coral to get the free shipping. This way I do not overload my small system but still feel ok about ordering such a large monetary amount in one shot just to get the free shipping.

reefaroni · 11/03/2010, 10:42 PM

I haven't bought a fish online yet... something about seeing it swim around first helps me feel better about it

aleonn · 11/04/2010, 12:41 AM

I haven't bought any livestock online yet either. I am considering reefcleaners for the CUC though, and I'll go from there. Maybe if I get impatient with my LFS' stocking schedule, I can purchase a nice fish online.

drillsar · 11/04/2010, 07:44 AM

Whats strange is that my LFS around here all of them dont give any guarantee to livestock at all but Online gives you 14 days mostly.

All the LFS are expensive by me, no guarantee

online is better

jeff@zina.com · 11/04/2010, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefaroni

I haven't bought a fish online yet... something about seeing it swim around first helps me feel better about it

I really prefer that as well, but the LFS has limited tanks and generally only stocks the "common" or "popular" fish. That means if you want a clown, percula or occelaris, sometimes tomato, skunk or maroon, you're fine there. You might even get Picassos or occasionally a black clown. But if you wanted a **name removed because of legal threat from trademark holder** or a Wyoming White, the staff will generally look at you like you're speaking Martian.

Most LFS order through distributors. Most distributors won't invest heavily in specialty fish and often don't even put them on their stock lists. A LFS can always ask, but they won't unless they know you really want something. And even then, if you buy a $40 fish every six months, there's not a big incentive to order in an expensive batch of something only you have asked for and may not even buy.

On the flip side, an internet seller will rarely have a wide range of the basic LFS fish, unless they have gotten really good pricing. But they'll have the oddball fish that don't sell often but which have $100 profit margins. After all, a $300 fish justifies a $50 shipping fee, a couple of chromis or damsels never would. Unless you're just out in the boonies and the nearest LFS is the Walmart 120 miles away.

Jeff

drillsar · 11/04/2010, 07:57 AM

I never had a problem with a fish from liveaquaria, saltwaterfish, I had one problem with one online vendor but was taken care of immediately because the fish dies 2 days later. Thing is ONLINE will give you a guarantee for fish while LFS mostly wont, so if you can see a fish swim to me who cares because if it died the LFS will tell me to buy another one. I dont know why they wont guarantee it for at least 7 days.

11/03/2010, 06:28 AM	#1
keenstyle1 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 30	Retail fish Stores VS. Online So going forward with my new tank, i walked into a new store in my area that wasn't yet open. Then I had flash backs of my last tank, where I would walk in for saltwater, and come out with hundreds of dollars in coral rock and other stuff. So the question is, are there good online stores that anyone has had good or bad experiences with?

11/03/2010, 06:40 AM	#3
isildursbane Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 219	Really depends on the LFS. Most of the time I would say you are better off with liveaquaria.com. However, there are those good LFS out there that will not try to sell you everything in the store and the utility sink. Best thing you can do is develop a stocking plan for your tank and stick to it. If you want to add a scooter blenny to your tank and it is time. If the LFS has a good specimen, I see nothing wrong with getting it. Just be ready to leave any LFS where they are trying to push stuff on you. __________________ 29BC -- 20lbs LR -- 3 to 4-inch sandbed -- LR rubble for fuge(setup in Chamber 2) -- 3 Cerith Snails and 1 Trochus for CUC

11/03/2010, 10:25 AM	#7
teesquare Coral Curmudgeon Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: western NC Posts: 1,663	But a good LFS can add so much more in value...emergency needs - and items that may not make sense to mail order/internet shop ( tanks, stands, etc..) Unfurtunately - there sem to be few really good LFS. Economics, internet sales, and maybe even forums have taken their toll..... Perhaps it is just that times are changing. T __________________ No....really honey, it was a gift! Current Tank Info: 700 gallon combined reef/frag systems - 650gal Cichlid system

11/03/2010, 10:55 AM	#8
djkms Fish Freak Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Spring Hill, FL Posts: 1,136	Any other good WYSIWYG online retailers besides Liveaquaria? I do like liveaquaria dont get me wrong but man, you really have to be fast on the draw clicking the add to cart button to get something rare or a item in high demand. i get the notifications when they add new stuff and more than half of it is gone by the time I load the page LOL. __________________ Kris - 200 Gallon Baby Reef Current Tank Info: 225 Upgrade Setup 11/17/2012 72x27x27 - Custom 40g sump/Diablo DCS-250int skimmer/Blueline HD40x/2 MP40's/Tunze ATO/2 Part/BRS RODI/ Neptune apex, WXM/3 Radium 250w Galaxy Ballast/8 39w T5's/Litermeter III/Aquavitro Salinity/20%WC/Carbon/GFO/Vinegar

11/03/2010, 11:44 AM	#10
Stuart60611 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 2,979	I have ordered from quite a few on-line retailers who sell live fish. I am very impressed with liveaquaria, blue zoo aquatics, and vivid aquariums. I have ordered from these on-line retailers multiple times and have always had good experiences. Prices on-line are often much less than through a brick and motar retailer even when considering the cost of shiping, particularlly when you purchase multiple items to spread the shiping costs and that you oten are not charged state sales tax. I am not overly impressed with Reef Hot Spot. I have had several fish arrive dead, and the thing I really do not like about them is if you place an order for a bunch of fish they will ship your order without one of the fish because it is out of stock or does not look healthy and not even tell you before they ship the order. As such, if you order two fish, one fish which is expensive and another cheap fish you order just to take advantage of the shiping, they will ship you just the cheap fish and not the expensive one when the expensive one is out of stock or not healthy without checking with you first. In such a situation, most people would cancel the order or at least put he order on hold because the shiping is too expensive for just the one cheap fish. You need to careful because there are a bunch of very shady on-line livestock sellers which sell very sick livestock, often ship the wrong livestock, and are known for not doing business in a very honest fashion. As such, you are much safer dealing with established companies who have great reputations like the ones I listed above. Overall, unless you are lucky enough to have an LFS which is very good and reasonably priced (which is, as stated above, a very rare commodity these days), you are usually better off buying livestock on-line because of the guarantee you get (which is usually never available when purchasing locally), and the quality and health of the livestock available on-line. People are often put off from buying livestock on-line because they feel that the shiping is very hard on the animals. Although true, remember that most of the animals we see at our LFS did not swim to the store and arrived at the store the same way that the on-line retailer delivers animals to you in the mail. In fact, it can be argued that purchasing livestock from an on-line vendor is usually easier on the livestock because you are taking one less step ouf of supply chain by skiping the brick and mortar retailer. Last edited by Stuart60611; 11/03/2010 at 12:11 PM.

11/03/2010, 06:30 AM	#2
MBVette Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Haymarket, VA Posts: 327	liveaquaria

11/03/2010, 09:59 AM	#5
Alunai Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Minnesota Posts: 174	I've always been wary of buying online, just because unless it's wysiwyg, you don't know what you're getting. Plus, I've never ordered livestock online so I don't have any experience good or bad with that.

11/03/2010, 12:02 PM	#11
Jstdv8 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Wasilla, Alaska Posts: 1,420	never ordered from them but I've heard good things about saltwaterfish.com I prefer buying locally when I can, but alot of that has to do with me living in Alaska so i know what I'm getting before I buy it and that it allready survived the ship up here.

11/03/2010, 01:14 PM	#13
aleonn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 4,041	I purchase livestock from my LFS because I want to see their size, condition, whether they're eating, and if they're stressed out. I'm able to put a deposit if I like them, and want to observe them over a period of a week or two to make sure they're doing well.

11/03/2010, 01:44 PM	#14
jeff@zina.com Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 3,345	Saltwaterfish is a decent location, they sponsor our local group too. I like that they sell the ORA stuff, my one LFS will tell you just about everything in there is aquacultured from ORA when I know half of it can't be. Bluezooaquatics is another good place to order from, though it's easy to get carried away and blow all your lunch money if you venture into the weekly top 50. And Diver's Den on LiveAquaria is just as bad. Fortunately my credit limit won't cover most of what I want there. Jeff

11/03/2010, 03:18 PM	#15
whorulz1147 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Rolling Meadows, IL Posts: 329	I've ordered from saltwaterfish.com several times in the past and was always satisfied with their livestock. They seemed to send the healthiest and best looking fish they could. __________________ Call Kenny Loggins because you're in the danger zone....

11/03/2010, 04:32 PM	#16
SuperNemo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 524	i would order from the online stores (liveaquaria), but then when you add in the shipping cost, it makes each fish way overpriced. and i do agree, that you should always observe the fish you are buying. thats why i mostly buy from my LFS. they have good items also, just have to be paitent and wait for them. in this hobby, it takes so much time that a lot of people cant wait and impulse buying is a killer. thast why only buy when your last fish is done with its QT process. I dont move my QT fish to the DT until I get my next fish on my fish list.

11/03/2010, 06:19 PM	#17
Kates Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 57	Blue Zoo is my recommendation, I was really happy with their shipping and they even include a nice acclimation kit, with airline tubing and some of their special food blend, that is really good.

11/03/2010, 07:04 PM	#18
eric@tampa Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tampa,Fla Posts: 322	Had very nice live rock,coral and fish from Pacific East, plus check out the sponsor forums.

11/03/2010, 07:20 PM	#19
Agu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Sarasota, Florida Posts: 30,279	I haven't bought livestock online in years, but in general I haven't bought much livestock. Almost all of my corals come from local aquarists via club auctions or frag swaps. (Which btw means most of my corals are captive propagated.) I'll buy an occasional coral at an LFS because I can see what I'm getting. __________________ Less technology , more biology . Current Tank Info: 30 gallon half cube and 5.5, both reef tanks

11/03/2010, 08:18 PM	#20
Camel413 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Salem IL Posts: 161	I just received an order from saltwaterfish and couldnt be happier. All specimens looked great. When I order online I try to add the cheaper things that I really want and then fill the order out with just enough expensive coral to get the free shipping. This way I do not overload my small system but still feel ok about ordering such a large monetary amount in one shot just to get the free shipping.

11/03/2010, 10:42 PM	#21
reefaroni Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 51	I haven't bought a fish online yet... something about seeing it swim around first helps me feel better about it

11/04/2010, 12:41 AM	#22
aleonn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 4,041	I haven't bought any livestock online yet either. I am considering reefcleaners for the CUC though, and I'll go from there. Maybe if I get impatient with my LFS' stocking schedule, I can purchase a nice fish online.

11/04/2010, 07:44 AM	#23
drillsar Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: West Orange, NJ Posts: 2,838	Whats strange is that my LFS around here all of them dont give any guarantee to livestock at all but Online gives you 14 days mostly. All the LFS are expensive by me, no guarantee online is better

11/04/2010, 07:57 AM	#25
drillsar Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: West Orange, NJ Posts: 2,838	I never had a problem with a fish from liveaquaria, saltwaterfish, I had one problem with one online vendor but was taken care of immediately because the fish dies 2 days later. Thing is ONLINE will give you a guarantee for fish while LFS mostly wont, so if you can see a fish swim to me who cares because if it died the LFS will tell me to buy another one. I dont know why they wont guarantee it for at least 7 days.