Purchasing Fish Online

[truetricia]

I would like to purchase fish online, and I am sure this has been asked before... are there any good recommendations on where to purchase fish and clean-up crews from? I can provide what kind of fish I am looking to buy, if need be.
Also, how does it work when they mail you your fish?

A lot of recommendations are based on parameters, and understanding what those parameters are will be helpful in making your decision. What I mean by this is, what's important to you when selecting fish?

Is selecting the exact specimen important? Is price the most important feature? What about guarantees (arrival only, 14 days, etc)? What about quarantine process? Small business v. large business? Customer service? Captive bred? The list goes on and on.

Understanding what's important to you can help provide better recommendations.

I personally love @Dr. Reef, Poma Labs, and ORA, and I'll tell you why. I prefer captive bred specimens, and all of my fish need to have been quarantined prior to going in my tank. Price, while generally important, is not high on the list. IMHO, captive bred specimens straight from the breeder are less likely to harbor disease because they've a) never been exposed and b) the breeder has a financial interest in protecting their stock. Therefore, I prefer captive bred fish. I've had great experiences buying from both Poma Labs and ORA (for ORA, they shipped directly to me, but billed me through Live Aquaria). However, there are some fish that I can't find captive bred, and therefore, I want to ensure that I'm getting a healthy fish that will keep my other fish healthy. For those purchases, I go to @Dr. Reef because he puts his fish through QT, has excellent customer service and communication, and I know when I get fish from him, they will be as healthy as possible.

 

[WeaveAway]

I was wondering about the shipping. I live in a remote area where overnight shipment is not possible. So, I'm assuming that buying fish online would not be an option. Also, with our LFS closing last year, the closest place for me is 2.5 hours away. Crazy thing is, I live about 1.5 hours from the ocean. Guess I'll have to be happy with what I've got. There is a Petco an hour away, but I don't trust them.

 

[EMeyer]

You might look into having the fish delivered to your nearest FedEx shipping center. This is usually the best option anyway, regardless of location -- they normally arrive at the shipping center by 8 or 9 AM.

 

[Cwentz758]

Maybe not the place to say this, but I've had 6 of 7 fish I've ordered from them die w/n 36hrs. And no money back guarantee (lost over $2K). The 7th came as close to dying as I've ever seen a fish get and still survive. 4 of them I picked up in person so I know it wasn't shipping stress. I've literally bought hundreds of fish online over the years and I've never seen anything like this before from any other seller.

Noted. I’ve never ordered from there I just randomly follow them and they seemed good.

 

[droidus]

A lot of recommendations are based on parameters, and understanding what those parameters are will be helpful in making your decision. What I mean by this is, what's important to you when selecting fish?

Is selecting the exact specimen important? Is price the most important feature? What about guarantees (arrival only, 14 days, etc)? What about quarantine process? Small business v. large business? Customer service? Captive bred? The list goes on and on.

Understanding what's important to you can help provide better recommendations.

Good questions! When I started, I just bought them from a store. Now, a decent store is hours away. So not sure... The fish I am buying are not too terribly expensive (pistol shrimp, gobby, 2 clown fish). So probably the quarantine process I would have to say. Will LA be a good pick for this? Will they let me select a male & female clown fish? Does Dr. Reef have a website to purchase from?

Also, with our LFS closing last year, the closest place for me is 2.5 hours away. Crazy thing is, I live about 1.5 hours from the ocean. Guess I'll have to be happy with what I've got. There is a Petco an hour away, but I don't trust them.

I am in the same boat... my nearest one is miles away.