Add a Carp to your Cart? Online Fish Shopping

Do You or Don’t You?

Buying fish is a tricky business - whether the fish is right in front of you at the LFS, or from an online seller. So many questions: What is the fish’s lineage? What has it been treated for in the past? What will it need to be treated for when I get it home? The LFS has somewhat of an advantage, because you can see the actual fish swim and move, and look it over for obvious parasites. But most local fish sellers (especially big box LFS) bulk purchase fish at the cheapest cost they can get them – which means the fish you get are more likely to be a “mutt” versions. The exception would be wild caught fish, which tend to have purer gene pools. But do you really want to own something ripped from the wild? That’s another discussion for another day.

Online sellers of aquarium fish can be a mix bag of aqua-nuts! For example, on eBay you have sellers who run the gamut – from beginners with a bunch of assorted fry to sell, to small business owners with reputations and carefully crafted fish or legacy lines. There are awful photos of potentially good fish, good photos of awful fish, old photos of breed stock that don’t reflect changes seen in the current stock. There are real dealers of expensive and rare fish, and then people who think their fish are expensive and rare. People mislabel the fish they are selling because they made a mistake or genuinely don’t know what they have. It’s a total free for all, and I love it. Let the buyer beware – and let the shopping begin!

You might ask, how do I do this? How do I chose? Well, a good place to start is to talk people whose fish you admire, whether in a local fish club or an online live chat board – talk to the other aqua-nuts (like me)! YouTube has a lot of fish keepers of various types of fish, and you can make a lot of good connections that way. Then start visiting the online retailers. Some only do one type of fish; others inverts, some are totally plants. Some sell wild caught animals and some are strictly domestically raised. There are also the fish & pet boards – where people post fish for sale – like eBay, AquaBid, Get Gills, Light Fish, Reddit, etc.

Learn which online sellers are East Coast and which are West. An online seller that is closer to you generally means less wear and tear on the fish when they are shipped. However, with the rise in popularity of overnight shipping, you've got FLYING fish coming your way! No slow-slog across the countryside for your fish, if you're willing to pay for that shipping. They get to be "Jet Setters", lol! Normally, I wouldn't recommend paying more for anything, but when shipping expensive animals during temperature extremes it might be worth it. You, as the consumer, can make the call on that. Generally, most of my fish ship USPS Priority Mail 2-3 day, and arrive at their destinations just fine.

So let’s say you want a real nice, healthy discus. Your local LFSs don’t have any in stock, or not ones you like. You’ve heard about some online dealers that specialize in them, from social media. First step: put away your credit cards so you don’t make any hasty, snap decisions. Next, go online. In the browser address bar, put the name of the person or company, then “+discus+fish”, and run your search (if you don’t have their web address). Check your results to make sure you don't choose a virus-infested, look-alike hacker site by accident!

On the website, look around. Favorite some fish, and write down some prices. Then continue searching online for “+discus+fish”. See what their competition is offering. And look on the fish sale boards too – no, I’m not kidding. For all the questionable things listed, you might find superior fish at a decent price. Just know if you buy a fish from a foreign or international seller, there are extra costs involved. These transactions require additional shipping costs and a trans-shipper (who will need to be paid). You may not want to go this route if you are a beginner and this is your first fish purchase.

When you have a short list of three contenders, contact the sellers. Ask questions, like:

• How recent is the picture? Is it of the exact fish I’m getting? Does it how closely does it match your current stock?

• How old is the fish I’m getting? Has it been bred before? (important for females)

• Can I buy more/less different combination of fish than your selling? Can I make substitutions? Can a specify a specific color/color range?

• What have the fish been treated for, prior to shipping?

• What class or quality are they? Pure lines are more expensive than hybrid lines, generally. For some fish, like designer guppies, it tends to be the opposite.

• Where did you get them from? Are they domestic or wild caught?

• What water parameters do they prefer?

• What sort of food does this fish require?

Keep in mind that the younger the fish, the more likely it can somewhat adapt to changes to water conditions and survive shipping.

Once you get your answers, it’s decision time! When it comes down to it, buy the fish that you feel is the best one for you – that special combination of all factors (including cost) that makes that the right fish for you. Generally, professional fish keepers running a business are pretty trustworthy, as they have a reputation to uphold. Ebay has a ratings system for their vendors, which can help guide you. But nothing is perfect, and I personally have been disappointed in some of the purchases I have made from various sources. I have even gotten sick or infested fish from sources I thought I could trust. But… I have bought a beautiful guppy/endler mix from a hobbyist at a reasonable price and have made many successful repeat and new purchases on eBay and AquaBid.

A Final Word:

Buying fish in general feels like gambling - you lay out your money, and hope you get lucky. My best advise is quarantine every incoming fish, every time. It's also rather addictive - ask any aqua-nut with MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). Aquariums (and fish) are like potato chips – one is not enough! If you're prone to gambling tendencies and hoarding pretty things, fish keeping could become a big problem for you, pretty quickly. That being said, happy fish shopping to you, wherever you decide to do it. And remember – put the credit card away after your very decisive purchase, lest other fish tempt you! Think your strong willed? Think you can resist? Just look at all the beautiful guppies on eBay – they look like colorful swimming jelly beans with fins - Gotta catch them all! Woo hoo!