i know that it is usually desirable to buy livestock at the store but i was curious to see if it is also good to buy online when talking about clams? do they go through alot of shipping stress

dadonoflaw, I purchased a very small maxima clam from JustCoral.com and it arrived healty and did well. Because it was small (less than 2"), I did begin adding phytoplankton to my tank as I read that they need food and not just light when they are small.

I've purchased a squamosa clam from my local fish store and it has certainly done well too. It was about 4 inches when I bought it and now it is approximately 7 inches . Apparently it likes Rob's phytoplankton recipe as well.

so the liklihood of success is pretty good either way as long as the online store is good in terms of reputation because online stores have th same clams for much cheaper

True ... of course you must factor in the shipping. When I order online, I wait until I have a large enough order to offset the shipping cost. I always try to buy locally but some items are just not available at the lfs.

This is just a personal opinion but when it comes to something as delicate and expensive as a clam I don't think I could ever buy one online. Apart from the shipping stress I want to see the animal and test it's reactions, and lets face it I'm a picky &#%@ when it comes to my new charges health :)

Being a huge fan of clams, but not yet the millionare I aspire to become, I can sypathize with wanting to get more for less. Health-wise, I'm quite certain that mail order is fine for health (after all, AFAIK, that's how LFS gets the clams!), but a trip to a store with an excellent selection of clams will show that all clams of a species aren't created equal in coloring.

IMO, nothing beats looking over a pool of candidates, seeing all the beautiful varriety, and suddenly spying the "one" that for whatever reason jumps out at you.

I'm quite certain that mail order is fine for health (after all, AFAIK (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/autolink.php?id=88&script=showthread&forumid=46), that's how LFS (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2742#) gets the clams!)Not necessarily true. In my experience, mail order is a crap shoot. (FYI, I've been in the business since the late '60s) With clams you generally are buying what you see on the web site. When that picture was taken, the clam was probably newly imported and pretty healthy. You cannot be sure the day you order it that it is still healthy, You are dependant on someone else's decision to judge it and their ability to properly bag and get it to you. Then you are at the mercy of the shipper and the weather. Have you ever had to file a claim for a DOA from a supplier or the shipper??? Good luck!!!

The shippers will deny most claims due to weather. they will fight you even on their own delays in transit. Most times, in my experience, they fall back on "we don't cover live tropicals in our guarantee".

Personally, I'll gladly give the LFS a higher price for stocking live stock so I can see it and judge for myself the condition, health and color. That being said, there are some on-line suppliers with a good reputation.

Good luck.

yep, ampibious is right mail transfers are risky in any case.
most of the time they are ok, and nothing serious goes wrong, but it does happen.

if you ever talk to a LFS owner thy will tell you that there shipments rarely if ever come in 100% successful, there are always some casualties, but since they order 5 or 10 clams, if one dies, you still see 4 or 9 of them so you dont really think much of it

but dont let that you stop you from buying online, there are many very reputable companies online. just make sure they have a good arrive alive policy and that they have a reputation for following through on it

i got all my clams from Barry Neigut over at Clams Direct. Barry handpicks all his stock, inspects them, QT's them, and with the exception of a few, his site is 100% WYSIWYG, so you actually get the clam you see in the photo.

he's happy to answer your questions, and has even called to make sure the clams arrived safely.

not a commercial...just my personal experience.

so i agree...there are online vendors who do a great job.

I concur with what your saying, Greg. I've heard nothing but good things about Clams Direct. I just haven't taken the opportunity to try him, yet.

We are going to be ordering one from clams direct when we get the 100 gallon up (I gave him a gift certificate for our anniversary). I'll let ya know how it goes.

We are going to be ordering one from clams direct when we get the 100 gallon up (I gave him a gift certificate for our anniversary). I'll let ya know how it goes.
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i was looking over the clam forum and was wondering did you ever get your clam ordered? how did it do? you got any pictures? you got it from clams direct? thanks.....

A guy in my local club has a huge clam tank and has ordered a bunch from clams direct. He seems to think highly of them.

*blush* Can you believe we just bought the plumbing for that 100g this week. (Can't believe I spent $200 bucks on PVC and I still don't have the 2" or 1.5" true union valves. Ouch!)

We seem to have erected 4 other tanks instead of that one in the mean time.