Where are buying livestock now.

no1bubba · 07/30/2019, 10:38 PM

Since the majority of the members appear to be unhappy with LiveAquaria, as I am, where do you feel is a good safe place to purchase livestock?

:

ThRoewer · 07/31/2019, 09:41 AM

If you are already unhappy with LiveAquaria, you will likely be even more unsatisfied with most of their competitors.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

albano · 07/31/2019, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by no1bubba

Since the majority of the members appear to be unhappy with LiveAquaria...

I didn’t see that poll... seems that I would have been in the minority!

RBU1 · 07/31/2019, 03:38 PM

Best around by far
Www.tsmcorals.com

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RBU1 · 07/31/2019, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albano

I didn’t see that poll... seems that I would have been in the minority!

Live aquaria has gone down hill since being purchased by Petco. Diver den may still be ok but not sure.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oldreeferman · 07/31/2019, 06:29 PM

Are you kidding about not finding decent Frags? How about Jason Fox for one? The list of extremely professional & passionate reefers that sell online is long..................I often rescue (ill call it that), corals from my LFS,s that surround me due to the fact they all starve their corals so i buy them skinny & shrunk down & take a lot of fun & pride bringing them back to a noteworthy growth status again, its 1/2 the fun! Never thought id hear about not having someplace to find quality frags let alone run of the mill ones may have to pay a tad more but....... , LOL. Really?

Oldreeferman · 07/31/2019, 06:33 PM

Tidal gardens is another great place to shop.

ThRoewer · 07/31/2019, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RBU1

Live aquaria has gone down hill since being purchased by Petco. Diver den may still be ok but not sure.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't see how the Petco purchase of LiveAquaria could have any effect on the quality of livestock other than what is shipped from Diver's Den = Wisconsin facility.
The "regular" part of LiveAquaria has always been just an online retail outlet for Quality Marine ("California Facility") and ORA ("Florida Facility") and all the fish, inverts, and corals bought through LiveAquaria were always directly shipped from those independent suppliers. So if the LiveAquaria livestock quality went down then it is actually the fault of QM and ORA.
The only LiveAquaria facility that is under full Petco control is Diver's Den.

Customer support may of course be a different story, but so far, despite some issues, I find it still the best I have dealt with so far.

ClownReef® · 07/31/2019, 07:48 PM

Nothing beats LA's warranty.

wrott · 07/31/2019, 08:36 PM

Divers Den is number one, Blue Zoo can be very good too.
If you buy from LA, it is just a drop shipment from Quality Marine, no one else to blame.

Did you look at getting a generator first? I saw that you lost your fish to power outage, sorry, that really hurts.

brody83 · 08/01/2019, 02:11 AM

Another vote for TSM corals.

Crooked Reef · 08/02/2019, 07:07 AM

Petco bought Dr. Foster and Smith/liveaquaria in November of 2014, almost five years ago. Most of the negative reviews I have seen have been people that hate petco for fish and not specific to LA itself.

wildman926 · 08/03/2019, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldreeferman

Are you kidding about not finding decent Frags? How about Jason Fox for one? The list of extremely professional & passionate reefers that sell online is long..................I often rescue (ill call it that), corals from my LFS,s that surround me due to the fact they all starve their corals so i buy them skinny & shrunk down & take a lot of fun & pride bringing them back to a noteworthy growth status again, its 1/2 the fun! Never thought id hear about not having someplace to find quality frags let alone run of the mill ones may have to pay a tad more but....... , LOL. Really?

Very well said!

Rendition1776 · 08/04/2019, 10:48 PM

I just got a great pack from live aquaria and they were in very good shape and doing well in my tank. Ymmv

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

CrayolaViolence · 08/05/2019, 07:45 AM

I personally have NO complaints with Live Aquaria or Divers Den. Both have terrific customer service, the animals are packed with plenty of water, shipping is fast and 99% of the time arrives at exactly the time promised. I've bought a lot of nice things from them. Yes they are a bit pricier than some places, but you get a fabulous guarantee. Do they have everything I'd like to get? Nope, but then no one does.
And if you had any idea how many DOA's suppliers/retailers get, you'd understand the pricing. I've bought boxes of corals from over seas in the past only to have 2-3 survivors. And since MOST of the price is your shipping costs, even if the seller guarantees stuff, you'll get back 50-100 bucks at best in most cases. Granted, I've bought more than once and had several successful deliveries with no losses, but it only takes ONE to hurt, especially if you're only buying ONE box.

OrionN · 08/06/2019, 04:42 AM

I got a lot of animal from LA. Not so much from DD unless there are significant discount. That is becasue I am cheap. the two week warranty is second to none. I recently got two Gigas clams, one Derasa, one Maxima (all ORA). I am getting 3 flame angel that should arrive Wednesday. I got 2 Flame Fairy Wrasses recently that did not make it, but they refund the full amount of money, including shipping (since I shipped for free).
Rarely, I get sub standard fish from LA, either they died and I get refund or I was able to nurse them back to health.
Due to the warranty, I rarely MO fish from somebody else. If I get a fish to live for 2 weeks, they will live a long time under my care.

alton · 08/06/2019, 05:45 AM

NO1Bubba hopefully the team didn't scare you off but although LA and DD are not perfect, they are pretty close. The Petco connection has not not hurt them, they still ship out great fish most of the time. Missing in this picture is my second flame and sub adult blueface. Except for the wrasses, everything else came from LA (Black Tang came from DD) Sorry about the look of my tank, I just recently tore it apart to get two purple tangs out that came from NYA that are being re-homed.

ClownReef® · 08/06/2019, 07:35 AM

Ive always done LA. I just placed my first order from saltwaterfish.com ever.

I miss reefer madness..lol

no1bubba · 08/06/2019, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrott

Divers Den is number one, Blue Zoo can be very good too.
If you buy from LA, it is just a drop shipment from Quality Marine, no one else to blame.

Did you look at getting a generator first? I saw that you lost your fish to power outage, sorry, that really hurts.

Have a generator I just failed to plug in the main 🔌. I have a RSM 260 and everything runs off that one 🔌. Have been reefing for 15 years and this is the first time I Am at fault. Wish it was a power failure....guilt

KenBry · 08/08/2019, 06:07 AM

It’s hard to buy from a place when they are always sold out of fish. Many places I look at other than live aquaria are always sold out.

sde1500 · 08/08/2019, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClownReef®

Nothing beats LA's warranty.

Technically Vivid does.

no1bubba · 08/08/2019, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenBry

It’s hard to buy from a place when they are always sold out of fish. Many places I look at other than live aquaria are always sold out.

That is what I’m finding out now with LA. Everything I want is out of stock .
Can’t even find a few fighting Conchs that are more than 3/4”.

reefgeezer · 08/08/2019, 09:06 AM

I buy corals mostly from local hobbyists. I ask my local LFS to bring in a fish I want and keep it in the shipper's bag. I try to be very specific about what I want and don't crab too much about price. Once it arrives, I look at it and if acceptable, I take it home to QT. If it isn't acceptable, I leave it for the LFS to sell to someone else. It doesn't always work out. Sometimes the fish just isn't available or the fish that arrives doesn't meet my needs. I ask that it be kept in the shipper's bag to isolate the fish from the LFS's system. One less variable to worry about.

Oldreeferman · 08/08/2019, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefgeezer

I buy corals mostly from local hobbyists. I ask my local LFS to bring in a fish I want and keep it in the shipper's bag. I try to be very specific about what I want and don't crab too much about price. Once it arrives, I look at it and if acceptable, I take it home to QT. If it isn't acceptable, I leave it for the LFS to sell to someone else. It doesn't always work out. Sometimes the fish just isn't available or the fish that arrives doesn't meet my needs. I ask that it be kept in the shipper's bag to isolate the fish from the LFS's system. One less variable to worry about.

I did the same thing with a fish i ordered at Petco (good place to buy a rescue fish probably), no way i trust their tanks in my local area most of the fish had ick and all the tanks had red slime but super prices LOL. BUT getting it in the shippers bag avoided that & it did fine never got sick.

wrott · 08/08/2019, 03:55 PM

https://www.kpaquatics.com/product/fighting-conch/

This is a good store. I've ordered many times.
Supposedly they keep inverts and fish in separate systems.

07/30/2019, 10:38 PM	#1
no1bubba Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Lancaster PA Posts: 405	Where are buying livestock now. Since the majority of the members appear to be unhappy with LiveAquaria, as I am, where do you feel is a good safe place to purchase livestock?:

07/31/2019, 09:41 AM	#2
ThRoewer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 9,555	If you are already unhappy with LiveAquaria, you will likely be even more unsatisfied with most of their competitors. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk __________________ Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +...

07/31/2019, 07:48 PM	#9
ClownReef® Bubbletrousing Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 1,872	Nothing beats LA's warranty. __________________ Waterbox Peninsula 5526 l Ecotech Radion XR30w G4 l Ecotech Vectra M1 l MP40QDW l Vertex Omega 180i l Tunze ATO l Apex Fusion l DOS l Trident l Ice Cap Scrubber

07/31/2019, 08:36 PM	#10
wrott Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,912	Divers Den is number one, Blue Zoo can be very good too. If you buy from LA, it is just a drop shipment from Quality Marine, no one else to blame. Did you look at getting a generator first? I saw that you lost your fish to power outage, sorry, that really hurts. __________________ OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt

08/02/2019, 07:07 AM	#12
Crooked Reef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 1,765	Petco bought Dr. Foster and Smith/liveaquaria in November of 2014, almost five years ago. Most of the negative reviews I have seen have been people that hate petco for fish and not specific to LA itself. __________________ “In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank.

07/31/2019, 03:38 PM	#4
RBU1 Moving on Up Join Date: May 2004 Location: Southern NJ Posts: 5,167	Best around by far Www.tsmcorals.com Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

07/31/2019, 06:29 PM	#6
Oldreeferman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: NW Indiana Valparaiso Posts: 505	Are you kidding about not finding decent Frags? How about Jason Fox for one? The list of extremely professional & passionate reefers that sell online is long..................I often rescue (ill call it that), corals from my LFS,s that surround me due to the fact they all starve their corals so i buy them skinny & shrunk down & take a lot of fun & pride bringing them back to a noteworthy growth status again, its 1/2 the fun! Never thought id hear about not having someplace to find quality frags let alone run of the mill ones may have to pay a tad more but....... , LOL. Really?

07/31/2019, 06:33 PM	#7
Oldreeferman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: NW Indiana Valparaiso Posts: 505	Tidal gardens is another great place to shop.

08/01/2019, 02:11 AM	#11
brody83 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 28	Another vote for TSM corals.

08/04/2019, 10:48 PM	#14
Rendition1776 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Posts: 6	I just got a great pack from live aquaria and they were in very good shape and doing well in my tank. Ymmv Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

08/05/2019, 07:45 AM	#15
CrayolaViolence Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: North Carolina Posts: 1,867	I personally have NO complaints with Live Aquaria or Divers Den. Both have terrific customer service, the animals are packed with plenty of water, shipping is fast and 99% of the time arrives at exactly the time promised. I've bought a lot of nice things from them. Yes they are a bit pricier than some places, but you get a fabulous guarantee. Do they have everything I'd like to get? Nope, but then no one does. And if you had any idea how many DOA's suppliers/retailers get, you'd understand the pricing. I've bought boxes of corals from over seas in the past only to have 2-3 survivors. And since MOST of the price is your shipping costs, even if the seller guarantees stuff, you'll get back 50-100 bucks at best in most cases. Granted, I've bought more than once and had several successful deliveries with no losses, but it only takes ONE to hurt, especially if you're only buying ONE box. __________________ "The good thing about science is that it's true whether you believe it or not." Neil deGrasse Tyson Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef tank

08/06/2019, 04:42 AM	#16
OrionN Moved on Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Coastal Texas Posts: 16,000	I got a lot of animal from LA. Not so much from DD unless there are significant discount. That is becasue I am cheap. the two week warranty is second to none. I recently got two Gigas clams, one Derasa, one Maxima (all ORA). I am getting 3 flame angel that should arrive Wednesday. I got 2 Flame Fairy Wrasses recently that did not make it, but they refund the full amount of money, including shipping (since I shipped for free). Rarely, I get sub standard fish from LA, either they died and I get refund or I was able to nurse them back to health. Due to the warranty, I rarely MO fish from somebody else. If I get a fish to live for 2 weeks, they will live a long time under my care. __________________ Minh My homepage is my album here at Reef Central Current Tank Info: Reboot 320 anemones reef. Angels: Yellow Chest Regal(2), Flame (2). Copperband But. Tangs: Yellow, Purple. Wrasse: about 20 wrasses various species. Anemones: Giantea X4 (Breen, Blue, Purple and Multicolors), Haddoni X1 Red, Magnifica X1 Purpletip

08/06/2019, 07:35 AM	#18
ClownReef® Bubbletrousing Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 1,872	Ive always done LA. I just placed my first order from saltwaterfish.com ever. I miss reefer madness..lol __________________ Waterbox Peninsula 5526 l Ecotech Radion XR30w G4 l Ecotech Vectra M1 l MP40QDW l Vertex Omega 180i l Tunze ATO l Apex Fusion l DOS l Trident l Ice Cap Scrubber

08/08/2019, 06:07 AM	#20
KenBry Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Surprise, AZ Posts: 6	It’s hard to buy from a place when they are always sold out of fish. Many places I look at other than live aquaria are always sold out.

08/08/2019, 09:06 AM	#23
reefgeezer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wichita KS Posts: 2,621	I buy corals mostly from local hobbyists. I ask my local LFS to bring in a fish I want and keep it in the shipper's bag. I try to be very specific about what I want and don't crab too much about price. Once it arrives, I look at it and if acceptable, I take it home to QT. If it isn't acceptable, I leave it for the LFS to sell to someone else. It doesn't always work out. Sometimes the fish just isn't available or the fish that arrives doesn't meet my needs. I ask that it be kept in the shipper's bag to isolate the fish from the LFS's system. One less variable to worry about. __________________ John, Current Tank Info: In-process, 90 Gallon SPS Reef

08/08/2019, 03:55 PM	#25
wrott Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,912	https://www.kpaquatics.com/product/fighting-conch/ This is a good store. I've ordered many times. Supposedly they keep inverts and fish in separate systems. __________________ OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt