In your experience, how well do saltwater fish ship?

[Solasis]

Okay, so I know this is a pretty broad question. But in general, what would your experience be with saltwater fish getting shipped to you from online sellers? I come from freshwater where 95% of fish ship great, and I honestly really love shopping online. I get exactly what I want, typically at a cheaper price (even with shipping factored in), and most of the time the livestock is healthier. My new tank is cycled and ready for fish, and I'm trying to decide where I should get my first fish. There are a few vendors that have caught my eye online who sell QT'd fish. I like my local fish stores, but when I can get already QTd fish for similar prices + more species, it seems like a no brainer. A lot of these sites have QT processes that are way better than I could ever do.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

Some vendors are always gonna be better than others. But if you go with a reputable company they'll usually ship just fine. If you really want to maximize your chances, order when the weather is projected to be mild for both you and the shipper. If they get stuck in transit less chance they'll cook or freeze. Vendors will add cold or heat packs, but shipping delays happen.

 

[Derrick0580]

Any more shipping companies are unreliable at best, and then some fish are just terrible shippers as well.

 

[Solasis]

I'm in Arizona, and it's pretty hot right now (100+ days). Maybe I should hold off and try and get a good QT process going so I can buy local. I'm just scared of messing it up and causing more harm than good.

 

[homer1475]

Most fish ship fine assuming the seller is experienced in shipping, and you receive the fish within 24 hours.

There are exceptions of course, like most wrasses.

 

[52728299]

Sometimes fish in the mail arrive looking like they've been through he'll. I think it really comes down to how well whatever employees work that day treat the box as well as the packaging. I feel the less travel distance the better your odds generally.

Buying locally is a great option but you still have to watch it for quite a few minutes, look for signs of disease, look for pinched stomach and make sure it's eating well. There was a fish I liked at an lfs and he would hide and not show interest in food. I left and came back a week later and he was way more outgoing and eating great. So just something to keep in mind. I prefer buying local, it's nice to see the fish in person before committing, online tends to be riskier and way more expensive imo

 

[52728299]

Just don't overthink it, either way you go it should work out fine. Especially if you are looking for pre-qt'd fish. Most my qt's go good, exceptions being fairy wrasse.

My last fish purchase was a coral beauty angel and a copperband butterfly. Both eating frozen and doing well in qt for over a week now. I got both fish and metroplex for like $75 local.

Fishotel is imo the top teir place to order pre-qt'd fish. It's a smaller business but he will do custom orders at least once a month usually. Ocean devotion has a pretty solid reputation and tsmaquatics I believe is still doing a fine job?

 

[Solasis]

Just don't overthink it, either way you go it should work out fine. Especially if you are looking for pre-qt'd fish. Most my qt's go good, exceptions being fairy wrasse.

My last fish purchase was a coral beauty angel and a copperband butterfly. Both eating frozen and doing well in qt for over a week now. I got both fish and metroplex for like $75 local.

Fishotel is imo the top teir place to order pre-qt'd fish. It's a smaller business but he will do custom orders at least once a month usually. Ocean devotion has a pretty solid reputation and tsmaquatics I believe is still doing a fine job?

Thanks. Yeah I was looking at ocean devotion. What do you do for quarantine personally if you don't me asking? I know there are lots of different guides online but I like hearing from individuals as well. I was considering going for just an observation based QT with only medication on as needed basis.

 

[52728299]

Thanks. Yeah I was looking at ocean devotion. What do you do for quarantine personally if you don't me asking? I know there are lots of different guides online but I like hearing from individuals as well. I was considering going for just an observation based QT with only medication on as needed basis.

Most fish do perfectly fine in copper power. I use that, 5 doses of metroplex, each dose 2 days apart and 2 doses of prazipro a week apart. There's a nice qt calender on the site I mentioned, fishotel. It's a nice guide where you just add in a start date and it will tell you which days to add meds. Most issues in qt imo arise when either the fish are already too sick or there's water quality issues.

Observation can work quite well. I would do 5 weeks minimum. But remember some fish are less prone to obvious symptoms of disease even if they are carriers. A foxface for instance, I personally wouldn't feel comfortable not treating.

 

[KorD]

I try not to buy from online sellers. I like to see what I am getting (if it eats, ich, etc…). Also I have seen how some of the shipping companies treat boxes with “live animals” printed on the sides. The less stressful you can make it for your critters the better chance ya have at them not having issues.

 

[albano]

For the record…unless you’re buying fish that are caught in local waters, I’d think that they are all shipped… to trans shippers, wholesalers, online retailers and LFSs

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

It depends on the species of fish. when I used to work at a shop, there would be high death percentages of the same species such as chromis and low deaths among others such as dragonets.

 

[kbnh]

I don’t think the online shops are the issue when it comes to shipping most of the time. I’ve seen plenty of times where UPS is holding a box of fish upside down and sideways when the labels clearly indicate a certain position to be kept. If that is just the end of the transit I don’t want to imagine what the livestock go through during the entire shipping process.

 

[PR_nano]

I only has 2 fish shipped, same order one made it the other one came in moribund. So that makes it 50/50 for me. I would buy again from this particular vendor plus I have a credit.

 

[Solasis]

Thanks everyone. I went around to a few different local fish stores and couldn't really find what I wanted, which is a nice group of anthias. Seeming like they might need to be an online purchase.