on-line coral ordering

[CoryDude]

Hopefully some members can assist me. I've searched the old threads regarding liveaquaria.com and everyone seems to give them high marks. I was wondering if anyone has any specific experience with ordering SPS frags from them? Was the shipment you received similar to the description and pic listed for the specimen you ordered? Just curious about actual customer experiences, since I saw some beautiful pieces in their WYSIWYG and aquacultured sections. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and post a response for me.

[sihaya]

I've ordered from them a few times (but years ago). I was not disappointed.

[TinyTanker]

they say its one color and then it shows up another. Especially with Plates and the Xmas tree plate vs. They pay for shipping however quality is not of the strictest concern

[sihaya]

they say its one color and then it shows up another. Especially with Plates and the Xmas tree plate vs. They pay for shipping however quality is not of the strictest concern

Are you going by the pictures vs. real life? I would agree that the corals don't quite look like the pictures... but they never do when you order online. However, whenever I've ordered and they said "green" or "pink" (or whatever) the corals were that color (even if not quite as pretty as they look in the pictures, they were always generally the right color).

They are also really good about customer satisfaction (imo). Once, FedEx (or was it UPS?) failed to deliver the package in 48hrs as guaranteed and the animals died as a result. Liveaquaria sent me a new shipment free of charge even though it wasn't their fault (it was the shipping company's)... I thought that was nice of them.

[CoryDude]

Cool! No, I was mainly concerned that I would order a blue staghorn and and receive a brown specimen. Does anyone know if any of the lfs in SA can order ORA frags? I'd love to keep purchases local when possible.

[ErikH]

The ones that order from ORA can and do. :)

[lt1z28]

I have ordered several sps from LiveAquaria and all of the corals looked exactly like the picture.

[apedroza]

Also when ordering sps, fragging and shipping can cause the sps to stress out and turn brown. I have otten frags from people that look blue in their tank only to turn brown in mine. Over time they will change back under the right conditions.

[aggie4231]

I would order from their Diver Den(wysiswyg) as well as from their in house aquacultured section(includes ORA and TCN). Their in house aquacultured frags have a thirty day gurantee. Also, all these corals are held and QT'ed before being listed for sell.

[CoryDude]

Also when ordering sps, fragging and shipping can cause the sps to stress out and turn brown. I have otten frags from people that look blue in their tank only to turn brown in mine. Over time they will change back under the right conditions.

Yes, I've had that happen in the past. Had a brown monti from the lfs that turned a brilliant orange and pink under my MH lights. I love little surprises like that! It sounds like liveaquaria is worth it. I'll give it a shot and hopefully I'll be offering frags at the swaps in the near future, like the rest of you!

Livestock propogation is the only way for marine aquarists to proceed. I've been in the hobby since the mid 90's and have seen a drastic decline in the availability of certain wild caught fish, corals, and inverts. I'm just glad that unlike the rest of the world, reefers were able to see a problem developing, and took conservation actions that changed the hobby in just a few short years!