Trustworthy online fish stores?

[spiraling]

I’ve heard many good things about cherry corals, and was originally planning on getting all my fish and coral from them exclusively, but it seems like they got rid of their fish section?

They do a 100% quarantine right?
They are moving facilities so they sold all the fish. I'm not sure what the plan for the fish part is. I would certainly consider buying from them for healthy fish.

 

[albyone]

Live aquaria is great always get good product and good customer service

 

[JakesReef209]

By unanimous decision my CuC will be ordered from reef cleaners! [emoji2] thanks so much for your help on that everyone! I’ve got my form on for a custom CuC already.
Now if only the fish were an easier decision [emoji53] I’m leaning towards divers den but I also have the option of driving around 2 hours away to the nearest fish store. Any downsides to car traveling with fish?? It would stand to reason that if a plane ride is fine then a car should be nothing but again, I’m all ears!

 

[JakesReef209]

They do a 100% quarantine right?
They are moving facilities so they sold all the fish. I'm not sure what the plan for the fish part is. I would certainly consider buying from them for healthy fish.

Yeah from what I understand, their quarantine protocols and fish care are really top notch. That’s why I was gunna get everything through them. Hopefully they re stock soon after they change locations

 

[spiraling]

I feel your pain, I also don't have an LFS

My first order was from bluezoo about 4 years ago. Great fish. I have read that the quality has declined, but I don't know for certain.

About 3 months ago I got fish off DD (divers den). they looked and acted healthy and I had them in an observation tank for a month. I didn't treat with meds since I didn't see anything wrong. since then two of the three fish have mysteriously disappeared (the two hi fin gobies) after eating well and looking great. I really don't think I have a predator (unless it was their candy cane pistol shrimp), so maybe the gathering practice for them?

This week I ordered three wrasses from LA. One didn't ship, one was very DOA, and one looks great a few days later. Eating well, no visible signs of disease or parasite, but is scratching a bit so in prazi treatment. They will ship the doa again ONCE for free. After that you have to pay shipping if it dies within the 14 days. They aren't sure when they will ship the third one. The real pain for me is now having fish come in at 3 different times for QT. also they ship at low salinity (1.018) so you need to have a separate small tank ready to add them to.

next time I will try vividaquariums. I have also had people on here recommend nyaquatics, but they get mixed reviews online. petsolutions gets thier fish from the same wholesaler as LA, but they didn't list the fish I wanted.

+1 for reefcleaners. John runs a great business.

for corals I have also used myreeftoyours several times with great success.

but I also have the option of driving around 2 hours away to the nearest fish store. Any downsides to car traveling with fish?? It would stand to reason that if a plane ride is fine then a car should be nothing but again, I’m all ears!

Best option.
Tell them to bag like its going to ship. Most will double / triple bag and add O2. have a cooler ready with water bottles that are filled with 78 degree water to keep them to temp and you are good to go. Make sure you see the fish eat at the store and don't take any excuse why they wont feed it!

 

[paphater]

I've only ordered once from DD and was disappointed in them. The fish came in healthy but it was $200+ plus fish that came in with a huge blemish on it's fin. The photo was taken from the opposite side and I was basically given the run around for two weeks, and then received an email on the 14th day of my claim and was told there was nothing they would do. I wasn't looking for a full refund or to return the fish but was left with a pretty sour taste in regards to how it was handled. I likely won't ever order from them again.

 

[ThunderGoose]

My LFS doesn't carry many smaller fish species so I tend to order online. I've had very good luck with Live Aquaria/Divers Den, Bluezoo and KP Aquatics (although their options are limited).

I can also recommend ReefCleaners and add Inland Aquatics and Algae Barn (for oddball small inverts and pods).

Another less well known source is Cultivated Reef for high quality corals and excellent customer service.

There are a lot of livestock options available online but Always QT arrivals, regardless of where they came from!

Good luck

 

[mfinn]

Any downsides to car traveling with fish?? It would stand to reason that if a plane ride is fine then a car should be nothing but again, I’m all ears!

IDK, 2 hours in a bag that's going to be treated gently by you, or 20 hours and up in a bag that is going to be jostled around alot by airport workers and shipping company employees.
Your call

 

[JakesReef209]

IDK, 2 hours in a bag that's going to be treated gently by you, or 20 hours and up in a bag that is going to be jostled around alot by airport workers and shipping company employees.
Your call

Point taken, just trying to gather information from several points of view/experiences

 

[Ehunforfun]

Personally all my online orders come from liveaquaria or bluezooaquatics.

 

[mfinn]

Point taken, just trying to gather information from several points of view/experiences

That came out too sarcastic when it wasn't meant to be.

I have a 3 hour round trip to any decent fish store, but I do it as much as I can.
I let the owners know what I'm looking for and give them a couple weeks.
It's better to be able to see the fish in person, see it eat ( hopefully) and you help a local business.
A lot of the time they will even meet or beat online pricing.

 

[rkpetersen]

By unanimous decision my CuC will be ordered from reef cleaners! [emoji2] thanks so much for your help on that everyone! I’ve got my form on for a custom CuC already.
Now if only the fish were an easier decision [emoji53] I’m leaning towards divers den but I also have the option of driving around 2 hours away to the nearest fish store. Any downsides to car traveling with fish?? It would stand to reason that if a plane ride is fine then a car should be nothing but again, I’m all ears!

I'd do the 2 hour each-way drive. Especially if you can stop at more than one store during the trip. Make sure they know that you've got a long drive home and they should use extra water, extra air (or pure oxygen if they happen to have it, as some stores that also do shipping will have), and maybe a styrofoam box (or take your own box(es). When I was first in the hobby thirty years ago (pre-internet obviously, and mail order for livestock could be difficult then), I'd cruise in and out of the Detroit suburbs hitting up shops every other weekend, and nothing ever died because of it.

 

[rkpetersen]

I have a 3 hour round trip to any decent fish store, but I do it as much as I can.
I let the owners know what I'm looking for and give them a couple weeks.
It's better to be able to see the fish in person, see it eat ( hopefully) and you help a local business.
A lot of the time they will even meet or beat online pricing.

I notice you're in Olympia. What are your thoughts on Barrier Reef in Renton (if you shop there) versus other places you can reach in that time window?

 

[mfinn]

I notice you're in Olympia. What are your thoughts on Barrier Reef in Renton (if you shop there) versus other places you can reach in that time window?

They are one of the best stores around.
Also on my list is Saltwater City and Sea King.
All 3 are in that 3 hour round trip window.
Now if I was to hit all 3 in day,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Krzydmnd]

That came out too sarcastic when it wasn't meant to be.

I have a 3 hour round trip to any decent fish store, but I do it as much as I can.
I let the owners know what I'm looking for and give them a couple weeks.
It's better to be able to see the fish in person, see it eat ( hopefully) and you help a local business.
A lot of the time they will even meet or beat online pricing.

This! I Make a day trip out of my 3hr round trip drive to my store. I get to see some cool stuff in person, and great conversations!

 

[dirtypants53]

I have had great experiences with Live Aquaria and Vivid Aquariums as far as fish go. Whether you want it or not expect a phone call from Vivid to personally schedule shipping for the coming days. Also asked if it was okay to substitute because the coco worm I had ordered wasn't looking great.

 

[chuckfu5]

Will @Pieces of the Ocean

They went above and beyond finding and getting me just what I was looking for.

Everything was packed great.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Thanks for the heads up and advice! Any suggestions on dips or medications to get?

That's a long one my friend. I'd suggest starting here and reading through the other Stickied threads at the top of the page.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2389659

Why would I link another forums fish disease thread? The information in the stickies are the known best practices developed over the last two decades written by experts on the hobby. They are proven effective treatments and explained in plain terms. Here on R2R, there are many well meaning hobbyists here but few true experienced experts other than a couple that are paid to be here. They literally posted an "article" recently where a woman placed a Achilles Tang in a 10 gallon QT tank and then a 29g QT tank. It was like reading about a train wreck. An article like that would never ever get published on RC or anywhere else for that matter.But here, it's the "nice" forum so everyone just says "Wow, thanks!" and pretends like it's a brand new hobby and we are all just learning together. Anyway, not at all a fan of all the blind leading the blind around here.

Anyway, enough with my ranting: Medicine's to have on hand? Chelated or Ionic Copper (I personally prefer Mardel Coppersafe) plus the Hikari product Prazi Pro to start with. But yeah, star reading, you're in for a challenge. Or maybe not and you'll get super lucky!

 

[stan13ag]

I've ordered from reefcleaners.org multiple times with no problems. Most inverts do okay, but I've had horrible luck getting fish shipped to me. I've driven 70 miles to my closest salt LFS to watch one in person and bring it home... luckily for me my tank has been maxed out on fish the last 2 years

 

[juanmanuelsanchez]

I just made my first online order with world wide corals. Totally worth it.