Where to buy healthy fish? I'm giving up.

[schabiazabi]

I hope this is the right section as I want to post/rant about the quality of fish I see in my LFSs.

As of now I have only two fish and I think it's going to stay that way for a while. I can not find a fish store in New Jersey (US) with healthy fish. Out of 6 stores I know there is one store where the guy seems to care and takes his business seriously. I have bought from him my first two fish (Angel Queen and Purple Tang). It was pure luck as the Angel is the healthiest fish I have ever seen. Spotless. The purple tang has HLLE. I did not know at that time that it was a disease and I assumed the lateral line was part of the "design". I'm happy I did not know back then and I bought it. I will try to heal him as this is not a contagious disease.

Today I went to the above mentioned place and quess what? Every tank is full with obvious diseases. Even if the fish I like is somehow OK, every other fish is either flashing, or has advanced Marine Ich, or it's behavior is completely abnormal. My feeling is that every store is using like a master water filter where it's the same water going in and out of different tanks spreading sickness in minutes. This is very disappointing as I ran out of places to buy and I will not until the fish is 100% perfect.

This very reason made me write to you guys here and ask where do you buy your fish? What would you suggest for someone new to the hobby. I have never tried to buy a fish online. Is that any better? As of now I'm convinced the condition of the fish from online stores will no differ from what I have seen in local places.

Please let me know of better sources. There must be someone selling good quality stuff. If I do not find anything I will import the fish myself as I'm going to Bahamas next month

[reefhead]

I would suggest you post the name of the store so others in your area can avoid.

Do you have something against ordering online?

this place is probably worth the drive, you will pee yourself when you see it.
Pacific East Aquaculture Coral Farm and Aquarium Retail Store in Mardela Springs, MD

[schabiazabi]

I would suggest you post the name of the store so others in your area can avoid.

I do not want to do it, but you will see it if you ever end up there. The sad news is that is the best store in my area. The others I will not even talk about (40 fish dead in one tank last week).

I have nothing against ordering online. I'm just afraid I'll order for $200 and receive the same type of fish as I see in the store. Bottom line is, I have never tried it. The store in MD you showed me already looks great. I'll pack my family and drive there this Friday. Thanks for the link.

[twisted]

jersey,eh? what part? if you cant find a good one, you must be down my way...lol...let me know where you are and ill give you some names...we usually have to roadtrip from south jersey for a good one.
just checked your area...thought you were in south jersey since you couldnt find a good one...
if you cross jersey to the coast, there is Aquatic Obsessions(exit 129ish) and ocean gallery2 rt 22 , a little further south is Tropiquarium and reef to reptiles which are across from each other on rt 35.

[schabiazabi]

I'm shocked how you nailed it. You must be the owner of one of them
I'm in the Edison area.

My best fish was bought from one of the first 2 stores you listed. It is the healthiest one I have ever seen. Since then I do not like what the store has. Must be bad shipment or something.

I have not been at Tropiquarium.

[twisted]

I'm shocked how you nailed it. You must be the owner of one of them
I'm in the Edison area.

My best fish was bought from one of the first 2 stores you listed. It is the healthiest one I have ever seen. Since then I do not like what the store has. Must be bad shipment or something.

I have not been at Tropiquarium.

na, not the owner...lol...my wife and i just make alot of roadtrips since south jersey has nothing to offer...trop is a little pricey but has a great selection and heathy fish. reef to rep has some great corals and Greg the owner is a good guy.

[twisted]

there is also the Hidden Reef in the philly area...ive only been there once but was pretty impressed. down the street from them is Fish Factory...never been there though

[schabiazabi]

If I drive to MD on Friday I will stop by those two stores on 35 and check them out. Thanks man.

[leebca]

I would really not wish to have posts bad mouthing or demeaning any store or marine supply source. If you have a problem, offer to convey the name of the facility or person through a private message (PM).

It isn't easy to obtain healthy fishes. Not purchasing a fish from a place you describe is about the best message you can send, assuming you expressed to the owner/workers your dissatisfaction with the quality of the marine life on display.

You really don't stand a better chance through mail order. I have visited and purchased fish wholesale from Los Angeles wholesalers. While there I see fishes being bagged/boxed for mail orders --- sometimes in boxes with other Internet site names on them (they are in essence just drop-shipping). What I have observed is: fish dropped on the floor, dying fishes, fishes with disease, injured fishes, etc., being bagged for the mail order orders. These are the fishes that the walk-in retailers/trade won't buy.

If you must buy from mail order, inquire about their guarantee (if any) and buy only from those that have a guarantee.

Try to keep in mind that a wholesaler paid about $6. for the Powder Blue Tang that the retailer sells for $60. This is often why they are treated as a commodity, rather than a life.

Try your best to stick to what is right. Maybe suggest you'll buy the fish if they provide you with the medication and test kits/equipment for free, for the treatment of the fish, plus a QT setup.

I don't know the area you live in, but also seek out any club or group that is into marine (or even freshwater) fish hobbies. Word-of-mouth sources can be helpful.

I took the time to write this to try and help those acquiring fish: Is The Fish Healthy?

Good luck!

[mk1151]

I highly recommend Eli's Fish Farm on Columbia Tpke. in Florham Park. I've been buying from them for 20+ years and have yet to get a single fish with a problem. I think their selection of marine life may be less than fresh but the owner will also have recommendations on where to go in the area.

Here is the website:
Ely's Tropical Fish & Water Gardening

The guys there are also incredibly knowledgeable about fish care and disease treatment.

A family member recently mailed ordered some freshwater veil tailed angels and they showed up in perfect health.

[Original Fin]

We share stories all the time about online suppliers of both dry and live goods. Lee's comments have made me think about the potential consequences of what could be construed as bad mouthing...at least from the business owners perspective. Perhaps we should be a little more sensitive about how we share that negative feedback.

The OP expressed a hesitance to name names, so I know he's already on board.

Some of these businesses might be current or potential RL sponsors, so it's their support that makes it possible for us to get together and gripe in the first place.
As long as people stick to the facts, I'd like to think this is a good thing for our comminuty to share these sorts of stories, but like Lee said, the best practice should be to do that privately...at least where negative experiences come into play.

[reefhead]

The best defense to a libel lawsuit is the truth.

[rocking]

some times it not the store's its the supliers problems ! so u just have to keep looking and ask them who thay get there fish from ! and keep looking

[schabiazabi]

some times it not the store's its the supliers problems

That's what I'm thinking.

[scifixtion]

I have nothing against ordering online. I'm just afraid I'll order for $200 and receive the same type of fish as I see in the store. Bottom line is, I have never tried it.

I was just like you I con't see how buying a fish online and being ship to me across country could possible be healthy. I undersatnd where you are coming from you're spending big bucks on a fish online and wonder when they arrive on your door step, will they be poor qaulity, lack color, after all you can't look in the tank and say "that one!" online.

I went to a local pet shop who I thought took excellent care of its fish they look so Happy and Healthy in the tanks at store. The ones I bought from them end up with parasite & died. twice!!

But I sitll won't order online, then someone made a good point to me I'd like to share "where do you think the pet store gets its fish from? Do you think they go to FL & CA (where most come from) and carefully hand pick the most colorful one and cuddle it all the way to the store" NOPE they buy them online just like you can." I was talking with the guy at my pet store he told me he orders them online & has to go to the airport to pick up his fish. So they sit there till he gets the time to go get them ya that sounds real healthy.


So I order from PETSOLUTION.COM online, I order a Cheap $4.99 damsel fish, I figure if it dies it only cost me $5 & plus shipping. The fish was fine, I have bought 2 more fish and 3 plants from them and 3 months later they are all still doing Great! I won't buy from anyone else. I go to my local pet store for my other pets & look at his fish the ones I get from petsolution are just as nice looking as his.

The part I like the most about petsolution.com is they have a guarantee if your fish dies within 14 days they will send you a new fish at No charge. My pet store has sign up "will not replace saltwater fish if they die in your care" NICE!

[leebca]

One of the most common errors online buyers of marine fish make is trying to make a large enough order to get 'free' shipping, or a large percentage discount. This is a BIG problem.

You can't add multiple fishes to a system or QT and expect everything to work out. The incentive to buy more to save is a trap

Just order one fish and try the online supplier out and then, if good, order another (one) fish AFTER that one has gone through quarantine and has been added to the system.

If you are serious about getting a discount for a large order, then go in on a group buy and everyone takes home one fish.

[schabiazabi]

I take this post back.

[mk1151]

First of all, you're a very unlucky man. I happen to be one of the top 10 domainers in the world and it looks like you're spamming this forum with parked pages (very weird type of spam btw) and fake posts. Your entire post is fake leading to Google ads. The moderator should delete your account along with this post. This forum could live without your EuroDNS domain (no company in US registers there) crap. Besides, there is no clickable URL here, why would you spam anyway? I hate nothing more than fake posters like you. I run many websites and this flood of shills is booming.

It appears to be a simple typo.

Adding an "s" to the end of the FQDN so it is www.petsolutions.com renders a valid page.

WHOIS query shows:
Pet Solutions ATTN PETSOLUTIONS.COM care of Network Solutions PO Box 459 Drums, PA 18222 US


So before blasting someone and calling for their account on this forum to be suspended, especially for someone that is experienced in the field, take a step back and look at the most common mistakes made (like plurality in a domain name) and see what the problem actually is.

Just like the concerns about saying something bad on the forums about a seller, we need to have the same concerns about saying bad things about forum members. If the concern is valid, send a PM to the moderator and let them explore and work the issue out.

There are many of us here that are fluent in the ways of the Internet and things DNS but not everyone and not double checking a link is a simple mistake.

I always like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

[rocking]

well in talking to some lfs stores . i found out there is onley 6 supliers here in the states for salt fish . so that means u have less than a 20% chance of getting realy good fish from a lfs

[leebca]

That statistic isn't reliable. The 'suppliers' in the USA are wholesalers. They deal with exporters/importers. The point is, is that the suppliers to (the suppliers) the wholesalers wax and wane with 'quality' or health of marine life forms. The exporters are subject to the quality of their catchers. So a wholesaler with sub-quality marine life can, in a few weeks, have the top quality of those same marine life. There are some that seem to have better sources, but. . .