fishbum

I've decided to get a couple of cockatoos,but none of the local pet stores sell them.I know I can get them online,but is this safe?I don't want to pay $80 and have dead fish.....Has anyone elese here bought fish online,and have they had success?

Chief_waterchanger

Dino and I buy fish online quite frequently. Most people on sites like www.aquabid.com will offer a live arrival guarantee if you pay the over night shipping costs.

If you live on a route where the usps (assuming you are in the USA) would normally take two days to deliver, like we do, it is fairly easy to do 2 day shipping (much cheaper).

We live in East Tennessee. Atlanta is our nearest large hub. If we buy fish from the boonies in Maine, they ship to atlanta then to chattanooga then to us. Takes them 2 days normally.

If it were us we would make sure to try to buy from people who do NOT use bag buddies or tranquilizers. We rarely have trouble with buying fish online. We tend to stop buying and we do not ship from october to march normally, just because there are times when the packages are being loaded onto a plane that they may sit outside for an hour or more... that is bad for the fish in cold weather. (We factor in the weather of where we're buying from, the hub it will go through, and the weather here when we purchase fish online.)

I know it sounds complicated, but it is real simple.

Best of luck.

fishbum

Thank Chief,again.I live in Des Moines,Iowa.Is this at all possible during this time of year.I don't think it is,I would like to put the Angels in first,and wait to make sure the more costly cockatoos have good safe water to live in anyway.If you see this ( i know it's a week later),your advice would be appeicated.

Chief_waterchanger

Sounds like a good idea about doing the angels first. By the time spring rolls around (we usually start shipping again in March, depending on whether it is a mild winter or not.) I am unaware of the weather patterns in Iowa, but I assume it is colder since you are quite a bit more north than we are. I would not risk losing that kinda money if it could be avoided by being patient.

I hope that helps some, even if it is a very basic response. I often try to impart on others that common sense is one of the core things needed for fishkeeping, and often times if you feel it is risky then it probably is.

I hope the tank turns out great, and I'm sure we'll see pictures come next year.

Callum The Cat

angels and cockatoos despite what any body says they don't mix trust me the angels will murder them

and if u add angels first u increase that chane because the angels will be territorial

Rock On Callum!

Chief_waterchanger

What has not worked for one person may well have worked for another. To say that it -will- happen is to be ignorant of the fact that the same two fish put together under different circumstances produce different results.

Also, as a rule of thumb, it is bad to use commitment words (always, never, will, won't) unless it can not be disproven. A person saying they've had the opposite result, that disproves the entire statement. Whereas if it were simply said that it hasn't worked for you, then that statement hasn't been disproven.

fishbum

I agree chief,people have told me to never mix tetra with beta,saying the tetra will nip at the beta's fins,well I have them together,and never have had any problems

fishbum

Funny,I have had the angels for 6 weeks now,and the toos for 4 weeks,and the male cockatoo is the dominant fish in the tank.The angels by no means are "murdering" anything.The angels act like puppy dogs,always playing,and begging to be fed!