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IMO it's not really cost effective unless you spend like $100... That's just my opinion though.

This LFS, does it special order? I know around here it's hard to get people to special order. One store takes forever, one store is overpriced, and the other wants to be able to sell all the fish it orders (since they often come in large bags with at least 30 or so fish; forgive me, I don't work at LFSes so I don't know how many it usually is).

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU WANTSMORETANKS! Not only did I check out Biloxibettas.com, I PLACED AN ORDER!!!! Not only did I find the site promising, the seller is quite friendly and provides excellent communication! Prices? VERY VERY REASONABLE! Considerably lower than I've found ANYWHERE online!!!! Selection is limited to Bettas, however if you're a Betta lover --- or even if you just want a Betta or two --- this site is worth checking out! Again, thanks goes to WANTSMORETANKS!

To thine own self be true...

I found a good site online, not a large selection, but reasonable prices for Canadian Fish shoppers!!!
Heres the link:
http://www.timstropicals.com

Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Betta Lovers might want to check out Biloxibettas.com --- "wantmoretanks" suggested this site in a different thread, and I took the time to check it out tonight.... Don't have personal experience yet --- but have to admit, the site looks promising!
ps - I also wanted you to know that the customer service hasn't stopped for me at aquariumfish.net --- I'd emailed them to advise that my fish had arrived and that all was well and received a response thanking me for letting them know and providing a link in case I would have any concerns.... Don't know about you, but concern for customers - especially AFTER the fact, rates very HIGHLY in my book!

[span class="edited"][Edited by dreamweaver8891 2004-08-25 18:43][/span]

To thine own self be true...

Eh, I have no idea about bettas, but there are fish on that site I can find $30 cheaper from other sources. Of course, it depends majorly on the type of fish whether or not you could find it cheaper, but when there's such a large gap I just turn away from the idea of even purchasing from them. On the other hand, I would never buy anything if the shipping were over the total sum of my purchase, so while I look for cheaper fish, I rarely consider those that are less than $10 if the site didn't also sell rarer fish for cheaper prices.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Shinigami 2004-08-19 16:59][/span]

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I'd honestly check http://www.aquabid.com/ and from there you can sort of trace down various stores that will ship fish, that is what I had to do. And now I have 4 beautiful Ps. Saulosi sitting on me desk, waiting to get acclimated to my fish tank.

Hey all. New to the board and happened to see this thread. I too have just recieved my order from aquariumfish.net. I ordered 10 ghost shrimp, 6 SAE, and 2 freshwater clams (too neat to pass up even though they are considered a serious threat to the local habitat (not releasing them)). Not only did my whole order arrive in good condition they threw in a few extra shrimp and a clam since shipping shrimp can be fairly difficult. For those that have one LFS, you should count yourself lucky. I just have a super walmart nearby and everytime I see the tanks I cringe. The newest thing they are doing is tossing terrestial plants into the tanks to make them look better. Anyways, while it definately costs more to buy the above online it is the price to pay for all of the shipping and boxing that is required.

FINAL UPDATE (?)..... MY FISH HAVE ARRIVED AND I AM THRILLED!!!!!! Yes, received my 4 Betta girls yesterday - one VERY long finned Splendens female of blue with green hues; one purple/blue Splendens female; 1 Crowntail female of steel blue and red; and my favorite Crowntail female of dark brown and black with a little light color radiating in the fins! (I've never seen a Betta like this one!)
Comparatively to my other female bettas, these are larger which means they probably have some age to them --- but they are gorgeous and make quite a stunning attraction in my tank! Wish I could learn to use my digital camera and then learn to link the pictures because I'd love to show you my new girls, but I still haven't grasped the techinique of getting really good pictures... especially the lighting! Maybe I'll try again this weekend --- wish me luck and/or give me some advice --- but PLEASE, if you give instruction use SIMPLE language as I'm not a "high tech" person - in fact, I'm not "low tech" either! (My camera by the way is a 4 Megapixels Concord 4060 AF with 6X Digital Zoom)
Now, although I am VERY PLEASED with my purchase, I did notice that Shinigami stated that the prices on the Aquarium Fish site seemed to be ridiculously high....
That was why I started my topic -- to find online sites that were geared to the smaller budget.... So I need to ask, where do you buy online that has lower prices including shipping? (Because unless you factor in the shipping along with the fish, you're not getting the actual price.) As I said before, I know buying online will be more than what you pay in local stores -- but when you live in small communities fish are hard to come by..... So knowing where to go online would benefit a lot of us!
Well, I'm going to close for now -- want to watch and enjoy all my fish for a few minutes before getting ready to go to work (UGH!!)!

To thine own self be true...

Out of curiosity, what did you get? IMO a number of fish on that site are hideously overpriced.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Shinigami 2004-08-17 17:34][/span]

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Shipping is $24.75.... No minimum order.... Like I said before, it certainly isn't as cheap as going to a local store - but it was the best deal I could find, for what I wanted.......

To thine own self be true...

Hey I checked out that site, I really like it, I think I'm going to order and ADF and a snail from them Let me know how things turn out! What's the cost for shipping?

EDIT: hehe ff cant spell

[span class="edited"][Edited by ferretfanatic 2004-08-16 20:27][/span]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

ENCOURAGING UPDATE!!!!! I was really impressed this evening... Received an email from aquariumfish.net advising that my bettas would be shipped 8/17 and received 8/18... And along with the delivery notice there was warranty information, and additional shipping information:
"IN ORDER FOR OUR FISH TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF SURVIVAL
WE PREFER THE TEMPERATURE IN YOUR AREA TO BE BETWEEN
32 AND 95 DEGREES. WE ASK THAT YOU BE AVAILABLE TO
RECEIVE YOUR PACKAGE AT THE TIME OF DELIVERY. THESE FISH
WILL NOT SURVIVE OUTSIDE IN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
IF YOU KNOW YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RECEIVE YOUR PACKAGE
ON THE ABOVE DATE, PLEASE CALL US AT 858-270-1182 SO WE
CAN RESCHEDULE YOUR SHIPMENT DATE." As my husband and I both work along with the fact that we aren't really familiar with UPS shipping schedules, I decided it would be best to contact Aquarium Fish --- choosing to reply to their email rather than calling... Much to my surprise and delight, I received a phone call from James of Aquarium Fish -- not only receiving advice on how to handle the possibility of not being available at the exact time of delivery, but also a wonderful conversation regarding bettas in general - He showed genuine concern and enthusiasm! I will have to say, this personal customer and product interest has moved this online site up the meter in my book!!!!! I will provide an additional update once my fish have arrived --- but after tonight's conversation, I'm feeling more confident that I have stumbled on a WONDERFUL source for buying fish online!!!

To thine own self be true...

Yeah, I can't find any good cichlids around me so I've been forced to buy online. I've gotten some good deals by finding people who sell what I want on aquabid and then contact them directly and they'll work with you. That is how I got my Apistogramma Nijsseni. Got 4 for $40 and that included shipping. I got 9 labidochromis perlmutts for $50 and I've seen those for $10 a piece in stores. The only time I've paid an arm and a leg for fish was when I ordered from Armke's rare fish (he ships to Canada). Got 6 F1 Pseudotropheus Saulosi for $90. Yeah, that does suck. But, they are somewhat rare and especially for a good stock that isn't inbred.

From my experience, online shopping is rarely cheap or cost effective unless what you're getting is rare or you know the person you're buying from.

RiverWonders? For one thing, they don't just specialize on plecs. In fact, their plec stock is rather limited; they're more of a group of rare fish sellers (piranhas, stingrays, rare plecs, etc). Secondly, I won't say anything about the actual quality of their fish.

It's too bad shipping costs so much, but then again, it's saving non-internet LFSes from losing a heck of a lot of business.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Shinigami 2004-08-15 23:14][/span]

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

This is an interesting topic for Canadians as well, as so far as I can find there is almost NO sites online where you can find fish in canada. LiveAquaria.com has great looking fish at decent prices, HOWEVER, despite passing over BC to deliver to Alaska, they DO NOT ship to Canada. Other sites as well dont ship to Canada, with the exception of RiverWonders.com, but they specialize in Plecos and not much else. Aquabid rarely has people on there shipping to Canada, and as was mentioned before, I also find the shipping is awfully high. No matter how nice the Betta is, I am NOT gonna pay 25 bucks to ship it here. Thats ridiculous when I can go out to a LFS and get one for about 4 dollars.
The reason those of us who have this dilemma dont get their LFS's to order fish in for us, is because most of the time they wont, or CANT get us what we want. Despite the fact that most plecos are reasonably cheap (except the fanciest types) I cant get any ordered in, except zebras and green phantoms and gold nuggets, all of which I see only from 25- 100 dollars, but here I would have to pay in excess of 200 dollars for these fish.The same with such common fish as "marble hatchetfish", "Blue Emperor or Rummynose tetras", and "Honeycomb Tatias". If only LiveAquaria shipping to canada! Alas, I doubt if anyone will open an online store that is reasonable to the US in shipping costs and also ships to Canada. If they did they would probably make a fortune.

Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Just wondering if there are any others out there like me.... Not a breeder, just enjoy fish. Very limited budget. Live in a small, rural community (although we are showing growth!) - with only 2 places to buy fish, one lfs and one Super WalMart......
So although I love browsing Aqua Bid and similar sites, either the price of the fish and/or the shipping exceeds my budget...... I've also noticed that on some sites, whereas the fish are reasonably priced, the shipping cost is a flat fee of $25.00 or more whether you order 1 or 100 fish - so it really doesn't make any sense to pay that type of shipping for a couple of fish....
Thus my question, "Can anyone suggest a site for the small hobbyist such as myself?" An individual who only plans to purchase a couple of fish and is on a tight budget....... ??????????
Thank you.

To thine own self be true...

I just ordered a Clown Plecostomus off of http://www.petsolutions.com
I got it off there cause they dont require a min of 30 dollars like liveaquaria

[span class="edited"][Edited by Bearded Frog 2004-08-14 15:13][/span]

Wow!!! That fire honey gourami is so cool looking, and it stays really small! (I like small gouramis) Too bad I'm moving this week, or I might actually get it. I have to start over with a new tank, shipping my current tank and fish would be too much. That stinks, because my angelfish is so smart and has a great personality...

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

You should try this site http://www.somethingsphishy.com/ His selection is limited but he is great to deal with. He doesn't have a min order, and his shipping is pretty cheap to.

I got the red spot BN and shipping was only like 12 bucks.

My bad. Must have skiped that line when reading his post.