This is why you don't Live Aquaria

[R_MC]

I have had 2 recent orders filled by live aquaria, the second was to replace fish that were DOA or arrived in poor condition and died within the 14 day period.

 

The second order was only to use up the account credit from the first and with just 3 small fish came to $103.  

 

With just 15 hours transit, and plans to immediately acclimate the fish upon arrival, this was the state of the blue reef chromis:

 

The fish had raised scales on both sides, missing scales on the bottom, and was not looking well.  I performed a PP dip as a hail mary, but it was not successful and the fish died 1 hour later.  I will not personally be going through live aquaria again, even with their lenient arrive alive stay alive gaurantee. 

 

Best,

Rob

 

[Lawnman]

Live Aquaria has to be one of the best places online for fish. Chromis never do well for me in shipping or in my tank for some reason. Good luck on your venture finding a better place than LA to order fish. LA is still my go to fish place online! 

[R_MC]

It's good to have varied feedback for a complete picture.  My two shipments were dismal, but I have heard that many have great luck with LA.

[teenyreef]

I've had very good luck with them too. The one time I had a problem, it was a pom pom crab missing a claw. They gave me full credit even though he lived a nice long life

 

There isn't a local fish store anywhere around my area that will guarantee a fish even five minutes after it walks out the door. 

[flatlandreefer]

I have had mixed results with the health/continued health of additions from LA.  All three of my fish (two from divers den) arrived in great condition and are still doing great.  The issues I had were from a fox coral (doesn't handle shipping well from what I have heard) and a maxima clam (ora divers den) that both arrived in tough shape and died soon after adding them.  I know most people on this forum say they have had poor luck with their clams and the fox had a small hole in the bag but still water in it.  Overall i think they are great because they take all of the risk by offering a 14 day guarantee that they really stand behind.  I will say that I don't think I will use regular LA anymore unless I can't find what I am looking for on diver's den because the value of seeing what you are going to get is well worth it and the prices aren't that much different! Overall I think their customer support makes up for any negative experiences!

[teenyreef]

I agree, I'd heard the same things about their clams. And their corals aren't really all that great compared to what's available from other sources at comparable prices. I don't think the guarantee matters nearly as much for corals.

 

I've used both LA and Divers Den and I agree, if you can find it on DD it's really worth because you know exactly what to expect. Plus they really go above and beyond in the packing for the DD fish compared to the regular ones. I didn't realize it until I ordered one fish from LA one week, and another one from DD the next. Same size fish, but the box from DD was twice and big, had four times the water, and had even more layers of bags.

[StinkyBunny]

On 2/26/2017 at 9:32 PM, flatlandreefer said:

I have had mixed results with the health/continued health of additions from LA.  All three of my fish (two from divers den) arrived in great condition and are still doing great.  The issues I had were from a fox coral (doesn't handle shipping well from what I have heard) and a maxima clam (ora divers den) that both arrived in tough shape and died soon after adding them.  I know most people on this forum say they have had poor luck with their clams and the fox had a small hole in the bag but still water in it.  Overall i think they are great because they take all of the risk by offering a 14 day guarantee that they really stand behind.  I will say that I don't think I will use regular LA anymore unless I can't find what I am looking for on diver's den because the value of seeing what you are going to get is well worth it and the prices aren't that much different! Overall I think their customer support makes up for any negative experiences!

Fox corals ship very poorly if they are not suspended upside down attached to a piece of Styrofoam like they are when they get them.

 

I've never had any luck with DD or LA, corals or fish. I think I still have a $80 credit with them, or had a credit.