Aquaticarts.com

Funny you ask. The order is still showing as unfulfilled. I shot out an email yesterday asking for status. Today is 10 days since I placed the order.

I was not in a big hurry, but this is getting ridiculous. They could at least send out a status update when orders are delayed. I am assuming the sale was popular so they are struggling to fulfill all the orders. That is just my guess though.
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Interesting, thanks. I don't mind delays, things happen, but it would be nice to be kept informed by the vendors. Did you order the Gold or Red Racer Nerites?
 

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Interesting, thanks. I don't mind delays, things happen, but it would be nice to be kept informed by the vendors. Did you order the Gold or Red Racer Nerites?
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I got the combo pack, 2 of each.
 

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I also ordered the combo pack. Am I going to have to fight you over snails?
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We should both get our snails, lol.

I remember seeing a note that if an ordered item runs out before all orders placed are fulfilled that they will honor the sale price when items are back in stock. I am thinking that is what happened. I bet a lot of us that had been looking at those snails jumped on 40% off.
 
I just sent them an email requesting a status update on my order. Hopefully we'll have answers soon. I NEED my snails, lol.
 

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I got my snails! Now I feel like I took them all... I was already prepared to fight my mom for them, I didn't know I would have to fight fishlorians as well!
 
I got my snails! Now I feel like I took them all... I was already prepared to fight my mom for them, I didn't know I would have to fight fishlorians as well!
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I want to see pictures. It's very possible you got MY snails by mistake.
 
When I placed my order with AA, it took 11 days to receive it.
The bad thing was that the selection isn't that awesome and the things I really wanted were sold out. But the good thing was that I got a few extra pieces of cholla wood, plants, snails and shrimp.
 
When I placed my order with AA, it took 11 days to receive it.
The bad thing was that the selection isn't that awesome and the things I really wanted were sold out. But the good thing was that I got a few extra pieces of cholla wood, plants, snails and shrimp.
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The place I order my plants from had a delay in shipping a couple weeks ago due to some family emergency and she included some extras. Most of these vendors know that people have options and it's best for business to keep folks happy. I'm sure I'll hear from AA tomorrow.
 
Well for the ridiculous shipping costs AA should give extra things haha. I ordered shrimp and the shipping was $31 and the shipping for fish was listed as $40, so I figured for $9 more I can order some fish too, but then it changed shipping to $61 which was INSANE. TBH I wouldn't order from them again, even with the extra things as the shipping is too expensive and the time to receive anything is too long. Quality was okay, but 3 shrimp and 1 snail died already and it's been less that one month. One snail was actually DOA, but they sent extra so I didn't bother saying anything. I've gotten some stuff off eBay for cheaper and better quality.
 

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Well for the ridiculous shipping costs AA should give extra things haha. I ordered shrimp and the shipping was $31 and the shipping for fish was listed as $40, so I figured for $9 more I can order some fish too, but then it changed shipping to $61 which was INSANE. TBH I wouldn't order from them again, even with the extra things as the shipping is too expensive and the time to receive anything is too long. Quality was okay, but 3 shrimp and 1 snail died already and it's been less that one month. One snail was actually DOA, but they sent extra so I didn't bother saying anything. I've gotten some stuff off eBay for cheaper and better quality.
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This is my first time buying from them and if not for the 40% off I likely would not have. I've bought live critters from LiveAquaria before and paid their shipping but because of the size of the company I felt comfortable doing that. They're part of the Aqueon/Petco/Marineland/Segrestfarms/Dr'sFoster&Smith megalopoly AKA Central Garden & Pet, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE..
 
I have ordered many times fro AA and have always gotten quality fish/snails/dry goods. They used to offer priority mail 2-3 day shipping even for fish. Since they changed to only overnight, I have not ordered fish. Shrimp and snails still have the lower shipping options.

This is the first time I have had a delay from them. To be able to get some of those racer snails is worth it. I am not in a hurry. I have lived this long without them so it’s all good, lol.
 
I got a response via email and my order is scheduled to ship out today.
 
I got an email yesterday from Preston saying that my order would be shipped today, so YAY ME! They said that it had been too hot to ship but that the weather this week would allow for safe transportation. Well alrighty then, bring on the snails!
 
I ordered some duckweed from Amazon this morning. Amazon says they're live plants from Aquatic Arts and sold by PowerPingPong.
Anyway, they were only six bucks with free shipping, and a 100% live arrival guarantee, plus free email support directly from the owners! [???]
So, we'll see.
 
So, I did receive my snails the other day. There was a bonus small one and it was red, so I was happy with that.
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Those are nice. I got mine yesterday and also got an extra snail. They haven't started moving yet and I haven't even looked close to see what I have. They're small, I will say that. The size of a small pea. I'll check 'em out this weekend and post up some pics. I'm hoping they're as pretty as the ones you have.
 
Those are nice. I got mine yesterday and also got an extra snail. They haven't started moving yet and I haven't even looked close to see what I have. They're small, I will say that. The size of a small pea. I'll check 'em out this weekend and post up some pics. I'm hoping they're as pretty as the ones you have.
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Mine were moving right away. And there were different sizes, but only one as small as pea size.
 
Those are nice. I got mine yesterday and also got an extra snail. They haven't started moving yet and I haven't even looked close to see what I have. They're small, I will say that. The size of a small pea. I'll check 'em out this weekend and post up some pics. I'm hoping they're as pretty as the ones you have.
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Are you sure they are alive? Did dyou put them in a container and put food on one side and them on the other? I hear that's the best way to check their status.
 

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Are you sure they are alive? Did dyou put them in a container and put food on one side and them on the other? I hear that's the best way to check their status.
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That's exactly what I did. I added a bit of my tank water to the container they came in and then put that container into a larger bowl filled with tank water.
It took a while but they all started moving. I've got them all in the community tank now. One of them took off pretty quickly and I saw him on the front glass earlier but he seems to have hauled butt somewhere else now. They zip around so much it's hard to keep track of 'em. They are small though. I think they'll be fine as long as none of the fish think they're food sized.
 
Are they horned nerite snails? I got two which were very tiny! One came DOA but the other is still alive as far as I know. Either way, very small!
 
I would send Preston an email. I was ok with getting an extra small one, but would not have been ok if all of them were. I got a variety of sizes. None full grown, but halfway there.
 
I got a couple snapshots of a few snails. They're very pretty critters but with the exception of one or two they're also fairly small. Not really worried about that as long as they grow up big and strong.

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The top one looks like a pest snail. Did you get extras?
 
Yeah, that top one is a pest snail, I was taking pics and he was in one, thought it was a good shot. I got one extra snail from AA but I think I've got one DOA
 
I ordered 10 shrimp from Aquatic Arts during their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale (along with a few other items). They were to be shipped today. I just received a very apologetic email from them explaining that due to a software error they had oversold some of their inventory and could not ship my shrimp today. They offered me a refund for the shrimp, or a gift card for double the value, or a substitute of anything from the website with a value upwards of twice the cost of the shrimp, or a delay in shipping and double the shrimp. I elected a delay and double the shrimp. Couldn’t be more pleased with how they handled an unfortunate situation.
 
I ordered 10 shrimp from Aquatic Arts during their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale (along with a few other items). They were to be shipped today. I just received a very apologetic email from them explaining that due to a software error they had oversold some of their inventory and could not ship my shrimp today. They offered me a refund for the shrimp, or a gift card for double the value, or a substitute of anything from the website with a value upwards of twice the cost of the shrimp, or a delay in shipping and double the shrimp. I elected a delay and double the shrimp. Couldn’t be more pleased with how they handled an unfortunate situation.
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Sounds like a good company. Please let us know how it goes when you get the shrimp.
 
I ordered 10 shrimp from Aquatic Arts during their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale (along with a few other items). They were to be shipped today. I just received a very apologetic email from them explaining that due to a software error they had oversold some of their inventory and could not ship my shrimp today. They offered me a refund for the shrimp, or a gift card for double the value, or a substitute of anything from the website with a value upwards of twice the cost of the shrimp, or a delay in shipping and double the shrimp. I elected a delay and double the shrimp. Couldn’t be more pleased with how they handled an unfortunate situation.
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Good to know! Glad that you can still get your shrimp soon
 
Well, they arrived last Tuesday. They were grazing in the tank immediately after being put in, and at least two are heavily berried. I need to get a little light on this tank to get pictures, but I’m very happy with the customer service and my new arrivals. They like to graze on the underside of the surface floating plants, which is entertaining.
 

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So recently, I have been seeing lots of people on this forum talking about Aquatic Arts and how it's really good and stuff. Recently, I've been wanting some shrimp for my 5 gallon fry tank to clean up any algae and uneaten food (here is the link to that) and I wanted some prettier ones than just the basic ghost shrimp from my LFS. Those frequently die. So I was just wondering about people's thoughts: have you bought from AquaticArts? If so, did you like it? Why or why not? Also, if you ordered live animals, did they all survive? Thank you in advance! Any further questions will be answered!

P.S. Does anyone know if they have free shipping?
 
I have ordered from Aquatic Arts before and I definitely recommend!! I’ve ordered shrimp, snails, and plants from there. It was freezing outside when I ordered them so they were shipped with heating packs and everything. No DOAs and they even shipped a few extra shrimp just in case. In my case, shipping was delayed because of a holiday so they upgraded my shipping and the quality of my shrimp for no addition cost
 
I bought Neocaridina shrimp from them 3 times. In every case, they never bred successfully or lived longer than 90 days. They ship you mature shrimp of breeding age which means they are at least 6 months old. The only exception were 2 newly hatched babies that came in an order of 5 Goldenback Yellows. The mature shrimp lived about 90 days but those 2 baby ones lived for 8 months and started to breed since one was male and the other female. The female had eggs but lost them. Then both of the shrimp died within 24 hours about 3 weeks later. It may just be my water or something although I did try mineralizing distilled water but that really didn't help. I have bought Ghost shrimp as well at PetSmart but they never live longer than 90 days either.

Take my experience for what it's worth. Others may have done better. I have given up on freshwater shrimp.

I talked to the people at Aquatic Arts and told them they might be better off selling younger shrimp that have not reached breeding age yet but they said that was not what the great majority of their customers wanted.
 
I have ordered from Aquatic Arts before and I definitely recommend!! I’ve ordered shrimp, snails, and plants from there. It was freezing outside when I ordered them so they were shipped with heating packs and everything. No DOAs and they even shipped a few extra shrimp just in case. In my case, shipping was delayed because of a holiday so they upgraded my shipping and the quality of my shrimp for no addition cost
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Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate it!
I bought Neocaridina shrimp from them 3 times. In every case, they never bred successfully or lived longer than 90 days. They ship you mature shrimp of breeding age which means they are at least 6 months old. The only exception were 2 newly hatched babies that came in an order of 5 Goldenback Yellows. The mature shrimp lived about 90 days but those 2 baby ones lived for 8 months and started to breed since one was male and the other female. The female had eggs but lost them. Then both of the shrimp died within 24 hours about 3 weeks later. It may just be my water or something although I did try mineralizing distilled water but that really didn't help. I have bought Ghost shrimp as well at PetSmart but they never live longer than 90 days either.

Take my experience for what it's worth. Others may have done better. I have given up on freshwater shrimp.

I talked to the people at Aquatic Arts and told them they might be better off selling younger shrimp that have not reached breeding age yet but they said that was not what the great majority of their customers wanted.
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Thank you for your long reply! I think I will buy from them a few shrimp and maybe a nerite, just to experiment. Does anyone have any experience with nerite snails?
 
Yes! The nerite snails ship in a container with damp paper towel. I’ve only ordered nerites from them once but I wasn’t able to get them to live long. Most likely something in my water.
 
I ordered shrimp from them, but they did not last very long. A few months at most. I ordered Brazilian Penny Wort, which the 1st time I got it, it was amazing and grew all over the place, this last round all melted away within a few days, The shipping is insane. I wanted 2 plants and the shipping was $26 and the box was maybe a 6 x 6 cube that weight a pound, if that.
 
I have had Nerites but not from AA. All of mine have come from PetSmart and all have lived at least 8 months. I have a Tiger Nerite in with my African Dwarf Frog. That snail has been in the tank a good 16 months if not more. The shipping from AA is pretty high but they do package things well.
 
I have bought Nerites and plants from AquaticArts. Everything is great. It's been a couple of months. The snails are still alive and the plants are growing. I bought from them because they are local to me so I didn't actually have anything shipped. When I went to pick up my order, they gave me a tour of their operation. They respond promptly to email and are very helpful. However, it seems like when I'm looking for something specific, they rarely have it in stock.
 
They do not have free shipping, and shipping for animals is between $25-$30 from what I can remember. I ordered 3 tissue cultures that all arrived dead, to which they gave me store credit. I then purchased a pleco with the store credit that died within a week after purchase. Definitely would not recommend. They also seem to be out of stock of a ton of their shop all the time but that’s not really that big of an issue.

Instead of using aquatic arts, consider using Ebay. There are many great home bred shrimp sources on there with some quality Neocaridina shrimp. Many of these can be purchased in small groups for around $30 shipped. In comparison, that is the same price as just the shipping from aquatic arts!

Let me know if you have any more questions about my experience!
 

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They do not have free shipping, and shipping for animals is between $25-$30 from what I can remember. I ordered 3 tissue cultures that all arrived dead, to which they gave me store credit. I then purchased a pleco with the store credit that died within a week after purchase. Definitely would not recommend. They also seem to be out of stock of a ton of their shop all the time but that’s not really that big of an issue.

Instead of using aquatic arts, consider using Ebay. There are many great home bred shrimp sources on there with some quality Neocaridina shrimp. Many of these can be purchased in small groups for around $30 shipped. In comparison, that is the same price as just the shipping from aquatic arts!

Let me know if you have any more questions about my experience!
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When you shipped from eBay, what was your experience?
 
They do not have free shipping, and shipping for animals is between $25-$30 from what I can remember. I ordered 3 tissue cultures that all arrived dead, to which they gave me store credit. I then purchased a pleco with the store credit that died within a week after purchase. Definitely would not recommend. They also seem to be out of stock of a ton of their shop all the time but that’s not really that big of an issue.

Instead of using aquatic arts, consider using Ebay. There are many great home bred shrimp sources on there with some quality Neocaridina shrimp. Many of these can be purchased in small groups for around $30 shipped. In comparison, that is the same price as just the shipping from aquatic arts!

Let me know if you have any more questions about my experience!
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I wanted to order some fish from them last year, and the shipping was $60 for the fish. That was just insane. If it was only 25 or 30 that wouldn't be too bad.
 
I haven't bought anything from them recently, but my cherry shrimp colony (that now spans multiple tanks and even outdoor containers) originally came from them. Never had any issues with any I bought from them, but it has been a couple of years now since I have purchased from them.
 
Ordered an L401 from them, came dead. Retry, came dead.
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I just googled those. are they the striped plecos? they look so cool! where did you ever think of getting one? (or finding out that it exists) also, did you end up getting them from somewhere else? thanks for your input!
 
Yup, but there's a lot of striped plecos, probably 30 different species that look the same.

I did not end up getting it.
 
I’ve read that they had major issues in years past but made noticeable strides to fix those issues including 4-6 week quarantine on livestock.

I’ve ordered hardscape, plants, shrimp, snails and fish from them. Everything arrived alive and well. The only deaths were 3 shrimp (ph crash in my tank) and 1 Goby weeks after arrival (was being harassed by SAE).
Don’t believe those deaths were anything other than on my end.

Plants... and hardscape.. take a while to ship. Hardscape is decent in that you can pick xl rocks and such but sometimes you don’t get what you hoped for. They’ll fix it but it’s frustrating.
 
I’ve read that they had major issues in years past but made noticeable strides to fix those issues including 4-6 week quarantine on livestock.

I’ve ordered hardscape, plants, shrimp, snails and fish from them. Everything arrived alive and well. The only deaths were 3 shrimp (ph crash in my tank) and 1 Goby weeks after arrival (was being harassed by SAE).
Don’t believe those deaths were anything other than on my end.

Plants... and hardscape.. take a while to ship. Hardscape is decent in that you can pick xl rocks and such but sometimes you don’t get what you hoped for. They’ll fix it but it’s frustrating.
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How is the shipping? Really expensive?
 
How is the shipping? Really expensive?
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Hardscape material: free
Plants: $15
Livestock: $30-69 overnight, price changes based on size of order/box

Is it pricey for fish? Yes but they are there overnight and with an alive arrival guarantee.
Beats wondering where the critters are.
 

Random Great Topic!

SunSun Cannister - UV or no UV, that is the question!
Sunsun Canister UV filter or no?

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