Anyone order frags/corals on-line and have them shipped?

CMOS

Reefing newb
Howdy All,

As a noob I just recently noticed a bunch of web sites that sell corals and frags on line. Have any of you ordered from places like this, and if so, how well do the animals ship and what, in general, has been your experience with places like this?

Thanks for any and all replies.

CMOS
 
I've not ordered any livestock online.I generally perfer to see and hand pick my own stuff.That way I know exactly what I'm getting.Which is hard to do from a picture posted on a web site.The price is usually going to work out to be the same either way once you figure in shipping cost.
Thats not to say I wont order livestock off the web at some point though.
 
I also have never purchased a frag online of any coral, only a cleanup crew once from liveaquaria (which is a good site BTW)
You never know what kind of photoshopping was done, also you can't see the whole frag from the pic. Kinda like turning the ugly side of your Christmas tree to the wall, you know? The other side of the frag could have signs of disease or bleaching...
Anyway, I'd stay away from it unless buying online is your only option. Shipping charges are insane anyway!
 
they fill the dead space in the box with empty bags full of air and they put heat or cold packs in them depending on what the temp is out side. they are all double or trippled bagged.
 
they use a styrofoam box and heat packs to keep it warm, and liveaquaria uses like 6 or seven bags, they put the animal in one with a ton of air, then use two more bags, then use two more bags on top of that.
 
I have never bought any corals from those sites but I have bought and traded with other reefers through the mail, and sent countless corals through the mail. Corals are alot hardier than you might think. Out of all the corals I have shipped I lost two and thats only because the bags poped from being handled to roughly. other than that all have done great.


To ship you double or better yet triple bag them. Put them in a styrofoam box or cardboard box lined with styrofoam fille in empty spots with foam penuts bubbles or papper. If it's cold out add a heat pack if hot add a cold pack if spring or fall and nice weather add nothing.

Check this link out. These are some I saved even after being in a dry tank and in the freezing cold for about 7 to 8 hours.https://www.livingreefs.com/forums/off-topic-forum/16367-omg-i-think-the-impossible-happened-to-these-zoas-zoas-are-tougher-than-you-think.html
 
One time I shipped 4 purple people eater to NJ. They got delayed in the mail and took 4 days to get there! When the guy got them he wrote and said as soon as he added them to the tank they opened and were good.

Not all experiences are that good though. Some corals are NOT good shippers. You just have to learn which ones are.
 
That's a good point. I've had cleaner crews, mushrooms and zoanthids shipped to me without water, only wrapped in a damp paper towel, and they did fine.
 
Thanks for the replies all. I'll be ready for some corals in the next couple of weeks. Nice to know I have some more options other than a LFS.

Do any of you specifically recommend a certain web site over another?


CMOS
 
From what I've heard,Liveaquaria.com is good.
Just stay away from saltwaterfish.com.Their guarantee is crap.
 
I ordered 2 zoa frag packs from http://altisreef.com/ when I first started getting corals. It is a great site for newbies. I called and talked to them and they gave me different zoas in both packs. I received nice colorful zoa frags that have since covered my rocks.
 
Good advice from all. I'll give them a try in the next week or so. It's time to get this reef going. :bounce:

Oh, how do y'all attach small frags to the reef structure?

I thought I read somewhere that there is some type of adhesive...

CMOS
 
You can also just stick the plug into a hole in the rock,or a crack between 2 different rocks.
Any of those methods works well.
 
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