[underseaworld]

Just wondering if people have had any luck with buying live stock on websites or on ebay?

[Reefland]

I have no experience buying anything on e-bay (you'll have to ask Michelle about that one) but have plenty of experience buying livestock from vendors and having it shipped overnight. If done by an experienced vendor, the experience can be a pleasure.

Corals and fish usually travel pretty good, if packed well, for a 12-18 hour journey. Following acclimation techniques provided by the vendor will decrease mortality rates in addition to knowing what conditions the livestock is coming from and matching that condition in it's new home.

[Sueet]

I have bought a number things off of ebay, like macro algaes, copepods, amphipods, mysid shrimp, ghost shrimps, starfish (several kinds), snails (several kinds), mangrove seedlings. So far, everything I've ordered has been in decent shape except for one order of mysids/copepods, which I think got overheated or something, but the seller reshipped the items at no extra cost to me, which I thought was very generous (I'm glad tho, cuz my hubby was eyeballing me pretty severely when he heard me grouchin bout dead critters for $$.
I have also gotten an order recently from Sharky's Reef, one of the sponsors here on this site, and I honestly have to tell you, it was a pleasure dealing with Dennis from Sharky's... He was A#1 helpful all the way thru the process.
I would say the key would be, know the sellers policy/guarantee before you get involved in a transaction with them. In most cases, at least for smaller items, sellers usually try to include some small freebie items too, just to be sure you're happy, and also to cover for the eventuality of critters possibly dying in transit.

[SueT]

I have ordered quite a few frags in the last month to say 6 weeks and have not gotten 1 bad shipment. Most of these online vendors to other hobbiest know what they are doing in shipping these corals they have grown out and will tell you how to acclimate. If whoever you contact will not discuss all these procedures then I'd drop that place and go to the next.

Bad shipping due to inexperience should not make the critters, frags or fish have to die due to knowledge lacking. I've shipped many a frag in the past and if done correctly is no hard thing to do.

[underseaworld]

If there are any websites you all would like to share. Would be deeply apprieciated. My main concern is the heat for shipping. Since I live outside of phoenix. Thanks for the respond. This is the best site I have seen for information.

[Reefland]

Check out our Sponsor link at the top of this page. As far as heat is concerned, Ice Packs are very effective and used by any experienced vendor.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by underseaworld

If there are any websites you all would like to share. Would be deeply apprieciated. My main concern is the heat for shipping. Since I live outside of phoenix. Thanks for the respond. This is the best site I have seen for information.

I'm guessing any vendor will do, although the typical recommendation you'll get here is to go to the sponsors' sites, since they do sponsor our forum

Just make sure that whomever you decide to deal with is aware of your concerns, and have them use coldpacks to be sure the heat is not an issue. For livestock like fish/corals, you will most likely be required to be present to sign for the shipment, which will be shipped 'overnite', which means the heat issue will at least be minimized, and most good vendors will also ship your order as late as possible the evening before, to minimize the time your livestock has to sit in the box/in some warehouse/on a truck somewhere.

The only vendor I have bought fish/corals from is one of our sponsors here, www.sharkysreef.com and he is having a sale on shipping right now. Only $29. shipping, but that sale ends tomorrow night, so you should probably act pretty quickly. They did a really great job packing my critters and they shipped them out AFTER 8pm the night before, which is awesome. They really care about their babies (your babies).

Good luck with whatever you do order

[ricksreef]

there's a few people on ebay that are good at getting things
to you alive & well. you need to check thier feedback to see
what buyers had to say. if it's good & they'll answer your
questions to your satisfaction, i'd say go for it if the deals good.

[SueT]

I have not bought anything off eBay either but have also gotten frags from another of the sponsors here, Jim of Rainbow corals. Never a bad shipment. Again, if the vendor you use has any experience they will know in the summer ice packs are definitely needed and in the winter hand warmers work quite well. I try to always request the shipper to send my order by priority overnight, this means it will be to my door by 10:30am. This cuts down on ice packs not holding out which they don't. With what all our future purchases go through in getting from one place to another it's amazing to me anything lives. Leaving the shipper and going to an airport, then to a routing station, then {hopefully} to the airport in my city and then to me. Meanwhile they are on trucks for the inbetween.

underseaworld, what are you looking to purchase???

[underseaworld]

I am new to the reef tank. Have had a 48 gl bow front since march and got it up and running on a reef system. Got a bunch of frags from my sister back in Ohio when I was back there for a visit. Now I have changed out my 135gl to a reef tank. It was a fish only tank for many many years. As far as type of corals I am interested in anything. I like the ones that flow in the water the best. I like the movement of them in the current. I have zenia, Flat leather, golden polyps, torch, and a flower pot. Along with blue tang, purple tang, mated pair of marron clown fish, and a 6 line wrasse in the 135. I am interested in anything really. Do you have some for sale????

Like I said I am real new to the reef thing and having a blast with it. And glad to see a lot of nice people are in to it also.

Originally Posted by SueT

I have not bought anything off eBay either but have also gotten frags from another of the sponsors here, Jim of Rainbow corals. Never a bad shipment. Again, if the vendor you use has any experience they will know in the summer ice packs are definitely needed and in the winter hand warmers work quite well. I try to always request the shipper to send my order by priority overnight, this means it will be to my door by 10:30am. This cuts down on ice packs not holding out which they don't. With what all our future purchases go through in getting from one place to another it's amazing to me anything lives. Leaving the shipper and going to an airport, then to a routing station, then {hopefully} to the airport in my city and then to me. Meanwhile they are on trucks for the inbetween.

underseaworld, what are you looking to purchase???

[SueT]

Sounds like you are into the soft corals. Flowing in the current types. I keep sps corals which are the stony corals that are the base of all the reefs in the wild. These mostly need the halide lighting and constant calcium supplementation. I'm sure one of the sponsors of this forum has soft coral frags you might look into. Check Rob at CoralSandBar, I believe he carries lots of soft corals. You might even check into keeping some zooanthids or some of the polyps,{green star, brown star, etc}. Those do great in lower lighted reefs.

HTH...

[underseaworld]

Thanks for the help.... Do you need a halide lighting to keep sps corals?

Originally Posted by SueT

Sounds like you are into the soft corals. Flowing in the current types. I keep sps corals which are the stony corals that are the base of all the reefs in the wild. These mostly need the halide lighting and constant calcium supplementation. I'm sure one of the sponsors of this forum has soft coral frags you might look into. Check Rob at CoralSandBar, I believe he carries lots of soft corals. You might even check into keeping some zooanthids or some of the polyps,{green star, brown star, etc}. Those do great in lower lighted reefs.

HTH...

[SueT]

SPS corals do need metal halide lighting to do their best. There are very few sps corals that can do fairly well under less than the intensity of metal halides. These are some of the lesser colored montipora digitata, pavona, and pocillopora. These also have got to be kept in a stable reef system with calcium available in a continous fashion. The absolute only way I'd try some of these sps corals I mentioned without halides is if you talked to someone and recieved frags from them and they are not growing them out under halides.

[underseaworld]

Thanks for the info SueT... I just bought a large leather from a local dealer. I got it on saturday. This coral is flat and a when open at the store it was at least the size of my hand. Now it is monday and it is folding up and the tenticles are all retracted back into the coral. It sits at the bottom of the tank right now. Should I move it to the top. I have compact lights on this tank. Which seem to work great for all the other corals in the tank. The yellow polyps and the button polyps are doing good. I also have zeina, flower pot in this tank.

Originally Posted by SueT

SPS corals do need metal halide lighting to do their best. There are very few sps corals that can do fairly well under less than the intensity of metal halides. These are some of the lesser colored montipora digitata, pavona, and pocillopora. These also have got to be kept in a stable reef system with calcium available in a continous fashion. The absolute only way I'd try some of these sps corals I mentioned without halides is if you talked to someone and recieved frags from them and they are not growing them out under halides.

[SharkysReef]

What kind of lighting did the LFS have the coral under? Leathers will do fine under pcs but if it was under MH then it might be in a little shock. However, the leather should acclimate and do just fine. Its good to take note of the placement of the coral in the tank and the kind of lighting when buying from a LFS.

Also if you notice your leather is starting to shed a thin membrane then this is perfectly normal. Leathers go through this as their growing process. In a few days you should see you leather come out of this stage stronger then ever.

Otherwise, give your leather some time and I am sure it will come around. Leathers are very hardy corals but can be finicky during the acclimation phase.

[underseaworld]

Thanks. The LFS (local fish store)? had the coral under power compact. I also have power compacts on my tank.

Originally Posted by SharkysReef

What kind of lighting did the LFS have the coral under? Leathers will do fine under pcs but if it was under MH then it might be in a little shock. However, the leather should acclimate and do just fine. Its good to take note of the placement of the coral in the tank and the kind of lighting when buying from a LFS.

Also if you notice your leather is starting to shed a thin membrane then this is perfectly normal. Leathers go through this as their growing process. In a few days you should see you leather come out of this stage stronger then ever.

Otherwise, give your leather some time and I am sure it will come around. Leathers are very hardy corals but can be finicky during the acclimation phase.