Buying Marine Fish and Inverts: LFS vs. Online

一旦新的盐水水族馆启动并运行，fully循环, and ready to receive fish and/or invertebrates, the hobbyist has the choice of buying livestock from a local fish store (LFS) or from various online sources. Both options are perfectly viable, but one choice or the other may be a better fit for you, depending on a variety of factors.

Let’s look at some of the advantages and limitations of each livestock source to give you a sense of what to expect when shopping either venue and to help streamline your decision-making process.

LFS advantages

When buying specimens from your LFS, you can always see what you’re getting before making a commitment. You’ll know exactly how large the specimen is, and there’ll be no surprises when it comes to its color and pattern. This last point might be important when buying a species known to exhibit considerable color/pattern variability, such as the coral beauty angelfish.

您还可以给标本A仔细的第一手评估对于疾病，伤害或营养不良的身体或行为迹象，您将有机会在那里的同时喂养标本，以确保其饮食适当。

在LFS上购物的另一个优点是，这样做可以使您与经销商建立个人一对一的关系，当您需要一些专家建议或“手持持有”时，这可能会非常有益“解决问题或需要特殊住宿时，例如在购买购买时将所需的标本搁置。

LFS限制

Shopping your LFS has its limitations, as well. Among them:

• 除非下订单，否则您只能使用销售罐中的东西，这可能使得在不替换的情况下很难填写该专门的库存清单。
• 您承受销售压力，并可能更容易进行冲动购买。
• You’re limited to shopping during store hours, which may or may not coincide with your schedule.

网络的优势

When shopping online, you have access to a world of livestock vendors right at your fingertips, which is especially helpful to hobbyists who may not live in close proximity to a brick-and-mortar saltwater aquarium store. That means if one site doesn’t have a species you’re after, you can always try another, making it easier to stick with a specialized stocking plan without making substitutions—for example, if you’re trying to create a particular marine biotope.

Also, since you’re shopping via computer from the comfort of home, there’s no salesperson looking over your shoulder and less self-imposed pressure to make a purchase. (“I’ve come all this way, so I should probably buy something!”) What’s more, there are no store hours to worry about, so you can shop whenever it’s convenient for you.

Online limitations

Potential drawbacks to buying specimens online include:

• • You can’t always see exactly what you’re getting (with the exception of “wysiwyg” sites), which means you can’t determine the exact size, color, and pattern of the specimen; assess its health status; or observe it feeding.
  • You have the added step and expense of coordinating shipping and ensuring someone is present to receive the shipment when it arrives.
  • You don’t develop a personal, mutually beneficial relationship with a dealer.

How do you prefer to shop for livestock?

你是一个brick-and-mortar or online buyer? A little of both? Do you have any other livestock-shopping pros and cons to add to what we’ve listed here? If so, feel free to share them with your fellow salties in the comment section below.