I choose both if i'm looking for a fish such as a Midevil or oscar i go to the LFS but i got my F1 gold barred Midas from Rapps but i do like to support my local LFS so i will purchase dry goods from them for example Prime at my LFS costs a dollar more then amazon not a bad price to show my support
LFS vs ONLINE
- Thread starter benzjamin13
- Start date
My big 10in Male is a Ahole (typically amph) my new female is getting along fine i've had her now about 2 months shes a solid 6in but not one sign of any interest of wanting to breed from either one
I also shop both online and in LFS. Divers den and liveaquaria are great for finding corals and saltwater fish. Divers den is wysiwyg which I like as well plus they offer free shipping on orders over $150. For freshwater I like to go with the wet spot. Every time I ordered from them the fish come in exceptional health and never had a DOA. Look at the fish list it’s massive and has a better selection then my lfs. I do go to the lfs to browse often and I buy dry goods like driftwood along with live plants. Also lfs is handy for frozen foods.
I voted LFS but honestly I rarely buy fish from either LFS nor online. If you really want to get good quality fish that are well taken care of and for reasonable prices then find a local club to join. I've been a part of my local cichlid club for the past 6 years and I'd say i buy 95% of my fish from fellow members. My club has guys selling fish/breeders almost all the time plus we have spring and fall auctions so I buy most my fish that way. Every once in awhile I will buy from one LFS I like if its a species outside of my cichlid club, but most my stuff comes from in the club.
Seems to me, these days, I am not able to trust LFSs to have pure bred fish, or even for them to know kind what they have (there are "may be" of course some legitimate exceptions.
Most cichlids I see are some kind of FH derivation, that I would not take, even if free. I would prefer to support local business but...add to that, most LFSs don't carry the species I want.
I wouldn't mind paying more for what I want, if I'm sure its not some half ***ed FH attempted mix.
So buying on-line from a respected vendor is my only realistic option.
Or buying from respected members of my local aquarium club.
Most cichlids I see are some kind of FH derivation, that I would not take, even if free. I would prefer to support local business but...add to that, most LFSs don't carry the species I want.
I wouldn't mind paying more for what I want, if I'm sure its not some half ***ed FH attempted mix.
So buying on-line from a respected vendor is my only realistic option.
Or buying from respected members of my local aquarium club.
For me all dry goods come online. Even when ordering fish or coral I tend to go with online. For my reef tank I don’t want to drive 4 hours to the fish store so I’ll just order the corals and fish online from the same store but have them ship it. With this said, store front kinds of shops will soon be dying and online sales will be the way to go.
I do both . I was talking to a fish store owner in New Jersey and he said he’s twice as busy but makes half the money he used to because of internet ,water,electric,taxes ,and payroll . He said the only reason he’s able to survive is he owns his property
