Online Fish Stores

[tischdog32]

Hey Guys,

I'm new to the forum and new to saltwater fish tanks. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but after a quick search I couldn't find any recent topics, but as I have recently setup my first tank I am looking to populate with fish, and was wondering weather any online fish stores were reputable, and if so which ones have you guys have good experiences with. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to learning from you guys.

[treesprite]

The club does a lot of group buys at some of them to save money on shipping and to get discounts. Some of the online vendors give discounts to WAMAS members, as do local fish stores... in other words, I'm pushing membership in the club.

 

I have a preference for Blue Zoo Aquatics just because I have gotten many things from there that are of high quality and the customer service is fantastic... those purchases were all done as part of group buys. buys.

[Jager]

depending where you are, you may not need to use an online vendor, though they are decent to excellent. with blue ribbon koi, pristine aquariums, mrcoral, dr mac's aquaculture the aquarium company and a few others (apologies i cant remember you all its too early) you can see your fish, talk to the owners who are incredibly knowledgeable and maybe run into a few wamas members.

 

also you save on shipping charges. which is not a bad bonus.

[jason the filter freak]

I would do a search though the group buys thread and see who we purchase from most, also looking at those threads you'll see our reactions to a lot of our reactions to vendors.

[Clyde]

depending where you are, you may not need to use an online vendor, though they are decent to excellent. with blue ribbon koi, pristine aquariums, mrcoral, dr mac's aquaculture the aquarium company and a few others (apologies i cant remember you all its too early) you can see your fish, talk to the owners who are incredibly knowledgeable and maybe run into a few wamas members.

 

also you save on shipping charges. which is not a bad bonus.

I agree with Jager. There are great LFS you can get great fish, inverts and coral from. Also, I would pay the small amount to become a member so you can use the buy/sale section of this forum. I have been a member a short time and have already made my money back ($20) easy to do, using this site for corals.

Good Luck!!

Edited June 26, 2008 by Clyde

[Highland Reefer]

If you do not have a quarantine tank, which most new hobbyist do not, then I would recommend buying your fish & corals from either local members or Local fish stores, since this would be the next best thing to a quarantine tank. In many cases the local fish stores will put the fish on hold for you, so you can make sure that there are no problems with them. Most of the local fish stores that support WAMAS provide a nice discount to the members.

 

Another good reason for joining WAMAS is that making mistakes in putting together your tank & selecting occupants can be costly & heart braking. I would recommend that you utilize the Tank Build Forum once you become a member & post your system, so that you can get all kinds of good info & comments before you buy. You can only utilize part of the forums when you are not a member.

 

Edited June 26, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[dcreefer]

I've been in the the club for a few months and it is great! You can buy and sell with the other members and people will help you so you don't make the same mistakes that others have made! Before I was in WAMAS I would purchase from petsolutions, marinedepot or Dr.Fosters and it was kind of hit or miss (always see what there return policy is)! Some online stores offer a arrive alive guarantee, others may offer a 14 day alive guarantee and some will flat out tell you there is no refunds only store credit no matter to if it were dead when it arrived or not. My advice to you is to be aware of the store's policy before you buy!