Tankerini

To everyone who has made a purchase online or by phone for any Marine fish/inverts/coral to delivered to their front door. Or to those who would not (why not?).

Ok those who have, were you happy with your purchase i.e what you brought reached you in a healthy state?

Anyone whose purchase didn't make it?

I am trying to get as much as possible from my lsf obviously to reduce travelling time for the poor fish in the bag (plus the fact I can actually see what I am getting healthwise/colour etc) But sometimes they dont have have what I want i.e corals and clams.

Please leave your comments, Thank-you

Tankerini

Also did you get what you expected (colour, size etc).

angelfish220

Did you see if you lfs could order some in special? then you could look at it, buy it for the lfs price and if you dont want it then some one else could buy it.

Tankerini

I will ask my lfs if thats ok, Im new to this sw business and am just gathering as much info as poss before I do anything.

Cant see why the lfs would have a prob (seeing as they would have other buyers), Might as well make as much use of them as poss right!

Tankerini

Just thinking the LFS will prob ask for some type of deposit greedy buggers lol

r0ss0

Who are your LFS?

Tankerini

No Im kidding I have'nt even asked any of them, but I assume its normal procedure to put a deposit down for things they specifically order in for you.

I have a few LFS but so far have only checked out one (chiltern aquatics) plus the other one I checked out was in essex my cousin used to work there.

Trio123

With saltwater fish the lfs is often limited to what is available, at the time, from thier whole salers because saltwater fish are mostly wild caught. If they are a small lfs it is sometimes not worth it to special order a expensive, delicate, or difficult species because they often have to order a minimum and if they feel they wont be able to sell the rest then that could be mean no profit or worse a loss. By all means ask your lfs but if they cant get it, it doesnt mean they suck It depends on the site you order from if you will get healthy fish that are what you expected. I have heard good experiences with liveaquaria.com but I have not personally used it.

Also you could try getting involved in a local aquarium society. Alot of people buy frags of coral that way and it is much more sustainable (then if your lfs gets wild harvested coral) and a nice way to meet people. I am trying to find one in my area for plants

Tankerini

Quote Trio123
"By all means ask your lfs but if they cant get it, it doesnt mean they suck "

Haha Yeah I know, I have been debating a sw tank for a few years now but in the last month have really took it seriously and being doing my homework on it.

So I am finding myself being skeptical about buying my fish/live rock/equipment from anyone, be it the LFS or an online store. Its like I dont trust any of there advice or knowledge (terrible i know). At the moment I am looking into everything and how it works so at least when I go into a LFS I can relate to what there saying and even more what their trying to sell to me!

r0ss0

I would go into a shop and have a look at what they have to offer , If they dont have what you want ask them if they have any coming in, If not ask if they will order some in for you, Perhaps you can pay them the amount they would be asking for them and ask for a receipt or invoice

The online store has a money back guarantee and will refund if your fish dont live after transit for five days or they will send you another batch out, Free of charge, But they do arrive on time and healthy and you can ask for certain sized fish i always buy them as small as i can because they look cute and you get "more" for your money as they will live a bit longer in your tank

Trio123

Not all online stores have a money back guarantee if the fish dont arrive online. Be sure to check thier shipping policy and the species policy (as some species will not be covered under thier live delivery guarentee).

Jillanne

My two cents...I have 3 saltwater tanks, my largest 215 gallons. I look after the saltwater area, at a LFS. There are a few things to keep in mind when ordering on line but the biggest thing is this - its your risk. I had a local breeder ship me a dozen sea slugs from a town only a 1.5 hour drive from the store and half arrived dead. The breeder being a good one, replaced the ones that had died.

If you are going to order on line, check the place out first. When ship are shipped, the fish are usually not fed for several days (less waste produced then), put in a small bag of water with an antifungus and often with too many fish in a single bag. When the LFS orders, they take the risk on the quality of the fish. I would recommend finding a LFS that is close enough for you to drive to, that can special order for you. There are also times that the fish that is ordered by the "common" name are not even the type you thought you were getting.

A member of your local aquarium group may be able to supply you with what you are looking for or "knows a guy" that can get it for you.

Sorry I will get off my soap box now but in the last week I saw some fish in really bad shape and got upset with that LFS. I even bought a Emperor Snapper just cause the poor thing was in such bad shape.

Tankerini

Yeah I think its better to go through a LFS, Its all well ordering online and getting a refund back for something thats died. But I would still feel bad that it would kinda been my fault.

Plus you can see how LFS look after there fish while there in store...Who knows how the online brought fish are cared for. (that said I know there are sound ones out there)

I have heard alot of people talking about "the local aquarium group" must fine one!!!

Jillanne

Tankerini there should be one local to you. I was speaking to a friend of mine from northern Ireland a few weeks back and he said it takes a bit of effort on his part to get to an aquarium store like the one I showed him here in Canada. At that time I looked into shipping a few things to him. Based on what I found, it was much better for the fish for him to order items from his LFS. It is an 1.5 hours drive to the store for him to pick things up.

Slug

I've ordered coral before. If you buy enough its usually cheaper online through either another hobbyist or a specific coral vendor. Shipping would kill on 1 or 2 small pieces or even a fish.

The coral i got was great, real healthy and opened withen hours. Frags were bigger then i expected and he sent an extra. I was happy. Especially because its something i can't get locally.

Before you order just do some research see how everyone else liked their purchase from that specific place.

Tankerini

Yeah Im gonna stick with an LFS for my fish (they normally do have a good range), Just the coral and clams, so like you say I would only use them for coral really.