[Jeremy0322]

So, i called one of my LFS's today to see if they had snails and crabs and stuff of that nature in, which to my surprise they did(they dont carry much). So, i asked what the price was, and her answer almost made me cry. For a small snail it was $6.50, for a large snail it was $7.50, and the crabs were about the same. I am assuming that i will need around 7 of each for my 20 long that is having algae overload, and with the $2.00 price tag that online has on the exact same stuff I think I am going to go in that direction. When i will be getting around 7 it will be at least 45 dollars at the LFS and only 15 online, meaning that i save the shipping right there. What i am really worried about it the weather right now. If they are still shipping stuff right now I am assuming it is still safe to do, plus i can get the clown and blenny that I am looking for and even with the shipping spend less.

I guess what I am trying to get at is is this a good idea? I am sure that as soon as they hit the porch they will be in the warm house, and with them being in a bag for a day or two already i dont think another hour or two will hurt. I just wont be able to get them in the tank because I will be at school so someone else will have to bring them in the house and it will have to wait. Is this that bad of an idea, i would feel bad killing 10-12 living things because I am cheap, but well...i really dont have the money to blow at the LFS right now.

[e_baer]

I would get stuff from online. No way would I ever pay that much for crabs and whatnot. www.sealifeflorida.com has great shipping prices.

[stacef]

I ordered an order of different things, feathers, and nudibranch from Bluezooaquatics.com and was very impressed. But one thing you do need to consider...Shipping is on an average of $30.. plus say.. $28 (14 x snails/hermits) that's 58.. Ok well I just did the math, wow I need another course of basic math..it's cheaper to order online!! hahaha.

But I highly suggest Blue zoo. Sorry for the story book.

[dfurbee]

Just make sure you are home when they are delivered. It will probably be lethal for them if you leave them outside.

[Jeremy0322]

I would make sure that someone would be there to bring them in. I just dont know if i can get them out of the bags the second they get in the door, they may sit in the warm house in the bags for up to 2 hours, but like i said, i do not think that would kill them given the circumstances.

As for e_baer, i really did not want to pay the LFS store, that is just crazy. The only problem with sealifeflorida is they are kinda skimpy on the fish selection. I was kind of interested in getting a baby lawnmower blenny and an ocellaris clown fish(valentines day gifts from the girlfriend) and when i looked I was not able to find either. And i have not checked BlueZoo yet, that is where I am going now.

[Jeremy0322]

Just checked blue zoo and they look really promising. The selection is not as awesome as live aquaria.com, but they are a tiny bit cheaper and have everything that i need. One random question though, should i be getting turbo snails or astrae snails, and how many of them for a 20long. I am pretty sure that I should also be getting blue leg hermit crabs, but that may be wrong aswell. I have 2 of those right now, but they really are not accomplishing anything. And i have not seen the one in a few days, but they are small and hide alot.

[stacef]

Just a hint,
I have had bad luck with the white/black legged ones. Only bad luck with my feather duster, but just a warning if you plan on having something similar to a feather in the future. It wasn't just one bothering it, but several at different times. I would get a couple of both turbo and astrea.

[e_baer]

Originally Posted by Jeremy0322

I would make sure that someone would be there to bring them in. I just dont know if i can get them out of the bags the second they get in the door, they may sit in the warm house in the bags for up to 2 hours, but like i said, i do not think that would kill them given the circumstances.

As for e_baer, i really did not want to pay the LFS store, that is just crazy. The only problem with sealifeflorida is they are kinda skimpy on the fish selection. I was kind of interested in getting a baby lawnmower blenny and an ocellaris clown fish(valentines day gifts from the girlfriend) and when i looked I was not able to find either. And i have not checked BlueZoo yet, that is where I am going now.

Ken, the guy form sealife is located down in Forida. The pickings are not best right now at this time of year, but in june-august time they have MANY fish, corals, inverts. And every summer they always get some new really neat looking critter. Last summer I think it was some bizarre type of shrimp and an octupus.

[thelastmucci]

Well I got crickets the other day from a pet store...now I brought them to my parents house then later that night brought them home...but I made a little sidetrip to the Casino...I was probably in there for a solid 3 hours and while they weren't the most active crix I"ve ever seen they did survive. I then went home and proceeded to feed them to the geckos but the lesson here is if someone is home I think you should be fine with leaving them in the bag...like you said if they've been traveling cross country for a day or two whats another hour or two.

[e_baer]

Originally Posted by e_baer

Ken, the guy form sealife is located down in Forida. The pickings are not best right now at this time of year, but in june-august time they have MANY fish, corals, inverts. And every summer they always get some new really neat looking critter. Last summer I think it was some bizarre type of shrimp and an octupus.

Sorry, I forgot to mention he also does 2-3 day priority mail for 12$ or so.

[Jeremy0322]

I would pay the extra money for the overnight, its better for the fish and other guys. The other thing that hit me is probably the biggest flaw in my plan. I will be adding around 10 things that crap in my water, and that brings up the problem of bioload. I will be going from 1 clown and 2 crabs to 2 clowns, a blenny, 7-8 snails and just as many Hermits. What is that going to do to the tank. I have a skimmer rated at 100 gallons, 25 lbs of live rock and around 27-28 lbs of Live sand. Plus right now I am using a power filter with Phosphate Sponge to make an attempt at killing some of this hair algae. I am thinking that I may need to hold off on the other clown for a week or two, and then just grab him at an LFS.

[Jeremy0322]

So i was price comparing last night and i think that BlueZoo will be my best guess. I just hope that I am not missing any small sites out there that may be better. If anyone has a favorite site to order from let me know, maybe i do not know of it. Here is what i have..

The Sea Farm
ReefTopia
eTropics
LiveAquaria
SaltwaterFish
Sea Life Inc
BlueZoo
Fish
MarineDreams
MarineDepotLive
VividAquariums
ORA
US Marine Systems

Those are all .com's, but is there any other ones out there.

[thelastmucci]

that's a great list....very useful for people like me who haven't gotten tanks yet and want to look at prices...I think I may have a few extra to add but I'll PM them to you when I get a spare minute..right now I have some homework (reports) to do before monday.

[Jeremy0322]

No one else has a favorite site???

[thelastmucci]

Welcome to International Marine Fish - Premium Live Rock
Premium Aquatics Livestock
Saltwater fish, seahorses, corals, inverts, live rock, reef, marine life — Marine Depot Live
SharkysReef.com
Zoanuts
Marine Aquarium - Live Rock - Corals - Tonga - Fiji - Vanuatu - Marshall Islands
US Marine Systems - Online Store

Heres my list...I hope it helps but it looks like you got your bases covered...I'm actually probably going to steal some of your sites...also if you go to nanoreef.com and look under their sponsers you could find some more..I don't have all of those bookmarked.

[Fishhead Junkie]

what kind of snail costs $7? jesus....thats nuts. you people must live in some real upidy locations, snails are like 10 for $10..now nazsarius snails are like 4 for $10 but still, i hope those $7 snails are as big as a baseball for that price.

steve

[thelastmucci]

Hey Jeremy hate to bother you again..but would you mind PMing me the URL's to the sites you listed above....I"m like you and would like to know all my options before purchasing. BTW thanks for the poker link...I"ll probably head their when I get some $ together. I'll defanitely put your name down as a refferel.

[Fragmadness]

Ditto to sealifeflorida I have purchased from there amny times and Im very happy!!

[e_baer]

www.sealifeflorida.com will even substitute certain things.

eg:

I emailed them and asked if they could specially pick me some shoal grass, but due to local picking laws they were not, but he offered to get me some turtle grass.

He is a very nice guy and is doing good things to the environment!