Is it a good idea to buy fish online?

The fish buying choices near me a pretty slim. I've got a pretty meh Petsmart and that's about it. I've never purchased fish online and am curious if it is a valid option. Thanks in advance!

 

It is. Lots of people do it. Here, aquabid, liveaquaria and many other places.

 

Online is a good way to obtain fish, just be prepared to pay a lot more in shipping than what you would for other items. I have used Aquatic Arts numerous times, they package well and have great customer service. I’ve also had a good experience with Blackwater Aquatics (wild bettas). Definitely do your research to see how reputable the place or person you are ordering from is.

 

I have, with mixed results. In my opinion if buying online it's even more important to have a quarantine tank since you can't inspect the fish or the conditions that they are housed in beforehand.

 

I was thinking of buying fish online because of COVID-19 so this is helpful

 

I haven't personally bought fish online before but I think as long as the seller has good reviews and very little to no bad ones(some sellers will provide pics of the fish depending on the species)its fine. Like someone mentioned though shipping will be expensive, I've only seen people provide free shipping if you pay a lot.

 

Nothing can ever replace a good local fish store, but with so many of them shutting down (before covid), online is the best bet. It's not as fun since you don't get to pick and choose. I could spend hours in a fish store! But, it does give you time to research before you buy.

 

Yes, people do it all the time. The main thing is that shipping costs an arm and a leg. Quarantine is also a must. For general, non specialty suppliers, TheWetSpot and Imperial Tropicals are highly praised. Live Aquaria and Aquatic Arts are also generally good sellers. Do not touch Arizona Aquatic Gardens. To prevent this from becoming a thread on them, if you're curious as to why, Google their name and the first page should tell you everything you need to know. Aquabid is also great, you have to remember it's individual sellers on a site, ala ebay. So you have to look at each seller. If a seller has a lot of positive reviews over a long span of time from many different people, they're very likely a high quality seller.

 

How much does shipping cost in the US?

In Australia a couple of online shops will ship overnight for the equivalent of about $12 USD, or for free if your order is over about $100 USD.

 

How much does shipping cost in the US?

In Australia a couple of online shops will ship overnight for the equivalent of about $12 USD, or for free if your order is over about $100 USD.

A lot(imo since I'm broke lol). Usually the most common prices I see is around 30-50 dollars for live fish, and it gets cheaper when you pay more. Maybe its just the websites I go on?

 

A lot(imo since I'm broke lol). Usually the most common prices I see is around 30-50 dollars for live fish, and it gets cheaper when you pay more. Maybe its just the websites I go on?

Hmmm...yeah at that price you'd need to be ordering more than just a couple of guppies.

 

How much does shipping cost in the US?

In Australia a couple of online shops will ship overnight for the equivalent of about $12 USD, or for free if your order is over about $100 USD.

It tends to be around $45 unless you are ordering something like $200 in fish. But, keep in mind, in many cases, the fish have to cover further distances in a shorter amount of time in the US.

 

Hmmm...yeah at that price you'd need to be ordering more than just a couple of guppies.

Haha I used to be naive and thought "oh I'll just buy 3-4 guppies", and when I saw the shipping price I was like nvm lets just go to petsmart.

 

ok good to know

 

It tends to be around $45 unless you are ordering something like $200 in fish. But, keep in mind, in many cases, the fish have to cover further distances in a shorter amount of time in the US.

Fair enough. Don't know about shorter distances though, I live near Sydney and two shops I normally order from are based in Melbourne (900 km) and Bundaberg (1,200 km).

 

Whatever you do DON'T order from coast gem. They are horrible with shipping read some reviews on them lol. Aqua bid is were I go and aquabtic arts.

 

Hi I was wondering if aquarium fish sale is a good site to buy from? Have any of u bought from them?

 

Living artwork fish farms has free shipping on everything. I've bought shrimp from them and they are still healthy and happy.

 

Fair enough. Don't know about shorter distances though, I live near Sydney and two shops I normally order from are based in Melbourne (900 km) and Bundaberg (1,200 km).

My last fish order was from California and I live on the east coast (4,368km) haha. Most of my amazon orders tend to be from California too. I will admit though, I’m lucky that Aquatic Arts (870km) and That Fish Place (130km) are much closer. For comparison though, Aquatic Arts is only about a fifth of the coast to coast length across the US.

 

I just bought my first pair of fish online. One of them is my profile picture now. It's expensive, but I find they're a lot higher quality than what I'd get in stores. Shipping fees are the hardest part, but you just gotta bite the bullet if you really want them. Priority shipping is usually okay, from what I've heard, but with the situation now I think I'd only trust overnight shipping.

 

So, when I wanted to get specific fish I turned to the internet. After lots of searching I finally settled on The Wet Spot in OR. Prices were ok, and shipping was also ok, fair to say the least. Customer service was good and they have clearly done this before. That put me at ease a lil. I think I got something like 8-10 SA cichlids and all of them were happy and healthy. All but 1 are still alive and chasing each other happily. From my 1 experience I'd recommend them. Take that as you will though.

 

Yes, people do it all the time. The main thing is that shipping costs an arm and a leg. Quarantine is also a must. For general, non specialty suppliers, TheWetSpot and Imperial Tropicals are highly praised. Live Aquaria and Aquatic Arts are also generally good sellers. Do not touch Arizona Aquatic Gardens. To prevent this from becoming a thread on them, if you're curious as to why, Google their name and the first page should tell you everything you need to know. Aquabid is also great, you have to remember it's individual sellers on a site, ala ebay. So you have to look at each seller. If a seller has a lot of positive reviews over a long span of time from many different people, they're very likely a high quality seller.

I've seen some great fish on aquabid that I wish I could buy in Australia.

 

My last fish order was from California and I live on the east coast (4,368km) haha. Most of my amazon orders tend to be from California too. I will admit though, I’m lucky that Aquatic Arts (870km) and That Fish Place (130km) are much closer. For comparison though, Aquatic Arts is only about a fifth of the coast to coast length across the US.

How much does Aquatic Arts charge for shipping?

I just bought my first pair of fish online. One of them is my profile picture now. It's expensive, but I find they're a lot higher quality than what I'd get in stores. Shipping fees are the hardest part, but you just gotta bite the bullet if you really want them. Priority shipping is usually okay, from what I've heard, but with the situation now I think I'd only trust overnight shipping.

Where did u buy from?

 

How much does Aquatic Arts charge for shipping?

$35 was the lowest, it changes depending on order quantity and where you are located

 

Oh. That seems like a lot considering someplace will do it for free

Where is Aquatic Arts based out of?

 

Where did u buy from?

coralbandit on Aquabid. He actually frequents this forum as well. The overnight shipping charge I paid was $26, but that was with priority shipping included with the price of the fish, so more like $40. Well worth the expense, in my opinion.
However, if you can find sites local to near you, most charges will only be $15-20 but it'll be 2-3 day priority. However, with the pandemic, a lot of mail is arriving later than usual and it's not a risk you want to take with live animals.
I've yet to find a place that will do it for free unless you spend a certain amount. eBay maybe? But I'm sure their costs are rolled into the overall price anyways.

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure The Wet Spot will do it for free........

 

FishGuy4563 There's a ton of places on the west coast, especially Washington and California, so you could find luck. There's not that many in Georgia. The only one I could find was imperial tropicals and they do $14.99 shipping to the southeast.

 

Where is Aquatic Arts based out of?

Brownsburg, Indiana

 

FishGuy4563 There's a ton of places on the west coast, especially Washington and California, so you could find luck. There's not that many in Georgia. The only one I could find was imperial tropicals and they do $14.99 shipping to the southeast.

Ok. I will check out local places.

Brownsburg, Indiana

Ok. Thanks

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure The Wet Spot will do it for free........

They definitely do not ship for free lol I've looked at their site multiple times.

 

They definitely do not ship for free lol I've looked at their site multiple times.

Sorry I was mistaken. It was some other place....

Sorry this is a little off topic but how do u start a private conversation with someone? I know u have to have more than 50 messages and I do, but idk how to start one. Thanks!

 

Sorry this is a little off topic but how do u start a private conversation with someone? I know u have to have more than 50 messages and I do, but idk how to start one. Thanks!

I was having that issue earlier since I just hit 50 as well. I kept looking on profiles but I could never find the button. I think it takes the system a bit to register it. I ended up logging to a different browser and it popped up for me there.

 

ok. I'm gonna log out and then back in

 

Sorry this is a little off topic but how do u start a private conversation with someone? I know u have to have more than 50 messages and I do, but idk how to start one. Thanks!

I think you go to their profile and somewhere it says "start a convo".

 

ok

THe place that ships for free is living artwork.

 

ok

THe place that ships for free is living artwork.

Eh, that looks to be free shipping in name only. The price of shipping is definitely rolled into the cost of the fish and the number of fish you have to buy. I recommend aquabids, eBay, and Imperial tropicals if you want lower shipping costs. It's never going to really be free through.

 

Ok. I will consider that!

Ugg still no luck with the convo thing, but I asked Mike so we will see

 

You have to just calculate the cost per fish based on the total. Free shipping is what you want to make of it as the buyer. There's really no such thing as free shipping with live fish.

Lets say as a seller I was looking to get $5 each for my juvenile angelfish.

I could say:

5 for $50 and free shipping
Or
5 for $25 and $25 for shipping.

It gets the same result for me. But the free shipping option might look more intriguing to the buyer...even though its technically the same price. People love to see the word "free". Lol

Anyway, online buying is where you find passionate breeders who breed high quality fish. Its actually the best way to go in my opinion. As long as you do your research first.

 

Yeah I see