Online Fish shopping

[albirdy]

My LFSs have limited selections of fish, although I do circulate among three fish stores (only one of which quarantines their fish prior to being put on display--albany aquarium for those in the bay).

Since I was looking for Corydora hastatus (which none have)...
I was wondering what you all thought about ordering fish online. It never really crossed my mind because of the stress it would cause the fish. However, now I am having second thoughts. Let me know yours.

If so, what are some reliable sites?

 

[bigspizz]

These guys are good




Sub-Forums:

Rare Fish,

H20 Custom Aquatics,

Infinite Aquatics,

Fish Room Plus,

Rehobothaquatics,

AquaScape,

Ocean Blue,

Fish Farm,

N-E Cichlids,

Arobooks,

River Wonders,

Keystone Aquatics,

Not Just Fish,

Fish Etc,

Amazon Stingrays,

Darmalis Dragonfish,

Exotic Finds,

Pete's Odd Fish and More,

Massive Aggression,

Mike's Killer Fish,

Uncle Ned's Fish Factory,

All Happy Aquarium,

Sunset Fish Aquarium,

Under the Amazon,

Tropical Fish Distributors,

Below Water,

Shark Aquarium,

Tangled Up In Cichlids,

Neo Book Store

 

[davcheng]

I also recall seeing someone in the marketplace subforum trying to sell the hastatus

 

[albirdy]

Thanks,

bumpity bump

 

[dmed]

IMHO overnight priority shipping from a good breeder is less stressful on a fish than spending time in a LFS. At least the time is limited. You must insist on overnight priority, and it will cost you, and you must be home to receive the package and begin acclimating the fish. Delivery is typically by 10:30 AM. Buying fish this way, however, does not exclude the possiblity of introducing disease (BTW neither does "quarantine" at the store).

The ideal situation is to have the shipper send the package to 1. (best option) the airport terminal where you pick it up directly as soon as it arrives OR 2. (second best) Nearest FedEx depot where you pick up the package as soon as the building opens in the morning. Extra handling = extra stress and extra time (one driver shook my package right in front of me and asked if I was "expecting something swishy") Be sure the vendor gives you the tracking number or flight number as soon as the package is shipped - you are responsible for tracking your package.

Also, FYI, "arrive alive" guarantees apply only to the fish themselves, not the shipping costs which are frequently more than the fish.

 

[mike dunagan]

I have only had one shipping problem... Otherwise it has been a great way to get fish. I prefer it to the petshops...

 

[Pisces]

I agree with Mike overnight shipping is tghe way to go. If you are only ordering a few things then the shipping can be a bit much. If you are looking for several different fish and can get lucky enough to find them all from one location then it's ideal.

 

[cornbread_5]

IMHO overnight priority shipping from a good breeder is less stressful on a fish than spending time in a LFS. At least the time is limited. You must insist on overnight priority, and it will cost you, and you must be home to receive the package and begin acclimating the fish. Delivery is typically by 10:30 AM. Buying fish this way, however, does not exclude the possiblity of introducing disease (BTW neither does "quarantine" at the store).

The ideal situation is to have the shipper send the package to 1. (best option) the airport terminal where you pick it up directly as soon as it arrives OR 2. (second best) Nearest FedEx depot where you pick up the package as soon as the building opens in the morning. Extra handling = extra stress and extra time (one driver shook my package right in front of me and asked if I was "expecting something swishy") Be sure the vendor gives you the tracking number or flight number as soon as the package is shipped - you are responsible for tracking your package.

Also, FYI, "arrive alive" guarantees apply only to the fish themselves, not the shipping costs which are frequently more than the fish.

me myself i have never had any problem with ordering online and shipping , i have ordered from rapps, aquabid, and other places. I had fish come as far as from cali , i had fish delivered by ups, postal service between those two the postal is better because ups comes late like 3pm or 4pm, i also have had it delivered to the airport to. but around my way the will just leave a package out your door and leave , i had ups and the postal service do that and the last time i do not know how long my fish were at the door if i did not go to my car to get something they would have been there a lot longer. I also had fish be sent out on a wednesday and arrive on a friday from aquabid would not recommend it but i had no causlties

 

[dmed]

me myself i have never had any problem with ordering online and shipping , i have ordered from rapps, aquabid, and other places. I had fish come as far as from cali , i had fish delivered by ups, postal service between those two the postal is better because ups comes late like 3pm or 4pm, i also have had it delivered to the airport to. but around my way the will just leave a package out your door and leave , i had ups and the postal service do that and the last time i do not know how long my fish were at the door if i did not go to my car to get something they would have been there a lot longer. I also had fish be sent out on a wednesday and arrive on a friday from aquabid would not recommend it but i had no causlties

Almost all my fish come from Los Angeles. I always get FedEx Priority Overnight which gives me a tracking number and guarantees arrival by 10:30 AM the next day. The shipper waits until about 5:00 PM to pack the fish and e-mails me the tracking number as soon as the package is picked up. I start tracking the package that night and with Quantum View I can see every stop it makes. FedEx will just ring the doorbell and leave the package, which is fine, but I prefer to have the package shipped to my name, c/o the FedEx facility's address, then it never gets re-loaded on the truck and I can pick it up at 8:30 AM when they open the doors.

Juvenile fish under 2 inches seem ship the best, and I always ask for no more than 3 fish per bag. I pay about $45 for the first 6 fish (in 2 bags), and $15 for each additional bag. For fish over 3 inches I would prefer only two per bag, and really large fish should be packed singly. I try **NOT** to order fish when the temperature is going to be above 65-70F. My shipper uses heat packs, so cold weather is fine, and most fish can withstand cold better than heat. During the summer and early fall, I would only order mops of eggs, not live fish. Just my experience as one person. I have never had a casualty, but I have a great breeder and shipper.