Stores vs. Online

~sc~emt~

Member
I dont trust anyone unless I see that they have QT at the store and they are kept in it till they are healthy and eating. We have 2 LFS here one is a mass fish shop that does not have a QT and their fish suck. MY LFS does and the fish are wonderful and more heatlhy. He will not put out unhealthy fish.
 

aquaman

Member

Originally posted by ~SC~EMT~
I dont trust anyone unless I see that they have QT at the store and they are kept in it till they are healthy and eating. We have 2 LFS here one is a mass fish shop that does not have a QT and their fish suck. MY LFS does and the fish are wonderful and more heatlhy. He will not put out unhealthy fish.


Not trying to flame you, just making an observation. You cannot tell if a fish is healthy just by looking at it, but you can tell if it is sick. Just because a fish looks healthy does not mean it is, sometimes taking a few weeks to manifest. At for a LFS quarantining fish I personally have never run into a store that did this the right way, and keeping g the fish for a few days is not QT. Maybe your store does it right, and that is great! I would love to have a really good LFS near me, but even the good ones have problems (same as online). Therefore, I will go with online over my LFS’s because of the price and I have never had a problem. That being said I wish you the best with your LFS, and remember to enjoy the hobby!:D
 

bolt696

Member
I am new to the saltwater world, and live in an area where I get hit a dozen saltwater pet stores with in 8-10 miles. I have been finding a much better variety with the on-line stores. I have only placed one order on-line and it was for a clean snail package. I should get it next week. The problem with on-line, is the prices are cheaper but once you add in shipping it is about the same as a pet store or even more.
I did notice that the on-line retailers offer a MUCH better guarentee. Some up to 14days. You won't get that at a pet store.
One note since ***** is nationwide. Any fish I ever got from ***** died with in 4 days. Terrible......
 

~sc~emt~

Member
by heathly i mean eating , try buying a regal angel online and see how long it last, even copper band butterfly they crash so easy its rediculous, or some of the harder wrasses, leapard wrasse, ect even some anthias they are hard to get to eat in captivitiy and QT untill they are eating and showing no signs of disease or anything, its not a 2 day QT its atleast 2 to 3 weeks. thats for easy to care for fish, but like the regal angel i was tlaking about it was in there for months. ill pay the extra 20 dollars for a fish. And corals are the same excat prices they are online. Plus you can see if they are damaged from shipping or not.
 

aquaman

Member
~SC~EMT~ That is great I wish I had even one good store near me, but I do not. When I lived in NY I never would have ordered off line because it was all right there. Here in the boon docks I have to order on line, and am glad I do. I never would have known the great service SWF.com offered and they do have a good selection. Does this mean i never go to a LFS. Nope there is one I like but its 1 1/2 hrs from me, so I only go about once a month. Problem with them, it I do not sow up on a Wednesday, all the interesting and uncommon fish are gone, and I am left with damsels and the occasional trigger. I have never found (even in NY) a good LFS that stocked enough. Oh well! Anyway, I am glad you have a great LFS, but many of us do not.:yes:
 

psoup

Member
Just saying. The only fish store i have near me is a small petsmart. I get most of my fish online.
 

~sc~emt~

Member
yes stess can obviously kill a fish, i had an agressive gold rim tang, he was so agressive chasing everything he stressed his self out, but also, transporting, acclimating, ect can stress them out, I jsut trust my LFS owner, and his collectors, they ahve always brought him excelent livestock and he brings it to us.
 

knots

Member
Steve, I have ordered from this site and all the fish arrived great. I did lose some later but it was my fault, water problems that I wasn't checking regularly. It's unfortunate for the fish especially when they die, but just maybe it was your fault and not theirs. That's why proper acclimation and a quarantine tank is a must. My guess is YOU didn't do something right. If by chance you did get a sick fish, I don't believe they did it to you on purpose. Since I have been on this site, I here nothing but satisfied customers. Some have lost fish but SWF has taken care of them. So you really shouldn't try and put them down on their site for something that might have been your fault.
 

blemmy_guy

Active Member

Originally posted by knots
Steve, I have ordered from this site and all the fish arrived great. I did lose some later but it was my fault, water problems that I wasn't checking regularly. It's unfortunate for the fish especially when they die, but just maybe it was your fault and not theirs. That's why proper acclimation and a quarantine tank is a must. My guess is YOU didn't do something right. If by chance you did get a sick fish, I don't believe they did it to you on purpose. Since I have been on this site, I here nothing but satisfied customers. Some have lost fish but SWF has taken care of them. So you really shouldn't try and put them down on their site for something that might have been your fault.

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
 

marinenut

Member
I've actually never ordered online before, but I plan to purchase an Emperor Angel from SWF soon. My LFS has actually been pretty good. It pays to get to know the management at a store you trust. After going regularly they have gotten to know me and give me some pretty heafty discounts now. I just picked up a 4" Powder Blue and 3 lbs. of live rock for $54.
The online thing definitely intrigues me though.
 

900dublr

Member
not flaming swf but it seem like they never have what I want it stock. I've been waiting for a couple things for a while.
 

knots

Member
nice looking fish soup. looks kinda mean. how big is he? Now you need to get a lionfish and breed them.
 

aquaman

Member

Originally posted by deita
SWF.com Sells Sick Fish !!!
Tell me if you have been screwed by them, or wait for fish they never get while they hold your $$......Civil Action Suit will follow soon ! Feel free to email to sign petition..

I will continue to support SWF.com because they take care of there fin and there customers. Guys like you give the hobby a bad name. You do not know how to care for these fish, you kill them and blame it on others, instead of taking responsibility. I think you should be banned from this board!
 

ktsdad

Member

Originally posted by Aquaman
I will continue to support SWF.com because they take care of there fin and there customers. Guys like you give the hobby a bad name. You do not know how to care for these fish, you kill them and blame it on others, instead of taking responsibility. I think you should be banned from this board!

Couldn't agree more!
I live in the sticks, my closest LFS (that is worth driving to) is 100 miles away. So SWF.com is my LFS!
I have ordered 90% my livestock from them over the last year.
Filled a 65 Reef and a 95 FOWLR with all kind of creatures with most of them still living and doing well.
One order I received from SWF had 3 dead Chromis, followed their instructions and received 3 new ones in my next order, no questions asked.
In fact I have an order on it's way right now!
 
Top