I was not sure where to post this but had a general question. It may be a stupid question but then again the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. What is everyones opinion of ordering fish and having them shipped directly to you. Sometimes you see a type of fish you want but it is not carried by LFS or LPS. I would think this is OK because that is how the LFS sand LPS get their fish. I realize there are some downsides such as not seeing the actual fish you are getting (difference in color etc.). But I watched as one of the local LPS' got their fish delivery. It was pretty horrifying! Most of them were DOA. I would say at least half. So this kind of frightened me. Would I have to order two or three just to get a live one? Or is this just a big gamble? Would it be better to try and find a place that will get one eventually? Just so you know I would eventually like to get an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey but know body ever has them. The LFS I spoke with said they are only available to him once a year. So I was thinking when I was ready I could order one because I do see them for sale online from breeders and other online fish stores and such.
Having fish shipped?????
- Thread starter johnson5585
- Start date
1 lfs receive fish in massive amounts and usually those received in large quantities are cheap fish and they are going to be ill treated (not by all but by a few LFS) thus the massive amount of DOA, for eg: here ID cats are found every where thus they are very very ill treated and come in nearly 50-60 in a bag, thus a few will be dead by the time they arrivejohnson5585;1869514; said:
but if it were an expensive fish like a piranha or a frontosa or something like that they come in individual bags and are sent such that they do arrive alive, but there may be a slim chance that they might not , but usually they do arrive alive
2 as said above its a slim chance that you may encounter a DOA, but for better service and better quality get to the buy and sell forum on MFK and check with the MFK vendors, haven't had the opportunity of getting one from them as i live tooo far but have read a lot of posts which say that they get a real good service, and you may also get a replacement for a DOA(except for the shipping charges)
3 research a little more about Electric blue JDs as they very rarely last for a long time and grow to a nice size
53special has had some experience with them may be PMing him might help you
i have no problem with shipping fish, especially if they insure the fish. most of the time the shipping i pay isnt too bad(in the $25-40 range). ive never had a doa, but i guess that depends on the distributer youre dealing with.
I used to be pretty horrified of having a fish shipped to me rather than just picking one out of the local fish store. In fact, it took me about 3 years after joining a fish forum when I took the plunge.
I still remember how excited I was, I woke up at 8 AM and just started stalking my shipment on UPS for hours and hours while peaking out my window to see if anyone's at the front door (especially when I hear a car rolling by).
Anyways, my first experience was a success, and I received the box with two healthy baby stingrays. Since then, I never looked back. In fact, I get most of my fish via the Internet, because where I live, you simply won't find the rare and exotic fish that I've since been completely addicted to.
Yes, you will get DOA's, but that is very rare. I've also worked at a fish store before, and even though we get 2 shipments of fish per week that equals to hundreds of fish, DOA's are very uncommon.
Our community sellers on this forum are all professional at this business, think about it, how do you think fish are passed on from the river to the wholesaler and the retailer? SHIPPING! It's really not that scary. Go ahead and order your dream fish.
I still remember how excited I was, I woke up at 8 AM and just started stalking my shipment on UPS for hours and hours while peaking out my window to see if anyone's at the front door (especially when I hear a car rolling by).
Anyways, my first experience was a success, and I received the box with two healthy baby stingrays. Since then, I never looked back. In fact, I get most of my fish via the Internet, because where I live, you simply won't find the rare and exotic fish that I've since been completely addicted to.
Yes, you will get DOA's, but that is very rare. I've also worked at a fish store before, and even though we get 2 shipments of fish per week that equals to hundreds of fish, DOA's are very uncommon.
Our community sellers on this forum are all professional at this business, think about it, how do you think fish are passed on from the river to the wholesaler and the retailer? SHIPPING! It's really not that scary. Go ahead and order your dream fish.