Where to buy fish online??
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I love Saltwaterfish.com... They have always done me right, free shipping after a $79 order. Good livestock and the prices are on par if not better then liveaquaria.
Ok DOA and 14 day gaurentee, even if you have to send the fish back to them.
Only complaint, I wish they had a phone number, if I have a problem I HATE taking care of it over e-mail!!!
Ok DOA and 14 day gaurentee, even if you have to send the fish back to them.
Only complaint, I wish they had a phone number, if I have a problem I HATE taking care of it over e-mail!!!
After purchasing from a variety of places online, I would buy locally or from Liveaquaria.com. To my knowledge live aquaria is one of the few places to refund or allow you to apply the credit towards dry goods for the full 14 day period. Sucks to get an order big enough to compensate for shipping charges only to have a $30 credit not worth using until you get another big order together.
BTW, last I checked shipping was anything but free at SWF. $20 is what they call free shipping which you don't get to see completely until you check out. Also, they only guarantee a refund when the fish arrives dead not dies a week later otherwise you get credit. Lastly, you have to ship the fish back to them on your dime and is a PIA.
Not a bad company, but not worth the hassle over $10 IMO.
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Your opinion... What is shipping with Liveaquaria?!? $40.. So I would take the risk and save $5-$10 on each fish plus atleast shipping that is only $20 (because you still pay fuel surcharges and box fees. Just because I have been happy with SWF.com in the past.
I will say, if liveaquaria gives you credit towards drygoods, that is pretty sweet. But I do not know of any place that allows you to apply your credit towards "free" or discounted shipping.
I will say, if liveaquaria gives you credit towards drygoods, that is pretty sweet. But I do not know of any place that allows you to apply your credit towards "free" or discounted shipping.
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Someone with $700 to spend on a fish should have the money for the right tank.....but we all know how that goes. Hopefully soon this next tank setup will be nice at my friends place. Who wants to dive into a 1000+ tank with me?
Im working on offering the fish. Got a bunch of zoas in but I have to price, take pics and name them all....they are priced as assorted now
Im working on offering the fish. Got a bunch of zoas in but I have to price, take pics and name them all....they are priced as assorted now
Liveaquaria will actually refund your money if you lose your fish within 14 days. That is a really sweet deal and shipping is $35 compared to $20 coupled with the fact that there specials are usually really good. A medium blue tang for $35 is just crazy good. Plus you can get some really nice WYSIWYG rare fish if that is what you are into. Etropicals has some wicked good deals with completely free shipping on cleaner crews as well. Again I like SWF, but I think if you don't want to get stuck with money laying around on credit liveaquaria is the place to go. Plus the customer service is without a doubt one of the best in the industry. You are going to pay more, but again over the life of a fish worth it IMO for the hassle factor.
Oh and a nice selection of corals/clams to round out an order as well. Not the cheapest, but quality service.
I bought a fish from live aquaria's divers den section, the fish came in pretty skinny, and wouldn't eat anything, I called them up and they suggested a few different food choices, I even tried live brine. At the end of 14th day garantee, the fish was still alive but has lost even more weight and still didn't eat anything I offered, I called and told them the situation. Since that was the only fish I ordered, They refunded the full amount including shipping. Sorry to say the fish died a week later. I doubt I could get that kind of a customer service from my closest friend.
In this business everyone pretty much gets their fish from the same set of wholesellers, But with a track record like liveaquaria, personally I wouldn't mind paying a few extra pennies to have a peace of mind when ordering something unseen.
In this business everyone pretty much gets their fish from the same set of wholesellers, But with a track record like liveaquaria, personally I wouldn't mind paying a few extra pennies to have a peace of mind when ordering something unseen.
thanks for the responces. I went ahead and ordered from "saltwaterfish.com" their fish and inverts were anywere from a couple dollars cheaper to as much as $20 cheaper in one instance. The $20 junk fees is still cheaper than $35 for shipping. I ordered a powder brown tang, purple pseudochromis, puffer, niger trigger, peppermint shrimp, a couple different gobies, hermits and some other stuff. I will post another thread on here once i receive my order. Thanks again for the info.
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I think his order will be fine
The big difference here is that it is coming from the one state over as oppose to LiveAquaria which is few states away, more time in transit
I have gotten a few orders from saltwaterfish.com
and it was the first time that everything stayed alive after I put them in my tank
Shrimp and fish all stayed alive.
The big difference here is that it is coming from the one state over as oppose to LiveAquaria which is few states away, more time in transit
I have gotten a few orders from saltwaterfish.com
and it was the first time that everything stayed alive after I put them in my tank
Shrimp and fish all stayed alive.
That is a huge assumption on travel time. Both will be one day delivery and it wouldn't suprise me if they ended up taking the exact same amount of time to get to his house from the source. Both use Fedex and it is likely both will be flown into the same sorting facility and trucked out on the same truck for home delivery.
The odds are he will lose something no matter who he ordered from, but my comments on loss were in reference to the actual tank inhabitants not being all that compatible. No crustration is safe around a trigger and most puffers will eat pretty much anything that will fit in their mouth. He may be setting up multiple tanks or possibly get lucky and not have a crustation eating trigger, so I don't know for sure.
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Yah that's an odd mix of inhabitants... Most of which I wouldn't put in my tank even if they were free...
The owners of SWF are apparently a bit gruf and sometimes don't refund money easily from what is reported, but they are a BBB member and my history with them as well as other people I know show them to be a good business over time.
I have ordered from them and about a half dozen other companies and the lesson I have learned... buy local or buy from the best online retailer service wise. Without a doubt, I believe that is liveaquaria. I am all for saving a buck but in almost every online deal it would have been about the same or less to just do it with a higher service/quality company the first time. Trying to squeeze $30 on a $300 order usually comes back to bite me in the rear.
My first order with SWF they asked me to ship back a $15 fish in salt, I thought that was the most retarded thing I had ever heard. I could understand a $50+ fish, but $15. I asked if a picture would do and they said they had to verify the fishes death so back it went. After time and shipping back costs, I probably broke even. I tried them one more time and then I got a huge DOA which happens with all retailers from time to time not their fault... although they could have packaged a bit more water per bag. This time it added up to $35. When I emailed them they told me they don't guarantee credited purchases. I didn't argue as I was tired of the process. Got my $20 credit which I still have.
Contrast to my etropicals order. Had some stuff show up dead and a couple of items drop off a few days later. Called them up about a week into the guarantee. Refunded my money for the loses plus a little bit extra onto my credit card. WAY less hassle and to my knowledge the only online retailer that will do that.
I have ordered from them and about a half dozen other companies and the lesson I have learned... buy local or buy from the best online retailer service wise. Without a doubt, I believe that is liveaquaria. I am all for saving a buck but in almost every online deal it would have been about the same or less to just do it with a higher service/quality company the first time. Trying to squeeze $30 on a $300 order usually comes back to bite me in the rear.
My first order with SWF they asked me to ship back a $15 fish in salt, I thought that was the most retarded thing I had ever heard. I could understand a $50+ fish, but $15. I asked if a picture would do and they said they had to verify the fishes death so back it went. After time and shipping back costs, I probably broke even. I tried them one more time and then I got a huge DOA which happens with all retailers from time to time not their fault... although they could have packaged a bit more water per bag. This time it added up to $35. When I emailed them they told me they don't guarantee credited purchases. I didn't argue as I was tired of the process. Got my $20 credit which I still have.
Contrast to my etropicals order. Had some stuff show up dead and a couple of items drop off a few days later. Called them up about a week into the guarantee. Refunded my money for the loses plus a little bit extra onto my credit card. WAY less hassle and to my knowledge the only online retailer that will do that.
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I will be the first to admit when I made a mistake
I mis-read your post, my apologies
But anyway I agree with the buy local idea
I had my share of online orders back when I did not know there were so many stores in the metro area and we have one more coming soon to Conyers (About Pets).
I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Marinedepotlive.com ......These guys offer the very best fish IMO. I have never had a fish/invert that wasn't ready for the display tank (I didn't always have a quarantine tank...not too smart on my side, but as a rookie reefer they made it easy). I'm sure the fish go through a lot less stress only having one or two acclimation periods instead of 5-10! Your order is also only in a box for a few hours, shipping in the afternoon Pacific time and then on your door before 10am Eastern time.
Proof is in my tank. The very first fish I ordered was a maroon white stripe clown fish....he has made it through three moves with me over six years. Anyone else use these guys?
Proof is in my tank. The very first fish I ordered was a maroon white stripe clown fish....he has made it through three moves with me over six years. Anyone else use these guys?
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