Is it wise to buy fish from places like craigslist or so on.

[jacorinece]

i have seen an ad on craigslist of a guy selling his aquarium and livestock. he included some tangs that I have been wanted to add to my aquarium. I e-mailed him and he seemed very knowledgable and knew what he was talking about because i asked him a lot of questions. also, he knew a lot about aquariums itself. i just wanted to know if anyone has ever bought from classifieds and is it worth it?
Btw, he was selling a yellow tang for $30 and a blue hippo tang for $40.

 

[tfolke1]

i've bought two used tanks that I bid on, and coral off of craigslist a couple of times. I've been happy with all of it. I always buy from somebody close enough that I can go see it and see the condition of the tank. I always ask about Ick and the Tank history. Remember, there's two possible reasons for having a tank setup with no fish. Either they just sold them, or they just all died. You just have to be strong enough to walk away if the tank does not look healthy. And Dip and/or Quaranteen.
Once you have enough stuff in your tank, it may not be worth the risk.

 

[hammerhed7]

It should be ok, as stated above don't feel obligated to buy if you see something questionable. Many people sell their livestock in the event of moving, not enough time for the hobby, or just changing their tanks.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by jacorinece
http:///forum/post/3045403
i have seen an ad on craigslist of a guy selling his aquarium and livestock. he included some tangs that I have been wanted to add to my aquarium. I e-mailed him and he seemed very knowledgable and knew what he was talking about because i asked him a lot of questions. also, he knew a lot about aquariums itself. i just wanted to know if anyone has ever bought from classifieds and is it worth it?
Btw, he was selling a yellow tang for $30 and a blue hippo tang for $40.
No bargain unless they are both adult fish

 

[pbnj]

I prefer to buy used items from people on my local reefers forums. You get a better sense of their reputations and bad reps get around.

 

[premilove]

why not? go look at the fish, if its healthy then buy it. also check out his system, make sure its been done right. no algae, no pests, etc.

 

[i<3reefs]

Before purchasing a used tank you should verify it has never had copper used in it.

 

[jacorinece]

Well, I guess I'll give it a try and ask questions and go see them. He said they are both adults about 4 inches long. I've seen a couple pics and they look okay. Thanks for the input.

 

[deejeff442]

i am out the door here in 20 minutes to pick up a 55 gallon for a qt from clist.
bought a 225 ,120,33 from there also and hooked up with a guy with his licence to purchase fish from hawaii and i only get my fish,corals and rock from him. lr 10-18 inch loaded with all kinds of good stuff for $4 a lb.
picked up 150 lbs last sunday.
i love clist.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by pbnj
http:///forum/post/3046317
I prefer to buy used items from people on my local reefers forums. You get a better sense of their reputations and bad reps get around.
Yeah, but lots of the reefers here locally double post their stuff on the local club forum and on Craigslist.
Originally Posted by I<3Reefs
http:///forum/post/3046575
Before purchasing a used tank you should verify it has never had copper used in it.
This is a myth, you're not going to have problems, there is no way that enough copper got absorbed into the silicone to effect your tank. Liferock and sand might be an issue.
Personally, most of my purchases have been on craigslist, or other reef sites. The key is use good judgement, and not be afraid to say no. Remember you're going into their house, typically, so they'll be looking at you funny.

 

[deejeff442]

got home a little while ago with the 55 gallon
hang on filter,2 heaters,rio pump,nice stand,4 foot light.
$100 cant go wrong.
just need to clean it and re silicone ,
probably only take a half hour to razor the old and put the new.
i feel its a piece of mind thing.
clist is great i rarely even go to the bay anymore.

 

[jacorinece]

Originally Posted by deejeff442
http:///forum/post/3047132
got home a little while ago with the 55 gallon
hang on filter,2 heaters,rio pump,nice stand,4 foot light.
$100 cant go wrong.
just need to clean it and re silicone ,
probably only take a half hour to razor the old and put the new.
i feel its a piece of mind thing.
clist is great i rarely even go to the bay anymore.
Great deal! I'm looking to upgrade to a bigger aquarium in the future. Maybe I'll start checking craigslist out more often!

 

[jacorinece]

Oh, btw, what is a "good deal" for each pound of live rock?

 

[bizzmoneyb]

Originally Posted by jacorinece
http:///forum/post/3047340
Oh, btw, what is a "good deal" for each pound of live rock?

well the cheapest I have ever seen it in a store was $4 per pound, so anything under that I would say is pretty good.
i bought mine from an add on craigslist. some guy had a full aquarium for sale, and I asked him if he would sell just the rock. he said he would, so i offered him $250 for about 100 lbs. try somethin like that. cause if you just buy it by the pound it gets really really expensive.
and those fish dont seem like that great of a deal. thats about what my LFS sells those for.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by jacorinece
http:///forum/post/3047340
Oh, btw, what is a "good deal" for each pound of live rock?
It kind of depends on your region. But in houston, unless it is something specific high end or particularly large. Your run of the mill Fiji gets no more than 2 bucks a pound.

 

[jordan3548]

My local craigslist is great I just bought 110 pounds of beautiful premium live rock for 60 bucks. The guy said he was moving and had no choice but to sell it. He also gave me some snails, a serpent starfish, and a nice piece of coral. So sometimes you can find REALLY good deals on craigslist. I just dont rush into anything sometimes I pass up on good deals you just gotta go with your gut feeling

 

[jacorinece]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
http:///forum/post/3047454
It kind of depends on your region. But in houston, unless it is something specific high end or particularly large. Your run of the mill Fiji gets no more than 2 bucks a pound.
Are you from Houston? So am I. Where do you get your livestock/live rock?

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by jacorinece
http:///forum/post/3048437
Are you from Houston? So am I. Where do you get your livestock/live rock?
Where abouts in houston are you? I picked up most of my equipment here when they had the classified, craigslist or from the local reef club, MARSH. The fish I buy locally. There are some good LFS's my favorite is bay area aquarium but he has had to tear down a few tanks (I assume from Ike) T&T pets on hwy 6 and fishland on Westhiemer. Are my favorites. You should check out the local reef club they had periodic frag swaps and meetings that are very informative.

 

[eric b 125]

after reading this thread, i decided to check out craigslist for myself. i've only searched for motorcycles on there before, but i found some killer deals! i'm looking for LR, and found someone selling $200 lbs for $2/lb! around pittsburgh LR goes for $7/lb for Fiji, and $11/lb for tonga, sometimes $12/lb. i also found a 29 biocube with some LR and a nemo (that makes me so mad) and a 65 standard with stand and lights, both for $100, and for another $100 the seller will throw in a 7 ft pool table! really, i dont care about the last deal, all i want is rock, but i'm amazed at the deals. i guess one mans trash is another mans treasure, eh? if the LR looks legit, and the seller lets me hand-pick 100 lbs then i'll take pics and post em... man, ii am pumped!

 

[deejeff442]

yea people are just trying to get any cash they can these days.
i got the 55 gallon set up because they just had a baby and needed the room for a crib.
from what i hear craigs is really killing the bay since its free.
putting a car on the bay is like $100 just for the ad then more if you sell it.
really now,they are getting a bit greedy just for hosting a website.
i am only 4 hours from houston so i check thier ad also,looking for a 400+ tank and just misses out last week on one.
i resiliconed the 55 the other day and will be filling it today .
it will make a great qt.