Originally Posted by
srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2700589
I've bought all my fish online (from this and 2 other sites) for years and have never had a bad experience. For me, price, guarantee, and convenience make shipping charges insignificant. I live in the boonies, but have a FedEx pick-up site 15 mins away. I have them delivered there, pick them up at 9AM; home delivery would be about 2-3PM, and have never had a damaged box or complaint. I have never received a fish that I wouldn't have picked myself. I'll never do it any other way. I have had fish die, covered by the guarantee, but; as said above fish do die and I think the loss ratio is excellent.
IMO; while the postal service has vastly improved (see what a little competition does!); FedEx is far superior when it comes to overnight delivery. Every box I get looks like it was never touched, much less dropped.
I've thought about this and here are some more reasons I like to buy fish online: 1.) Most/many lfs still acclimate fish by floating the bag in their tank. This is a terrible way to do this; the PH is always lower in the shipping bag and SG and who knows what else will differ also. When the fish comes to me, not only is it handled and bagged less often (less stress); I can acclimate and QT properly. 2.) Online buying helps eliminate "impulse fish buying". It seems that half of the fish questions on this forum are the result of someone buying that cute little trigger, or other fish, at the lfs and then finding out it just isn't a proper fish for their tank.I really suggest looking over several online dealers and then asking for advice on this forum before purchasing.3.) More selection. I know online sites are often out of many fish, which is understandable. But you can get wait listed and do research in the meantime. There are so many great fish available online that are seldom, if ever seen in most lfs. The lfs, naturally, wants to stock fish that sell well and are likely to stay alive until they are sold. Many fish simply don't look that great in the confines of a small lfs tank, but really come to light in the DT. Butterflies, wrasse,anthias, hogfish (a wrasse), unusual gobies, hawkfish, many angels, more unusual clowns,etc are just a few examples. The more difficult fish are almost never seen at the lfs (they can't keep them alive like we can, IMO), but are often available from the good online retailers. 4.) I know of very few lfs that guarantee fish for 15 days. 6.) Although, with a couple exceptions, you really can't pick the exact fish you want, online dealers are very accommodating if you want a to request a bigger or smaller specimen, etc.7.) Its easier td find the orogin of fish sold online. A little research will tell you the places that really police collection & shipping practices. I know there are plenty of great lfs owners and I'm sure it is a very tough business to compete in; but where I live, there just isn't a real decision, all things considered......This could go on and on, but I think I've yakked enough.
