Are fish sold on the internet safe?

[Ravenes]

Are fish bought and sold then Shipped to you safe or are they stressed or even dead on arrival?

 

[Utar]

I never have, but many here have ordered fish having them shipped to their homes. So I would have to say, yes it is safe but with caution. You need to do research on any place you have selected to order your fish. Once you have decided to order from a place then ask others if they have ever used that site before ordering your fish.

I suggest you narrow your search to places close to where you live. If you live in California, then I would not suggest ordering from Florida.
Be mindful of weather conditions, don't order when it is really hot or really cold. My last suggestion is that you watch some youtube videos where more experienced fishkeepers can give you advice on how to acclimate the fish you order.

 

[Circus]

It depends on where you buy, I guess? I would not purchase from a place that does not have Live Arrival guarantee. I recently ordered fish from Aquatic Arts and all of my fish got here okay.

When buying online, do not simply order from the place with cheapest shipping. In this case it really is you get what you pay for. If you are only paying $10 shipping on live fish, that means they will be in that shipping bag for more than three day, in all likelihood. I paid $45 for shipping, but they were in transit for only about 15 hours (all the way across the USA).

 

[Boundava]

I order fish online often (as needed) and haven't usually had a problem. I do search for reviews before placing an order for companies I haven't used before. I can say that I buy with confidence from The Wet Spot, Aquatic Arts, Aqua-Imports, and Freshwater Exotics (best place for rare plecos). Imperial Tropics is another good place-I haven't purchased from them but know many who have with success. I do stay away from some places like the one that starts with Arizona and the other that starts with bluegrass. I searched review's and they just weren't good (lots of DOA, missing shipments, no contact by sellers.

There is also Aquabid which is like an early Ebay for all things fish. I have had luck with fish, plants and shrimp from there. Just know that like Ebay-there are various sellers so some may not be as good as others-though I have been fortunate in my purchases there.

Just placed a rather large order with The Wet Spot for 11 different varieties of fish; total of 117 fish! Time to stock the 120-well at least quarantine them for the 120, lol. Plus now that they have a fixed shipping rate of $39.99 so they are even better!

 

[Fishmanic]

Liveaquaria is a good one to buy from...they pack in styrofoam containers, double bagged, oxygenated, and heat packs as necessary and they ship overnight

 

[Boundava]

I did like liveaquaria back when it was part of Drs Foster & Smith. My last order with them resulted in fish not much bigger than fry, and they all died in QT overnight or within the next day.

 

[Colin_T]

Are fish bought and sold then Shipped to you safe or are they stressed or even dead on arrival?

All of the above.

They can be good and they can be bad. Some suppliers are better than others but in general, most will try to send you healthy fish.

Ask for reviews from people who have used specific sights. If you get 10 people saying a sight gave them great fish, try it and see.

-----------
Avoid buying fish, plants, shrimp or snails when the weather is very hot or very cold. Cold, icey or snowy weather can cause delays in the shipment being delivered to you.

Don't buy fish at the end of the week because some places send out orders as soon as they get them and fish can end up sitting in a depot over the weekend. Don't buy around the public holidays for the same reason. If in doubt, contact the company and ask them to send the fish on a Monday.

Make sure the fish are sent express 24 hour delivery. The less time the fish are in transit, the more chance of them arriving alive and well.

Make sure someone is home to receive the fish so they aren't sitting outside on a freezing porch or cooking in the midday sun.

Take pictures of the box and fish when you first get them. Clear pictures with a time and date stamp, that show a dead fish in a bag, can be used as proof a fish died during transit. Likewise, clear pictures with time & date stamp can show damage to the box, if it was damaged during transit.

If you have to make a complaint to the store, do it in an email so there is a written copy. Be polite and inform them of your details, account number, fish, etc. Then tell them x fish was dead in the bag when you opened the box, and you have attached a couple of pictures to confirm the dead fish in the sealed up bag.

 

[Boundava]

Also if you have a good local fish store, you can contact the owner and ask him if you would be able to purchase fish for you specifically. They know their local vendors and they probably use one of the local online sites to stock their store.