does anyone know of a good online coral dealer with a great reputation. Local dealers have small usual selection online has great choice but wondering if they are worth it and trusted
does anyone know of a good online coral dealer with a great reputation. Local dealers have small usual selection online has great choice but wondering if they are worth it and trusted
Generally speaking it's in an online retailers best interest to get you stock which is at least as nice as anything you can get at a local vendor; otherwise, why bother with the hassle of shipping and not being able to pick out the exact specimen you want?
That said, there are an awful lot of fly-by-night operations in recent years, who don't tend to last long and whose quality can be very hit and miss. Not to mention it's become ridiculously common practice for these sellers to photograph their animals under specialized lighting in order to accentuate coloration beyond what you're likely to see "in real life" unless you yourself run similar lighting (a preponderance of 20k and actinics, or even blacklighting).
I'd recommend sticking with the long established online vendors for your first few forays into purchasing livestock online. Companies like Tropicorium that Lawdawg mentioned really have been around forever. www.liveaquaria.com started out as Flying Fish Express back around '96, until it was acquired by Fosters and Smith some years ago; while not the cheapest option, their livestock quality has always been very good in my experience and on occasions when problems arise, their customer service has been top notch.
