Online Ordering

[Drinkmorewater]

For those reefers who order online-- Where do you order from and why?

Any thoughts on who is the best? Lowest DOA rates? Best service/guarantee?

 

[albano]

Not really the best time of year to order livestock, online...plus there are a # of vendors that can get anything you want...some even deliver!

 

[bigcapct]

I like bluezooaquatics.com they got a special now too free shipping on $99 orders ,always healthy livestock

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

 

[afernandez]

Like albano said with all this snow, Don't order I have a regular package in the mail stuck somewhere in mid america for a week. Wait unitl all this snows and bad weather passes.

 

[Marine Marv]

Time of year/weather is a concern but I've ordered fish, inverts and live rock from Liveaquaria.com several times with success. I recommend them when conditions are right.

 

[FMF0331]

I like lfs , you can see what you're picking up, shape - size - color ...etc...
And sometimes it's cheaper at lfs

 

[ryangrieder]

coralmophologic

 

[Drinkmorewater]

Not really the best time of year to order livestock, online...plus there are a # of vendors that can get anything you want...some even deliver!

Hi Albano--Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not looking to order right now just curious where people do order from.

Also, with the weather being an issue as you mention wouldn't all of the LFS experience the same issues with their shipments? I think almost everything we buy comes from at least a 10 hour plane ride away before it ever arrives in the tri-state area (unless it comes from Haiti).

Thanks again!

 

[Reefers Paradise]

i use and like liveaquaria.com myself if something is doa they refund it and your shipping charge too no questions asked it sucks the animal died but you are refunded without a problem. good service never had a problem with them knock on wood lol i will continue to shop with them for certain things

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

agreed bad time of year to order stuff..I ordered corals and 1/2 of them were not in good shape and the boxes were cold as hell even with heat pack.

See my disaster thread.

 

[nminunni]

nano aquatics

 

[albano]

Also, with the weather being an issue as you mention wouldn't all of the LFS experience the same issues with their shipments? I think almost everything we buy comes from at least a 10 hour plane ride away before it ever arrives in the tri-state area (unless it comes from Haiti).

Many, if not most LFS, get their livestock from local wholesalers, that have already rec'd the shipments, and 'hopefully' QT'd them. Weather will affect their amount of inventory...but the available fish have survived the 'worst' of the trip!

 

[greg 45]

Cherry Corals

 

[kiLLscaLLion]

Drinkmorewater, I'm in the same situation as you. I've been buying at my local LFS exclusively (Manhattan Aquariums) until now, but I'm thinking of trying my hand at ordering online as I'm looking for a few specific things that they don't have. My main concern so far is that the animals might not survive the trip and you just end up opening a package of a dead fish (I imagine online vendors do not refund you in these situations?), especially since I usually can't pick up my packages until I get home from work, which can be pretty late at night. At least at an LFS, they will have survived the brunt of the trip and you can examine their health before buying.

 

[basiab]

My opinion and you can't blame MR for it

I have been generally satisfied with online buying of fish not only from the well known ones but even from ebay. But shipping costs usually nullifies any bargain prices. The live guarantee is not worth much unless it also includes their shipping the replacement free. If you want something that you just can't get local then go for it. Otherwise limit it to those times when you have a large order or try to order together with a friend which then makes the shipping cost per item more reasonable. In some cases large orders have free shipping. I find the fish to be very healthy. When you buy local and the fish have been here only a day or two it is in worse than an online one which has been acclimated a while at their facility and usually trated for parasites. The local one will have gone through a long shipping time, put in a tank for a day or 2 and then to another tank, yours, in too short a time. So the local ones are better only if they have had time to calm down a couple weeks in the store.
In general it is best not to go online when the weather is either very hot or very cold.
Usually your best buy in from MR because it has been in a tank for a while and in some cases years and the cost is usually very good.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Live aquaria as the best customer service hands down.No questions asked.

 

[albano]

When you buy local and the fish have been here only a day or two it is in worse than an online one which has been acclimated a while at their facility and usually treated for parasites.

Many times, this is what they say...not what they do.
I have been to a few online shippers in Calif. and I can tell you that they don't always have everything in stock (even if they say that it's 'in stock'), so if you order it, they just run down to the wholesalers at LAX, buy what they need, and ship it to you, the SAME day!
Even Live Aquaria fish are shipped directly from a Calif. wholesaler.

IMO...I'd rather get a fish at LFS...on the day they get it, BEFORE it's acclimated to their system!

You should check and QT, all fish, no matter where they come from.