Have you bought live fish on the internet?

Question

I have discovered a website that sells fish, and delivers them.

I never realised they did this, and would be concerned about the welfare of the fish.

Any comments?

Answer 1

I don't think I would trust that spend the extra $ and go to a trusted pet storee

Answer 2

Well the fish at your pest store weren't breed there so they had to have been shipped!  Are you following the crumb trail I am dropping here?

Answer 3

it may cost some extra money but they are very proffesional and will take good care of your fish and deliver them ontime and healthy

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...

Answer 4

I bought some corydoras similis online, and it worked out fine.  Fish are shipped all the time--how do you think they get to pet stores?

Unfortunately the shipping costs are very high, but if you can afford them, then feel free to have as many fish shipped to you as you want. :)

Answer 5

Keep in mind that almost ALL fish you buy will have been shipped by mail at some point.  If you go into your local fish store on the right day, you will see them un-boxing shipments of fish.

I bought fish online for the first time last week - 14 fish for a total of $150 with shipping - blue rams and apistos.  They were far healthier than I can find at any local store, so it was well worth it to me.

I would not buy common fish like swordtails, goldfish, etc via mail, but it is a great way to get the rarer species.

Answer 6

Before I go on, I want to mention that 90% of the fish you see at pet stores are shipped to their retailers, even those bred locally are shipped to stores unless you buy directly from the breeder, so if you're afraid of buying fish online because they've been in a shipping box then you shouldn't, all you need to pay attention is the source where the fish come from. For example, a pretty fish you see on eBay with a person with no feedback is most likely not worth risking.

But, on buying fish online -- yes I have indeed. :) I purchased the following fish from www.liveaquaria.com

- 2 Bolivian Rams

- 2 Gold German Rams

- 2 Blue German Rams

- 6 Crystal Red Shrimp

- 5 Panda Corys

That website is an excellent source to buy fish from. The fish arrived in excellent shape; the healthiest and liveliest fish I've ever bought, definetively more taken care of than all the local pet/fish stores I've been at. Even the panda corys which are super delicate are doing GREAT to this day, two years after. A few fish did die, but I received a refund for them -- the fish that died were the gold german rams, which are quite delicate so I wouldn't blame it on the company necessarily.

When a fish became ill, I e-mailed them a picture of the fish and they helped me diagnose the disease and cure the fish. The packaging is very safe and sturdy, and there were clear instructions on how to acclimate the fish before opening the box, so they took care of their stuff. Highly recommended website!

I've also purchased a halfmoon Betta through www.aquabid.com, from a seller in Thailand, where the Betta came from. The shipping time was quite long, as to be expected from a fish from another continent, but I was kept updated by both the seller and the transhipper (the person who takes care of shipping the fish to me once it arrives to the United States), and the fish was also quite healthy.

Other than that, the only other thing that I suppose you could consider as buying aquatic life online were snails that hitchhiked to my house when I bought aquatic plants online, LOL. Unexpected visitors, but they were... *ahem*... taken care of if you know what I mean. :>

Answer 7

I looked at fish for sale on the internet.  The shipping prices were really high.  I would check into the shipping price first before considering.

Answer 8

We were looking into a couple of Koi online because the ones in the local shops are not-so-great-looking.

There was a company in Tennessee, I believe that sold koi on Ebay.

They have a guarantee that if the fish dies within "X" amount of days to take a picture of the dead fish with it's tail cut off [to prove it's dead] and they will either refund you or send you another fish for free.

We didn't wind up doing it.

I'm sure it's stressful on the fish, but if it's something that you could only find them online- make sure that you have insurance on the shipping in case it does die.