Online fish purchase experience

[spiff]

This was the first time I ordered fish through the internet/mail order like this, so I figured I would post my experience.

The main order I placed through liveaquaria.com/drfosters&smith, they give good prices and granting discounts per number ordered is done by default. Over a 100 fish ordered, and not a single fatality. All the bags were tripled bagged or better, fully inflated and packed with care. The outer bag is a black-out bag. All the fish were healthy looking.

Some others were ordered from **************** due to availability. They were single bagged, and these bags were collapsed with almost no air and hardly enough water. If I hadn't went home from lunch to intercept the order, I'm pretty sure that there would have been fatalities if it sat on the porch all day like they did from liveaquaria.com. At least a couple fish had signs of infection.

 

[Sab_Fan]

thanks for posting the experience(s) . . . I have ordered on-line several times, I'd have to say double-bagging is the minimum way to go . . . I also like it when they individually bag each fish, tho' that's not always the case

for me the #1 most important thing is that I track the order and I zip home (10 minutes away) as soon as I get delivery confirmation . . .

 

[krichardson]

Good for you that there were no DOA's,I have yet to order livestock from either of those sources but I get most of my supplies from Dr's Foster and Smith.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I've gotten fish from FosterSmith several times and have always been pleased. Their shipping is so reasonable, too. $35 for FedEx Overnight.

 

[XB aro]

Got my discus from this guy, discushatchery Las Vegas, on aquabid, each fish was 2x bagged n there seemed like just enough water for the discus to survive, but no DOA n still alive

 

[Wet Whiskers]

Ordered a really nice betta from Thailand. I used Julie Tran as a trans shipper, and she almost killed my fish. She shipped like it were a pair of shoes - no live fish label and no fragile label. She just threw them in a box which wasn't labeled as containing a live animal, they threw the box on the truck where it sat in the heat, got crushed and shredded. Her excuse was that she doesn't want to spend the time writing out the address label!!! Are freaking kidding me? This is your job, and that is a live animal! The supervisor at the post office who spent her afternoon tracking down this fish was raging pissed at her. She informed me that Julie is getting a large discount by printing labels at home, and then taking them into the post office. Also, every time she sends a fish she is asked if there is any live animals, and in order to send it the way she sends it, she would have to blatantly lie about the contents. A busted box, 92 degree water, bloody fins, a sick fish and an entire afternoon spent searching for the fish. Poor fish managed to lived with a lot of TLC and medication. She refunded my money after I gave piece of my mind, but she doesn't think this method of shipping is a problem. I was NOT a happy customer.

 

[spiff]

Ordered a really nice betta from Thailand. I used Julie Tran as a trans shipper, and she almost killed my fish. She shipped like it were a pair of shoes - no live fish label and no fragile label. She just threw them in a box which wasn't labeled as containing a live animal, they threw the box on the truck where it sat in the heat, got crushed and shredded. Her excuse was that she doesn't want to spend the time writing out the address label!!! Are freaking kidding me? This is your job, and that is a live animal! The supervisor at the post office who spent her afternoon tracking down this fish was raging pissed at her. She informed me that Julie is getting a large discount by printing labels at home, and then taking them into the post office. Also, every time she sends a fish she is asked if there is any live animals, and in order to send it the way she sends it, she would have to blatantly lie about the contents. A busted box, 92 degree water, bloody fins, a sick fish and an entire afternoon spent searching for the fish. Poor fish managed to lived with a lot of TLC and medication. She refunded my money after I gave piece of my mind, but she doesn't think this method of shipping is a problem. I was NOT a happy customer.

It sucks that people are that ignorant.

 

[MonsterMinis]

I have other words to use.. that aren't said in polite company.. and ignorance isn't one of the words I'de use...

But I have ordered liverock in past years from Dr fosters, and have friends that have ordered FW and SW fish from them. and I've never heard a bad word about the shipping. Generally though If I want something bad enough I have my LFS special order it for me. Local private business and all that stuff. I order/buy so much from him he knocks off a decent chunk of cash for me. usually 2x the vendors price instead of 3x which seems pretty standard. And I'm happy to pay fo,r, no shipping charge. That and anything I special order that comes in "poor" he'll give me store credit in exchange and sell the fish or send it back to the vendor. which hasn't happened yet.

 

[bigbrad73]

seems like if that was her job she would be good at it. Its not like your buying a fish from some joe blow on ebay with a fish for sale.

 

[johnnunez29]

Damn ,i had my first experience on monday and it sucked.i bought 5 bgjd off aquabid.And apparently they were shipped in a box with no labeling,single bag,as you can imagine i recieved a wet,crushed box with a plastic bag and 5 dead fish.poor things.