Liveaquaria is AMAZING. I constantly look at their Diver's Den, and would buy more often if it wasnt for the fact I'm 14 with no job... lol.

I ordered my Clown from there. Still doing great. They came like they were just put into the bag. I will order from them in the future when I want my Longnose Hawkfish, Pistol Shrimp, and other corals.

 

I've never purchased fish from Liveaquaria but I have purchased plants from them. They arrived beautifully packaged and they were so fresh you'd never guess that they had been in transit. If I was ordering fish I wouldn't hesitate to use them.

 

i have no experience with the company. however ordering live fish/plants online will give you a quality selection. there is a price for this though. most companies will guarantee there live product. but in order to do this, alot of times it has to be overnighted which means higher shipping cost for the rushed service. if you don't take the overnight, it could be a voided guarantee instead. if there is a certain type of live product you want and no lfs carries it or your unsatisfied with the lfs, online may be the place to shop. i've order true SAEs once since my lfs didn't have them. To my surprise they were very well taking care of and thrived in my tank for a year until I let them go. I ordered plants once. But the shipping was done UPS ground so my plants had to be nursed back to health. Some didn't make it due to the extra shipping time. You be the judge. Don't waste money and loose your investment by being cheap.

 

You can get ick from anywhere you get fish. Fish that are stressed are susceptible so your store or shipped to you is never a quarantee. Aquabid does have a good rep for their fish but you will pay plenty for the shipping, too, unless you get a lot to make up for it.

I always just put my new fish in a quarantine tank and sometimes even add Ick Guard the day I get them just to play it safe. (Half doses for bottom dwellers.)

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. I feel better about ordering online now. I would never go with cheaper shipping for fish, so I would be paying about $35 for over night shipping. I'll just save up my money, especially since Christmas is coming soon.

I just don't really trust any of my fish stores. I have really only found one that is not a chain, and their fish just did not look to be in good health at all. I was surprised too that they had an ick outbreak, I can't see a good reason for this to happen if they actually did quarantine extensively before putting them into the show tanks.

And I will still quarantine the fish that I order online, just to be safe because I know that stress can make any fish more susceptable to disease.

Thanks!

 

I just don't really trust any of my fish stores. I have really only found one that is not a chain, and their fish just did not look to be in good health at all. I was surprised too that they had an ick outbreak, I can't see a good reason for this to happen if they actually did quarantine extensively before putting them into the show tanks.

It depends on how much of a quarantine they really put them through. My LFS doesn't quarantine at all, out of the shipping bags and into the display tanks. Other places quarantine might mean they go into a tank where they get visually inspected and if they aren't obviously sick they go into the displays. It could mean anything from hours to days to weeks. I'd find out just how long they actually QT for before the fish goes into the display.

 

I go on live aquaria like 5 hours a day and i would blow all my money there but i live in canada.SUCKS.They also have great reviews on there web site.

 

i think live aquaria is wonderful. However, i recently noticed this: Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums:Siamese Algae Eater and the siamese algae eater is NOT a flying fox. The name they use is commonly seen in pet stores that cant tell the difference between the two. Their selection is great but with this finding, im questioning how much research they're putting into the fish they sell...

 

Good observation, Sincrisis. I think I'll send an inquiry to liveaquaria asking for clarification and an explanation about this. It'll be interesting to hear their response.

 

You could also try Aquabid. Lots of breeders there selling their stock. Lots of variety. You may even find someone selling stock that you live near and you may be able to drive there for a pickup and save on shipping, plus less water transfers, thus reducing the added stress on the fish. That is how I bought my Discus.

 

couldnt you have your lfs order your fish for you, then be there to pick them up when they were delivered. The lfs wouldnt even have to unbag them

 

I was about to suggest this. Any half-decent LFS (even the ones you don't trust) should get regular shipments from their suppliers. I really doubt that a store would do business with a supplier that's bringing in sick fish, so if your LFS has crummy looking fish that's probably their fault and not their supplier's. Keeping that in mind, if you ordered through your LFS you wouldn't have to pay shipping, and since you're buying fish they don't normally stock, they would probably take extra care of them until you picked them up since they know these particular fish have a buyer. Or, as sinadyan said, you could always pick them up while they're still in the shipping bags.