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Ever buy fish online?

The reason shipping can be pricey: many vendors only guarantee live arrivals (no DOAs) with overnight shipping.

Overnight shipping = $$$
 
Slaphppy7 said:
The reason shipping can be pricey: many vendors only guarantee live arrivals (no DOAs) with overnight shipping.

Overnight shipping = $$$
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Right. Do they medicate the fish with anything? Or with an anti-stress product? Obviously that would be my quaratine-duty upon receiving anyway. But that’s a rough trip in a baggie of water :confused:
 
I have no idea. But I doubt it. Probably those guys would have told me had I thought to ask. They certainly arrived in tip top shape, were active & hungry & ate immediately. Those 6 fish are all doing well now.
 
I have shipped fish off and on for years. For the past dozen+ years I have shipped mostly expensive fish I breed. I guarantee live arrival and have few losses. but the numer is not 0. Bear in mind that a box may be delayed due to nothing the sender has done. The carriers will not insure live cargo. So one buys fish and they arrive later and dead, the carrier refunds only the cost of the shipping. the seller/semder bears the loss.

Shipping depends opn the box size/weight and distance it travels. the bigger any of these numbers get, the more things cost. It is almost never economical to ship inexpensive fish any distance unless you are buying a lot of them.

There are a;so fish clubs where yhere are often members breeding a variety of fish. I am not sure how up to date this link is Local Aquarium Club Durectory Country United States, region Texas listings:
here is a shorter list:

Texas​


Finally, some stores will ship. You can research stores in TX you cannot really drive to but which might ship what you want.
 
I have used many different online stores to buy fish (and plants) and have not had any issues except for a couple which I won't list here.

In order of use:

TheWetSpot.com-recently made shiping a flat rate of $39.99 for most of the country. Never had a DOA from them and have spent $$$$ (too much) with them.
aquaticarts.com - only gripe is they are out of stock so often
aqua-imports.com - small assortment of common and uncommon fish at reasonable prices
freshwaterexotics-spectacular assortment of wild caught S. American fish and plecos at great prices
Imperialtropics.com - a bit pricey but nice selection

Have also used aquabid when I bought some shrimp and plants.

Finding a fish club ot local swaps is a great way to buy fish too, that is my #1 choice if possible. Great suggestion @TwoTankAmin!

​

 
tetratopia said:
Right. Do they medicate the fish with anything? Or with an anti-stress product? Obviously that would be my quaratine-duty upon receiving anyway. But that’s a rough trip in a baggie of water :confused:
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Understand that that is how fish are usually transported, from fish farm to shop.
Secure in its own bag and in the dark, the fish will not be jolted all that much from movements.
A bigger risk would come from cooling.

My fish arrived the next day, having organised the timings with a nice lady on the telephone beforehand.
The delivery driver was keen to see me open the box, to ascertain that the fish were okay.
They arrived in a large, sturdy cardboard box, in which was a large expanded polystyrene box.
In this box was the bag containing my fish, which was surrounded by similar bags with just warm water in them. Small heat pads were also scattered through the box and when I measured the temperature of the bag containing fish, it was at 26℃.
 
tetratopia said:
Has anyone had good luck with purchasing tropical fish from an online retailer? A place that doesn’t charge like $100 for shipping.. I have one black emperor tetra and have been trying to find him some buddies for two months. No local chain store or private business near me has them, nor are they available for these stores to even order some. I call once or twice a week and they always say their retailer is still out of stock. And what is up with the nonavailability? These fish are tank raised, from what I’ve been told. I bought several at Petco in August and only one survived, he is thriving but I’m sure he’s lonely. Plus he won’t leave my female cherry barbs alone!
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I bought a dozen congo tetras off a seller on ebay. They came very tiny but now they're awesome adults, very healthy and beautiful.
 
Slaphppy7 said:
My absolute favorite characin, as well...sadly, I don't have a tank big enough for them
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I know how you feel, neither do I at the moment, but I’m working on it. I used to have some when I had my 75g. Love their flowing fins and shimmery scales. Just gorgeous.
 
tetratopia said:
I know how you feel, neither do I at the moment, but I’m working on it. I used to have some when I had my 75g. Love their flowing fins and shimmery scales. Just gorgeous.
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Yes, they are beautiful...I actually have an empty 75G in my garage, picked it up off of the side of the road, looks new...but just don't have the room in my small house...trying to convince Mrs. Slap that we don't need a couch, I never sit on it anyway, but she's hard-headed...
 
Im in the U.K. but have never had a problem with posted fish. Granted we’re not shipping the distances you tea wasters are but a pro outfit can’t afford many mistakes. Something beyond their control may occasionally occur but if they’ve a good rep for after service I don’t think the buyer can go wrong.
 
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