LFS Blues

[Piratefish]

It sure seem like you guys and gals have good LFS in your areas. I m in Nor Cal and have 2 stores close by. The problem is that their coral selection is not very good and even the fish selection is just okay. Maybe I am picky, but the coral is bland looking and not colorful.

Being new at this I am really nervious at ordering online. Do most of you buy online?

My LFS does have a blue/green ducan (spelling?) but its $170.

 

[reeffreak]

We only have one LFS in town and it's not very good either.I mainly use the Diver's Den section at Live Aquaria for the majority of my online purchases.

Depending on the number of heads on the Duncans will depend if those are a good price or not.Australian corals are expensive so Duncans are costly.

 

[Piratefish]

Its got about 10 to 15 heads and has been there for several weeks. I have never seen it open, it is under mh lites.

BTW reeffreak thanks for the info on the Tek Elites I ordered them yesterday!

 

[Bifferwine]

Up until last week, we only had one LFS in Tucson as well. I did most of my shopping online, as did other Tucson residents, I gather.

Duncans generally go for $10 a head, so that sounds like a fair price for a colony that size -- especially if it has nice colors.

Ask them if they will frag off one head for you. The thing is, duncans grow relatively quickly, especially if you feed them. If you start with one head, it can start multiplying very quickly.

 

[reeffreak]

Congrats on lights.I saw your bulb choices on another thread.Your corals are really going to ''pop''.

That sounds about right for those duncans.

 

[OhNoNemo]

I just lost my LFS a month ago,nice family run place for 30+ years:-(,so i feel your pain...There is another,but its nothing like the one

 

[Piratefish]

Yeah i was just reading about the duncans, they seem very hardy. The lfs said they may frag them cause they havent sold. SO they might be my first coral!!!
Will they eat mysis?

 

[BL1]

I do almost all of my coral shopping online. There are some really good companies out there with some great looking corals

 

[Bifferwine]

Oh yeah! They will eat whatever you put in their mouths. They are quite hardy. They're a great coral to start with -- you can actually see them grow and develop in your tank. I think slow-growing corals are not good to recommend to people new to the hobby. When you see things growing and reproducing, you are getting affirmation that you are doing something right!

 

[Piratefish]

What should I expect If I order a coral from FL and its shipped to CA. How is it packaged? I have had some BAD experiences with Fed Ex.

 

[Bifferwine]

They are sent overnight Fedex or UPS. They are packed and shipped in water, usually in a styrofoam cooler with a little heating pad to keep the water warm. Make sure you have it sent to an address where someone can sign for it -- usually they will not leave corals on your doorstep if you're not home. That's why I always use my work address.

I've ordered lots of stuff online, and only ever had one bad experience. Where FedEx "lost" my order of over $500 of corals. They lost it for nearly four days!!! Amazingly, only one thing in the shipment died in transit.

 

[BL1]

depends who you order from, and what kind of shipping you pay for. All the places I've ordered from package their corals in styrofoam containers with either a heat or ice pack depending on the weather. And most ship 2 day standard with overnight as an option. I've never had a coral arrive to me dead or even looking sickly

 

[Piratefish]

Sweet I just called the Lfs and they are going to frag it tomorrow. What is the danger to the coral and should I wait a few days before getting it?

 

[Ulta]

If you want to make sure its healthy and its not going to perish due to bad frag techniques wait a few weeks, if your not too concerned about it you can let it heal in ur tank.

And when your shopping online, definitely check out the company's shipping policies and guarantees. Also do a quick search in the vendor evaluation forum on here most of them out there have some feedback.

 

[reeffreak]

It's a branching LPS coral.There isn't a healing time because none of the flesh is cut if they do it properly.

Just my 2 cents....

Live Aquaria is the best online out of the dozen or so I used.Your livestock is shipped overnight or priority overnight(before 10;30am).You don't have to sign for it and if something dies is a simple phone call.No pictures of dead bodies,no questions,simple refund back to your credit card and none of that bs store credit some other places uses.

 

[Piratefish]

So this leads me into another Q. I checked out the vendor forum and saw some pics from someone that bought some coral and they were floating them. Is this the prefered method? Do they need dipping in Lugols (spelling?) Or should they be dripped? I don't have a QT... yet:mrgreen:

 

[BL1]

Thats all personal preference. Everyone does something different, I used to drip acclimate my corals but, now I just put them right in my tank when I get them home.