Is it cruel to post fish bought on the internet?

bakerboi · Sep 11, 2005

Just wondering, is it cruel to post fish when they are sold over the internet i have seen a few shops and was thinking about buying from them. Do people onTFF aprove of posting fish?

OohFeeshy · Sep 11, 2005

Fish are delivered to your lfs in worse conditions, and from further

I recently recieved 3 bettas through the post, all arived fine and well

yvez9 · Sep 11, 2005

bakerboi said:
Just wondering, is it cruel to post fish when they are sold over the internet i have seen a few shops and was thinking about buying from them. Do people onTFF aprove of posting fish?

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Do you mean post pictures of the fish on the net? if so, I doubt they'd mind

If you mean post fish through mail, people here do it alot. Aquabid.com is a great place to mail order fish. Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller. Also, the cost is usually alot more expensive then buying at the shop, because of shipping

bakerboi · Sep 11, 2005

So the general feeling is that if the seller seems ok the fish will be rite?

IMCL85 · Sep 11, 2005

I dont think so. How u be able to get fish you want if its an expansive and rare species only some typical breeder will have them. Infact that most of the fish from ur LFS is send by posting as well. But they just comes in larger package. Infact about cruel. Keeping fish it self in a tank is already pretty cruel as it limited the space they could swim. So if you like this hobby there is nothing cruel about posting fish at all. As long u did ur best for ur fish(tank/maintain/food).

Weaver · Sep 11, 2005

Ive bought bettas over the net and they have arrived in tip top condition.If the seller/dealer is reputable then there should be no problem.
However it can be costly and in my case if I want a particular fish my lfs owner can usually order it for me.
If you are ever thinking about buying fish over the net just ask in these forums as there will usually be someone who has had prior dealings with whatever firmyou are thinking of using

Inchworm · Sep 11, 2005

Hi bakerboi

Over the summer I've bought quite a few fish on AquaBid and have had good luck with them arriving safely when they are sent guaranteed next day delivery, either by the post office or another carrier.

I do not like the idea of sending fish by Priority Mail even though some people do it. Two or three days of uncontrolled high or low temperature and other conditions are just too risky, IMHO.

Another factor to consider is that if they are in the mail for several days, the temperature might rise and fall a number of times and/or the oxygen content of the water could become lowered. This is not good and is apt to weaken the fish's immune system. Then, while they might still look good on arival, in several days they could contract an illness from the normal bacteria in your tank. This would not be your fault, but the result of shipping conditions. Still, most sellers only guarantee, "live delivery." You would be out of luck as far as replacement fish are concerned.

IMHO, it is better to spend a bit more money for a carrier that will get the fish delivered as quickly as possible to you and avoid taking unnecessary risks.

bakerboi · Sep 11, 2005

thanks to everyone who replied to me, about respected dealers does anyone know any good mail order/auction bidding websites in the uk. Thanks again for the help.BakeRBoI

:stupid:

BigC · Sep 11, 2005

I do it all the time, as a matter of fact I seem to remember you approached me for some.

bakerboi · Sep 11, 2005

yeah, that was me you sounded very professional so i thought i could order from you. I have now looked into mail order fish and it seems ok.

bakerboi

P.S wish there were some killifish left

yvez9 · Sep 11, 2005

aquabid.com is a good site to buy fish from. though check the dealer as anybody can sell on aquabid. I think they have a rating system like ebay so that says alot

pnyklr3 · Sep 11, 2005

Just got some fish in today! I was supposed to get them yesterday (I had them overnighted), but the post office seems to be slow. rofl My fish were in Chicago at 9:30 yesterday morning, but I didn't get them until noon today. Chicago is only 2 hours drive from here...I could have picked them up myself!