Finding Fish

When I decided to get back into the hobby a few months ago I didn't think I would have such a hard time finding local places to buy Fish here in NW Ohio.

The local pet store here has some aquarium supplies that are covered in a thick layer of dust and 2 or 3 way over priced saltwater fish. The only thing they were interested in was selling me their stuff, plus a mountain of bad advice. Can you believe that I was actually told I couldn't keep fish and live rock together.

So I decided to travel to Toledo and hit all the major pet stores and was surprised to find that they only sold fresh water fish. I was able to pick up the stuff I needed to get started.

I think the reason the big box stores don't carry saltwater fish is because the majority of the people they hire are there for a paycheck only and dead saltwater fish could get costly. That's just what I theorized.

The following weekend I found a place that is an aquarium shop only and well that place is hurting. I was really surprised to see half the fish where sick with a few dead ones floating.

Next weekend I plan to travel to Fort Wayne, it looks like there are a few Aquarium shops to check out, I hope with better results.

I do have two questions, does anyone on here mail order their fish and what can I expect if I was to go that route?

 

I've ordered a number of fish online. Go with a reputable store and you should be fine. Read each store's guarantee and shipping methods and make sure you understand them precisely so you know what to expect.

They are all slightly different but the bulk of it is the same. You order the fish online, they usually ship it out the next day or at a day of your choice in the next week or two and then they overnight it so it gets there by 10-11am the next day so the fish is usually in the bags for maybe 15-17 hours in my experience. You have to be there to sign for it on the first delivery attempt or most places will not guarantee the fish will arrive alive. I'm not aware of any place that will refund shipping costs so you always take that risk if the fish do die in transit.

I would highly recommend liveaquaria.com, especially the Diver's Den. They do the best job packing the fish that I've experienced and have a great track record and probably are most widely considered to be the best online store for live fish even if they are a little more expensive than some places for some fish the quality of the livestock is pretty much top notch as well as their shipping methods.

BlueZooAquatics is another pretty big name although I don't have much real experience with them personally though.

Vivid Aquariums has probably the best guarantee that I'm aware of, I would recommend them for any common fish or fish that are easy to ID. They do a good job packing them and do a good job with customer service.

Don't be afraid to email or call the place before hand about any questions or if there is something you are looking for that you don't see on their site. I've had good experiences getting a hold of them, they are all very responsive in my experience.