Best places to purchase corals online?

[tmn_3]

I would like to buy some corals ranging from SPS to softies that I can't find here locally at my LFS. I have never ordered corals online and I'm a little nervous about doing so. My concerns are that I am not going to get what I thinks is pictured and the stress that the shipping will put on the corals. What online stores have you guys found that provide a good selection of corals that are good deal? I'm a college student and can't afford to drop $30 on one coral. Some sites that I have found are spikescorals.com and mrcoral.com. Some ebay stores that look promising are goldenbasket, lareefs, reef_pets, and tidalgardens. Have you guys heard anything about these online stores? Any other sites that you have found good deals on?

 

Thanks for your advice.

[clownfish14]

mr.coral has a 10 dollar section oops sorry i didnt see that you already had that there um depending on your location there are some online stores such as this one http://stewartsfragfarm.com/ they have a 10 to 20 dollar section and there corals are sweet ive gotton quite a bit from them

[tmn_3]

mr.coral has a 10 dollar section oops sorry i didnt see that you already had that there um depending on your location there are some online stores such as this one http://stewartsfragfarm.com/ they have a 10 to 20 dollar section and there corals are sweet ive gotton quite a bit from them

 

Thanks, that's a good site. Does anyone else know of any good sites?

[Zo0k365]

nanoreef sponsors

[clownfish14]

+1 ^^^^

[justinT]

I have personally ordered a bit from vividaquariums...their pictures are good representations of their corals, and their prices are decent.

[MariTheNube]

Coral heaven is great, bought some off both their eBay store and their regular website. Everything is wyswyg and their free next day shipping starts at 125 which is lower than most sites. I bought a clam, zoas and acans and everything looks great! Plus they are a sponsor here.

[fearofablackmetalplanet]

i've bought stuff from golden basket and reefpets off ebay before and couldn't have been happier. both packages made it to my home via fedex by 8:30 am the morning after shipment, much better than many vendors who take 'til lunch time or so to come through. they are also truly wysiwyg frags, whereas some ebayers will list a single polyp of zoas/acans/whatever for sale as "wysiwyg" but an entire colony is pictured instead. this is something to watch out for. coral morphologic has some really unique zoas and rics at pretty good prices and some of the best customer service.

[tmn_3]

i've bought stuff from golden basket and reefpets off ebay before and couldn't have been happier. both packages made it to my home via fedex by 8:30 am the morning after shipment, much better than many vendors who take 'til lunch time or so to come through. they are also truly wysiwyg frags, whereas some ebayers will list a single polyp of zoas/acans/whatever for sale as "wysiwyg" but an entire colony is pictured instead. this is something to watch out for. coral morphologic has some really unique zoas and rics at pretty good prices and some of the best customer service.

 

Thanks for the info. I have really been thinking about ordering from goldenbasket and reefpets. They have such a really good selection and cheap prices. I'm glad that you had a good experience with them because that makes me feel better. The only thing that I don't like about them is they add on to the shipping for each additional coral that you purchase. I think this is a JOKE and just a way for them to get some more money from you. Goldenbasket adds $3 for each additional coral and reefpets $2. Some ebay sellers let you add unlimited corals to your order without additional charges. But in their defense.....at those prices, whats a extra few dollars. It's still a good deal.

 

Coral heaven is great, bought some off both their eBay store and their regular website. Everything is wyswyg and their free next day shipping starts at 125 which is lower than most sites. I bought a clam, zoas and acans and everything looks great! Plus they are a sponsor here.

 

Thanks for the type. I like their ebay store!! Good selection and and cheap prices.

 

I have personally ordered a bit from vividaquariums...their pictures are good representations of their corals, and their prices are decent.

 

Wow, they have a huge, nice selection of corals. Most of them I can't afford but still really nice store. Thanks for the information.

[joeknowsreefs]

Beware of sites that display photos of their corals with actinic lighting only. This is usually identifiable by the heavy blue hue in the picture. I've seen hundreds of corals, especially acros, that looking STUNNING under actinic lights and pictures, but when under real daylight lighting they're just a brown stick.

 

I've sold to other hobbyists in the area for so long, that I finally decided to put up a site to branch out, and who knows...maybe it will end up being a full time gig

 

Luckilly someone just turned me on to this forum which is really a motherload. Feel free to PM me and I can point some good sites out to you.

 

Happy Reefing!!!

[clownfish14]

would you mind posting those sites here so everyone can see which ones they are? dont wory the mods dont get mad about posting links to other sites because there awosome. lol i know im a suck up lol

[fearofablackmetalplanet]

the ebay listings for reefpets list postage rates for shipping additional corals but i recently ordered about 9 or ten frags from them and shipping was the same as shown w/the buy it now price for each individual frag. still wouldn't hurt to email them just to clarify their shipping policies but they didn't charge me extra for shipping several items

[joeknowsreefs]

would you mind posting those sites here so everyone can see which ones they are? dont wory the mods dont get mad about posting links to other sites because there awosome. lol i know im a suck up lol

 

Well, I must say JoeKnowsReefs is a fine place! With a great sale!!

 

Also Extreme Corals

 

And Unique Corals

 

Oh, and Reef Empire

[cptbjorn]

Beware of sites that display photos of their corals with actinic lighting only.

 

+1

 

there's a couple places i've seen where the corals look good but if you look at the eggcrate they are sitting on it is neon blue from lighting and post processing.

[Lawnman]

Well, I must say JoeKnowsReefs is a fine place! With a great sale!!

 

Also Extreme Corals

 

And Unique Corals

 

Oh, and Reef Empire

Nothing like pitching your own site and not paying for a sponsorship.

[joeknowsreefs]

Nothing like pitching your own site and not paying for a sponsorship.

 

Actually I'm awaiting a response from a mod on sponsorship, but thank you for such a welcoming spirit

[Vyker]

Actually I'm awaiting a response from a mod on sponsorship, but thank you for such a welcoming spirit

 

Lolz, nice reply.

 

Unfortunately, you might have a biased opinion on how great your store is

 

Having a sponsor thread will enable the users here to recommend your store. Looking forward to seeing it. Until then it probably isn't fair to recommend your own store.

[joeknowsreefs]

Lolz, nice reply.

 

Unfortunately, you might have a biased opinion on how great your store is

 

Having a sponsor thread will enable the users here to recommend your store. Looking forward to seeing it. Until then it probably isn't fair to recommend your own store.

I hope someone responds...it's been 2 days now.

 

In all serious, the other sites I recommended are great vendors with great customer service. Also check out Steel City Corals

 

Great people over there!

[Chrome239]

Just received a shipment of 6 zoa frags from Reef_pets yesterday. I was charged the extra $2.00 per frag. ($30 for the first, total of $40) they are shipped great though. Sealed box, sealed styrofoam cooler inside, heat pack inside of that, packing peanuts. Oh and every bag is individually heat sealed. No chance of leaks. Too bad FedEx shipped them in the back of the truck with 30 degree temps. (the box was clearly marked temp sensitive) Each bag had a temp of about 60 degrees when i opened them. 36 hours later and only 3 polyps on 1 of the frags has opened.

[jeff@zina.com]

I would like to buy some corals ranging from SPS to softies that I can't find here locally at my LFS.

 

The best palce for these is other local reefers and especially frag swaps, if there are any in your area. In addition to the other sites listed, I like Reefs2Go and their coral specials. They're especially good if you are a member of a local group they sponsor.

 

Jeff

[tmn_3]

Just received a shipment of 6 zoa frags from Reef_pets yesterday. I was charged the extra $2.00 per frag. ($30 for the first, total of $40) they are shipped great though. Sealed box, sealed styrofoam cooler inside, heat pack inside of that, packing peanuts. Oh and every bag is individually heat sealed. No chance of leaks. Too bad FedEx shipped them in the back of the truck with 30 degree temps. (the box was clearly marked temp sensitive) Each bag had a temp of about 60 degrees when i opened them. 36 hours later and only 3 polyps on 1 of the frags has opened.

 

This is one of my biggest concerns!!! I'm sorry to hear about how FedEx mishandled your order. How are they doing now? I live in Louisville, KY where it is currently 17 degrees. Has anyone else had problems with the weather while shipping corals or any other non-weather related problems?

 

 

The best palce for these is other local reefers and especially frag swaps, if there are any in your area. In addition to the other sites listed, I like Reefs2Go and their coral specials. They're especially good if you are a member of a local group they sponsor.

 

Jeff

 

Thanks for the link to there website. They do have some good specials and the free shipping over $100 is a good deal.

[thevidon]

I had great luck with Steel City corals. His frag sizes are pretty large, and I didn't have any DOA.

[joe1958]

Sealife Inc. has been around since the great barrier reef has. Ken has his own LR beds that he started over 10 years ago. He's limited to the stuff he can dive for and collect in the Keys has some Really nice rics. and zoos.

Great customer service and shipping . Almost always throws in an extra ric or 2....and has nice selection of inverts....