Pondering an online order...

[sharkweek178]

I've been looking for a few pygmy corys to top off the school I have. There has been a weird shortage locally. So I'm considering ordering online. What should I know about doing this? Right now the weather has been a bit cool so I've been holding off.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Most places can ship just fine if the weather is above 20F, so you should be OK. A lot of places don't like shipping if it's above 80 or 90F.

I've had great experiences with The Wet Spot out of Portland, OR. That's a pretty long way from Pittsburgh, but IME they're the best. Their selection is amazing, especially if you're looking for obscure fish to fill in a weird biotope. They also quarantine all their fish, so they don't bring in sickness and almost always arrive healthy.

I've had mixed results with Aquahuna. Their prices are very good, as is their shipping fee. They have a very generous policy of refunding or replacing fish that die within three days of arrival. On the other hand, they don't do next day shipping, so if you're outside the Pacific Northwest, expect some DOAs and sick fish. Out of 16 danios and 8 hillstream loaches in my last order, only four danios and one loach made it long term, and they introduced ich into my 150g. BUT...if you're willing to quarantine properly, they are a very affordable way to stock a tank.

For bettas and inverts, I've actually had really good luck with Ebay. Order only from well established sellers with at least 98% positive ratings, and quarantine.

 

[jaylach]

LOL! Since you are in Pittsburgh and I'm a Cleveland Browns fan I don't know if I should respond but...

First rule of thumb with me is that if the outfit does not insist in next day air for shipping don't deal with them.

Two good suppliers are Wet Spot. I've never used but they have a great reputation.

Freshwater Tropical Fish For Sale Online - The Wet Spot Tropical Fish

We specialize in both common and rarely seen freshwater tropical aquarium fish. Come check out the largest variety of fish for sale online!

www.wetspottropicalfish.com

and Dan's Fish. I have gotten fish from them but not shipped as their warehouse is local to me but have good results. They quarantine all fish before sale and all tanks are on seperate feeds for intake and removal of water making cross contamination impossible.

Dan's Fish, Quality Freshwater Aquarium Fish

Get freshwater fish guaranteed to succeed. Angelfish to rainbowfish, catfish to killifish, and many more for sale. All shipped Next Day Air.

dansfish.com

 

[otterblue]

The Wet Spot has excellent fish & well packaged. They even email you to verify delivery date.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There are two issues in buying fish shipped to you. The first is the quality of the fish themselves. The second is the shipping practices used. A healthy fish shipped badly may not make it or may not last if it does. So our job in buying is to do so from a seller who has both quality fish and knows how to ship. Simple, but not really.

I rarely buy fish from stores or larger commercial retail operations. Most of my fish have been direct imports, from wholesalers and from individual breeders and home based hobby sellers. The trick in this is finding out the sources we can use and trust.

There is a third factor involved. I know because i have been shipping fish for almost 20 years on and off. No matter how well I pack and no matter how well the carrier is able to deliver them, fish will still die in transit pr soon after. Neither I nor anybody else is perfect and sometimes things go wrong. As far as the person receiving fish is concerned the reason that they received DOA(s) doesn't matter, only the fact that the fish were dead does.

So the third factor in all of this is how a given seller deals with this. Some sellers will replace DOAS or refund the money. However, most require the buyer to pay the shipping cost of replacements. My practice if to allow the buyer to choose what they want. Yje only exception is when I do not have replacements available. But I will inform a buyer if I can only offer refunds not replacements before they buy. However I am a hobby type seller. I am not a business, I just have to move out most of the fish born in my tanks as I cannot keep them all.

I would remind readers that not all buyers are honest. Just like some sellers are scammers, so are some buyers. They will claim they got DOAS when all the fish are alive. So this is a two way street. Sellers want honest buyers and buyers want honest sellers. But then we all want to be young, fit and good looking and rich wouldn't hurt.

 

[sharkweek178]

I know one thing. If I decide to do this, it will be one day overnight shipping. I want the fish to be in transit for as little time as possible.

 

[Back in the fold]

I have received fish shipped by private individuals and never had a problem. Once those fish were in transit for five full days in the heat of summer and arrived in good shape. If a regular schmo can get it right then a professional fish retailer , having taken everything into account for his own interests, will certainly get it right. If you are skeptical then place a small order to see what happens and go from there .

 

[Slaphppy7]

If you are skeptical then place a small order to see what happens and go from there .

The only problem with that is you won't get the biggest bang for your (shipping) buck...

I've had great luck with TWS...they only guarantee no DOAs with overnight delivery, which is a flat-rate fee ($35.00, if I'm not mistaken)...whether you order 2 bags of fish, or 10

I always order as many fish from them as I can at one time, for that reason

 

[sharkweek178]

I have received fish shipped by private individuals and never had a problem. Once those fish were in transit for five full days in the heat of summer and arrived in good shape. If a regular schmo can get it right then a professional fish retailer , having taken everything into account for his own interests, will certainly get it right. If you are skeptical then place a small order to see what happens and go from there .

I have a small order to begin with.

 

[Back in the fold]

The only problem with that is you won't get the biggest bang for your (shipping) buck...

I've had great luck with TWS...they only guarantee no DOAs with overnight delivery, which is a flat-rate fee ($35.00, if I'm not mistaken)...whether you order 2 bags of fish, or 10

I always order as many fish from them as I can at one time, for that reason

What ? You don’t have money to burn ? If I had your money I’d throw mine away.

 

[Slaphppy7]

What ? You don’t have money to burn ? If I had your money I’d throw mine away.

LOL....would I be at work right now if I did?

 

[sharkweek178]

I put in an order with Dan's Fish yesterday. So far they have been very communicative. My fish aren't due until next week but it's been a positive experience so far.

 

[sharkweek178]

A question for those of you who have ordered fish online. How long do you wait to feed the fish after you get them?
When I buy fish from a store, I wait 48 hours to feed. I know that they fast the fish at least a day before shipping.

 

[seangee]

Personally I favour the plop and drop approach, I skip the whole acclimation routine and as soon as the water is the right temp I get them into clean fresh water.
For feeding I just feed the next time I feed everyone else, but tend to err on the side of underfeeding, and add a bit more if they polish it off immediately. No idea if this is right or wrong but it works for me, and I do have pygmy corys bought online.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

A question for those of you who have ordered fish online. How long do you wait to feed the fish after you get them?
When I buy fish from a store, I wait 48 hours to feed. I know that they fast the fish at least a day before shipping.

I usually wait until the following morning to feed, just because new fish tend to be a bit too stunned to eat much right away. If they're actively foraging and telling me they're hungry, I might feed them after an hour or two. But I don't want a bunch of food rotting in the tank, so I wait until they're acting hungry.