Purchasing livestock via FedEx....

aunt kymmie

Question:

My LFS store does not have what I desire for my tank.
They, of course, offered to order anything I want, if available.
My question is: What's the difference between them ordering it or me?
Each of us would be receiving the shipment via air so why wouldn't I just place the order myself? Pros & Cons, anyone & everyone!!??

Also, if pros outweigh the cons, can anyone recommend a good reliable source in which to purchases from?

THANKS! :D

okiemavis

Well, I believe the pro would be that if something goes wrong, they eat the cost of it. If the fish show up sick they will QT them or argue with the seller, etc. When you order something online you're pretty much doing it sight unseen, so you don't know if they're healthy or not, and some stores don't offer health guarantees. On the other hand, you may be able to save a good deal of money, and some sellers are known to throw in extra fish for free.

LiveAquaria.com offers a 14 day health guarantee which is very impressive. I've also had lots of luck from Aquabid.com. I ordering 6 Albino Bristlenose Plecos from blueram06 and he sent me 8. They all arrived alive and healthy and they are still going strong, just starting to show their bristles!

iamntbatman

Keep in mind that a lot of local fish stores regularly buy from suppliers that offer a lot more variety than the store usually buys. For example, my LFS works with a dealer who sells more obscure stuff to the store every few months. All I had to do was ask, and the LFS took down my info and said they'd ask for the fish I wanted in their next order from that dealer. Though I might pay more for the fish than if I bought directly from an online dealer or a breeder, I don't have to be the substantial shipping costs associated with buying online.

aunt kymmie

Thanks, Mavis. That's the exact information I was looking for.

Here's more relating to my nearby LFS (not a chain, local business) located less than a mile from my home.
(Keep in mind that they consider themselves total pros)

They maintain two "plants for sale" tanks. Each tank has fish.
One houses bettas, in those lousy glass partitions that I think are just awful for the fish!! The other has two very large
angels. Both tanks also have numerous bottom dwellers.

I thought planted tanks were suppose to be fish "free" to ensure there were no diseases lurking: essentially clean,
pre-QT plants. Why would they stick fish w/ plants and
why would they keep bettas in such deplorable conditions?

They told me that the red tail tin foil barbs I was admiring would do just fine in my 100 gal, that they would only grow
to "fit" the tank.

They were selling a Pimelodus blochii as a Pimelodus pictus. When I pointed out that I did not see a pictus in the tank
I was told, "Oh, it's right here, it's actually a four lined,
there is not a pictus in the tank".

When I asked about BioSpira they said they had never heard of it.

They do carry a great assortment of food at decent prices. The tanks are, from what I can tell, nicely maintained.

Oh, one last detail about this shop. As I was walking over to check out the Goldfish "pond" out of the corner of my eye
I saw a floater on top of the water. The owner was quick to grab it and put the fish in his pocket(!) before I
reached the pond's edge.
I wish I had been quicker on my feet and said,
"HEY! What's that you put in your pocket ??"

Should I blow this LFS off and go to the highly recommended LFS (60 miles R/T in a Tundra, the price of gas )
in San Diego? I know the answer is obvious but am
wondering if I'm being too harsh??
Doubt it, tho....
Thanks!

iamntbatman

60 miles is a bit far, indeed.

Honestly, I've never been to a LFS that I would give perfect marks. The one nearest to where I live has some pretty high prices and not the best selection in the world. The tanks usually look pretty healthy, but they have an indoor "pond" housing some fish that are still too large for it, like an large arowana with bad gill curl. Another store a little further away which has rave reviews on the internet has even better looking tanks and healthy fish, but have extraordinarily high prices and they even sell some fish that many hobbyists would cringe at, like various balloon fish, dyed fish and even white balloon mollies that have been tattooed. The best LFS I've been to is out near Baltimore and generally has good prices, healthy, clean tanks, and a huge selection, but as the store has a huge staff you sometimes have to work hard to track down an employee who actually knows what he's talking about.

So, I'd say the far-off store is worth checking out, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was disappointing in some way when you do get there.

aunt kymmie

Oh, wow. I'd never heard of tatooing fish. I just went and checked it out on the internet.
What kind of idiot comes up with an idea like that? Probably the same idiot who thinks
it's cute to dye the dog pink and put on a sparkly bling-bling collar.

I pre-apologize to any of you reading this who is a tatoo artist or dog groomer!

I will go to the LFS 60 miles away with the intention that I know it won't be perfect.
Batman, thanks for reminding me that the world isn't a perfect place; I'm going to keep wishing for it anyway!

Kym

PS. It's 60 miles round trip, not one way(!), so not too bad.
That's about $20 in gas for my truck....