[Beasts]

I was going to post this on the related Sticky thread but noticed 2 problems. One is that there haven't been any posts on there since 2015 and the other is that folks are asked not to offer opinions, especially negative ones on the thread.
I am looking for a good online source of fish, at this time particularly pearl gouramis, Hoplosternum thoracatum, and Farlowellas. All of these fish are available on azgardens.com but they are rather pricey and their minimum quantities for certain species are rather large even for someone with a large aquarium especially since mine is already fairly well stocked. I don't need or want 6 Hoplos as an example.
I'm not looking for anything nasty, just have you dealt with them and, if so, what was your honest opinion and why. All I have at this point is a nice looking website and a voice on the telephone. Before I spend a couple hundred dollars with them I need more and it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy less the first time and more later and pay for shipping twice.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Beasts

 

[DutchMuch]

If you read my Invert (best place to buy) article i made on here, azgardens is the worst place on the planet to buy Anything from, weather its plants or materials, period. (apologies if this is the comment that violates what u said about saying nasty things)

As for other places, they stand a chance, personally i order all my fish from AquaticAarts, i have dealt with them many times now, there shipping is Top quality, insulated as it gets. I dont order shrimp or inverts from here because they Import, and that is something that when buying inverts generally u dont want to see due to different reasons. Customer service wise, have never experienced customer service as good as this in the hobby compared to other places i have ordered from. So on so forth, overall rating is a 9/10 for them imo. So i definetly recommend them.

For specifically inverts i recommend you read this here; https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com.../142227-where-best-place-buy-shrimp-lets.html (this applies to snails and other inverts on their sites, including fish on a few of them. Which i highly recommend)

I hope this helped a little bit, if not i apologies

You can also never go wrong with ordering from other forum members on here or ukaps, maybe even barrreport

Oh and p.s. another good site to order from is aquabid

 

[mistergreen]

You can google and read reviews for the fish site.
The 2 places I buy from are aquabid.com and wetspottropicalfish.com
I'd wait till spring to buy fish. A big winter storm can stop shipping for a day and your fish would be dead. Hundreds wasted.

 

[shrimpgal]

Please do not buy from Arizona aquatic gardens you will be sorry -i was taken for 94.00 google their reviews bad bad bad

 

[hoppycalif]

Buying plants on line works very well, in my experience, even though the quality of packaging and the size of the plants varies with different vendors. But, buying fish online will always be questionable, unless you accidentally find a very good vendor quickly. Fish just have a much shorter life expectancy in a sealed up package than plants have. And temperature changes are much harder on fish than on plants. I would gladly drive 120 miles each way rather than buy fish on line, no matter who the vendor is.

 

[Dude]

I've only ordered shrimp and moss balls from Aquatic Arts, but they certainly lived up to their reputation of good service.

 

[Beasts]

Hoppy,
I definitely agree except that it seems I prefer unpopular fish and, even though I have gone to the most impressive fish only store within 200 miles, I have been unable to find many of the fish I am interested in. And to drive all that distance only to find that they only have half of the species I'm looking for is real frustrating. Perhaps I am being picky but I am patient. Some of my choices:
Hoplosternum thoracatum
Farlowella acus
Marble veil angel fish
pearl gouramis
Festivums
azgardens seems to have most of the fish I am looking for but something just didn't feel right when I tried to contact them and the responses I have received from my post would suggest that my gut has served me well.
Beasts

 

[Beasts]

I visited Aquatic Arts and they didn't have even one of the species I was looking for. Hopefully, after their planned expansion, their inventory will be better.

 

[DutchMuch]

I visited Aquatic Arts and they didn't have even one of the species I was looking for. Hopefully, after their planned expansion, their inventory will be better.

having personally know the owner and knowing his business, just email him and he'll give you a custom order.

 

[safina]

I have personally bought from AZ Gardens and had to go through dispute on Paypal to get money back.
I will abstain from details; but, have no problem adding I find this business one of the worst for ordering fish on the net. Very shady enterprise with an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau.

I buy a lot of fish online because I buy exclusively wild fish which are not readily available locally.
Some of the best with packaging, customer service, and quality of product are Aquatic Clarity and Wetspot. This would be two vendors that carry an overall diverse selection of fish.
For specialty items, I have a few others I buy from, but they are not vendors who carry what you are looking for.

 

[Michael]

I was happy with my one order from Rachael O'Leary at https://msjinkzd.com/

 

[tunamanphd]

I breed sell and ship Fish and I'm also a plant dealer . 100% Customer satisfaction is very important to me. I ship everything L.A.G and have very few issues with anything .
My fish are only locally bred . I do not import fish for resell. Not that its wrong its just Im a small business w/o a lot of space so I just deal with what I breed

 

[barongan]

Before buying should read the review first. Now many scams online

 

[MJBrennan]

Living in Wyoming, online is about the only way to go and weather conditions a real issue. I've had great experiences with Wet Spot Tropical Fish (out of Portland, OR). They won't ship if they are concerned about winter cold, and every shipment I've gotten has been immaculately packaged - like a Christmas present - which I think reflects their approach to fish keeping and retailing. Very good experiences with https://msjinkzd.com and Aquatic Arts as well. Hope this is helpful.

 

[dwalstad]

The Raleigh Aquarium Society has made big club orders for years from Wet Spot (Portland OR). I haven't heard any complaints.