# Boxlotfish.com Review.



## Overfloater

I'd like to post my recent experience with Boxlotfish.com. Initially I was skeptical due to the low prices on the site and my inability to find any reviews. I decided to bite the bullet and order 30 cardinal tetras. 

I talked to Loren who is the owner/operator of the business and he was very prompt and thorough in answering questions. 

Boxlotfish.com's price on cardinals was .87 cents each. Luckily I live in Florida and was able to use DHL ground shipping for next day delivery. Grand total, was $38.10. Running the math, that brings each fish to $1.27 delivered. Now best I can count, Loren actually shipped ~40 fish and I had only one DOA, which will bring the price per fish to under $1. Much more cost effective, especially when ordering a large number of fish, where my LFS charges $3.80 each and a discount on volume purchases will be minimal.

Anyway, the fish arrived in good shape and as I mentioned, there was only one DOA. So far they seem to be adapting well to their new home and are even eating eagerly. 

I will update this thread at some point.


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## lauraleellbp

Oh please do!

I've seriously been looking at this place due to the large # of Cardinals and Rummies I plan to stock in my 90gal, and they've been beating the pants off of every place else I've checked in terms of price, and I also have been wondering if it's too good to be true...

Anyone else with experience?


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## RenationaL

I would wait a week before celebrating.
Cardinals may need a week to show how
well they have acclimated, so you could
lose more fish over the next few days.

Franksaquarium offers a similar
same State DHL Ground service
(which essentially is next day)
and passes the saving on to his
NY State customers. of course
he does charge more per fish
than Boxlot, so I'm happy to hear
you got the discount from them.


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## fishsandwitch

I have wondered about box lot fish....mainly if they are quality fish and not junk from mass producing commercial breeding operations that produce weak fish


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## Overfloater

RenationaL said:


> I would wait a week before celebrating.


As I indicated in the OP, I will update in the coming weeks. I am simply celebrating the initial purchase. As long as I don't lose more than 10 or so, I'm still on top.










EDIT: Here is the tank they are in for anyone who is interested. Apologize for the glare.


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## Wasserpest

That tank would look awesome without the rim. Nice one! :thumbsup:


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## eyebeatbadgers

Sweet tank! What are the dimensions?


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## sfcallen

Is that a 33 gal long? ditto about taking the rim off.


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## Overfloater

Ditto on the rim. Unfortunately it's not coming off  And yes it is a 33 long. Even though it's not a fancy aquascape, I do enjoy the simplicity quite a bit. I really think this tank would appreciate a wide angle lens.


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## fishscale

Please keep this updated. I'm interested in this place


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## Overfloater

Update: The mass die off has begun. So far I have lost ~12 cardinals leaving me with 34 or so at this point. Ich came in with a vengeance which I am currently treating but several fish have another issue which seems to be the root of the deaths. See picture above. 

Unfortunately, I have lost a few of the original 7 cardinals which were in the tank. This is especially annoying because they were about 2 years old and quite large. 

We can assume the fish had these diseases when I acquired them because I haven't had any diseases in my tanks in years. What this says about Boxlotfish is up to you. 

Personally, and I'm sure most know this already, a quarantine tank is always a good idea and in this case would have been greatly beneficial.


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## Jace

ouch sorry to hear that


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## Green Leaf Aquariums

Truly sad, sorry to hear about this. I hope your treatment's halt your die -off.

Regards, Orlando


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## Church

I just wanted to chime in to say I love 33L's!! Your tank is beautiful, by the way. Sorry about the fish...


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## Overfloater

9 more cardinals down. Visible signs of Ich are scarcely to be found at this point. A few fish have the white patches and surely to be found dead in the coming days. 

The other fish in the tank, 5 tiger barbs, 2 SAE, and a male bristlenose seem unaffected by the diseases which are ravaging the cardinals.


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## Overfloater

Down to 13 of ~45 from the start. All of my original 2+ year old cardinals are dead.


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## epicfish

Ouch. So sorry to hear that!


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## lauraleellbp

Ugh!


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## lauraleellbp

How are your fish now, Overfloater?

Anyone else had any better experiences?


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## Overfloater

I am down to 12 but they seem to be in good shape and are eating very well. No signs of the white patches that have killed the others and ich is gone entirely.


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## lauraleellbp

I'm cycling my filter for my QT tank now.... would you ever order from them again?


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## macclellan

Were you testing your water throughout the process? Adding 30+ fish to a 33g tank (which probably holds around 28-29g of water) is sure to give a nasty hit of ammonia and such, which aren't going to help the immune system of any fish. ~45 tetras, 5 tiger barbs, 2 SAE and a BN pleco is way overstocked for a 33L, in my opinion. I'd be hesitant to blame this entirely on Boxlotfish.


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## Overfloater

You are entitled to your opinion Macclellan but I have to respectfully disagree. The tank may be slightly overstocked but I would seriously doubt that the cause of the mass infection and ultimately death was due to it. The fish were in a weakened state when I received them and most likely carrying both ich and the mysterious white patch disease that started killing them off immediately. 

I sent Loren a picture of a disease infected fish and he indicated that he was also having difficulties and the same problems in his cardinals. He said he lost almost a thousand cardinals because of this disease. He also said it was a very common problem for him. 

He offered to replace the fish but I declined. I would order from him again but I think buying fish mail order is always risky. Loren seems willing to accommodate any problems that may arise so I bid him confidence as a good seller.


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## macclellan

I didn't say that the mass infection was due to overstocking, I'd have assumed the fish came with them. I was suggesting it as a contributing factor - stocking levels like that surely didn't help them acclimate well or while being medicated.

That's a great tank though, and I'm sure you'll have it back to outstanding in no time. :thumbsup:


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## Overfloater

It's in good shape now. I am going to be removing the barbs and replacing them with cardinals from a LFS.


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## waterfaller1

That is sad..sorry for your losses. I will say that I have bought from Franks, and even though some may balk at an overnight shipping charge, to me it is never a problem when dealing with someone as awesome as Frank. He treats and Qt's all his fish and insures they are eating. No sickness from any of the fish I got from him. Orlando and area stores are the pits.


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## Church

A member of the forums here, milalic, sent me 25 trigonostigma hengeli, I paid NO overnight shipping costs, they arrived to me two days later, and they were ALL alive, healthy, and wonderfully packed. It's been over 3 weeks and they are all beautiful and thriving. It's obvious that milalic takes care of his fish, and knows how to safely ship them.

I would recommend him anytime. Try PM'ing him if and when you ever need any fish, to see if he has them...


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## lauraleellbp

OK I took the plunge and am testing them out, I placed my order tonight so by my calculations should have my fish by Friday or Saturday?

Here's what I ordered:

8 x Cory Schwartzi () = $10.40
15 x Cory Hastatus VS () = $6.30
15 x Otocinclus Cats Peru () = $8.55
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $25.25

These fish will go into QT for a minimum of 2 weeks. We'll see what happens. I figure $30 is a decent "test investment." If all goes well, I'll stock my entire 90gal tank from them. I need South American fish, and I figure there's no point in ordering fish from up north that I know were imported into FL from SA in the first place...


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## monkeyruler90

i can't believe i didn't find this site sooner. its amazing. but im really worried about buying fish after reading this thread. i wana get some cardinals but i don't wana risk the massive die off.

also, it sounds like the white patch might be a sign of Neon tetra disease. have you looked into it? oh and also, what were your water parameters?

my water is really hard and i always wait before i buy fish to make sure they are acclimated to my local water in the lfs.


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## waterfaller1

Aren't c. hastatus the ones that are so hard to find? And they have them for .42?


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## lauraleellbp

We'll see what it is that actually arrives... I actually would be happy with any of the dwarf cories, but since they said they have them I thought- hey why not?  

Incidentally, I emailed them about my order and they said it should ship on on Monday... I'm excited! I'm going to consider anything less than 30% QT/acclimation losses a success.

For anyone who's interested, shipping was $12 total, including a $5 box fee. So it totals out to almost exactly $1 per fish, delivered. Good deal!


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## A Hill

Looks like a good deal.

I want to try breeding Ottos in the future, this may be the best way to get a good sized group for a good price. 

Please let us know how they do!

-Andrew


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## CobraGuppy

Does anyone else notice that Banjo Cats are 0.00 dollars?


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## lauraleellbp

Definitely!

I wish they had O. cocama! Andrew, if you could get a breeding colony of these going, you'd be set for sure.


















I THINK I'm getting _*O. macrospilus*_, at least from the pic posted at BoxLotFish- what do you guys think?

*BoxLotFish photo versus PlanetCatfish*

BoxLot pic:









PlanetCatfish:









They also say that they have O. mariae (PlanetCatfish pic):


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## CobraGuppy

Otos are such cool cats.

I wonder if its possible to make a tank with a big school of them as a centerpiece. I'm just afraid they would suck on the glass on day :tongue:


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## lauraleellbp

CobraGuppy said:


> Does anyone else notice that Banjo Cats are 0.00 dollars?


LOL Order some!


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## bigstick120

For you folks in FL its a good deal even if you lose some fish. For everyone else shipping kills the deal unless you are ordering A LOT of fish. Air cargo isnt cheap.


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## JustOneMore21

I'm interested in seeing how your experience is with them, Laura! I would love to pay 42 cents for some Hastatus Cories (which I've been looking for, forever to add to my group!). I would have to pay more for shipping, but maybe I'd be close enough to convince them to ship a cheaper way....haha. It would be worth trying for their prices....if your experience goes well. I need quite a few of the fish they offer, actually.

Keep us informed, Laura!

And Overfloater, I'm sorry for your losses.  I don't think the guy should have sent out the fish, knowing he was having disease issues with them. Just my opinion though.... Your 33L looks awesome though! Love that driftwood!


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## lauraleellbp

I've been communicating with the owner a bit over email, and it sounds like he doesn't hold the fish long- he picks up mostly just what he already has orders for, so he probably didn't even realize that the Cardinals were sick before shipping out.

I agree- shipping is always a killer- both for the fish and for the wallet!


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## MedRed

I think a lot of the porblem with cardinals is the source. My LFS holds cardinals atleast 1 week before offering them for sale. They then go in a different tank from the existing stock of cardinals in case an issue would turn up. I happened to notice 4 tanks of cardinals yesterday without specifically looking for them. That means the oldest tank of them has been in the store atleast 4 months after quarantine. Even if i special order fish, I can't pick them up immediately. I have to wait atleast a week before I can claim them.


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## MedRed

lauraleellbp said:


> Definitely!
> 
> I wish they had O. cocama! Andrew, if you could get a breeding colony of these going, you'd be set for sure.


I've picked up 21 of these over the past two years.:eek5: And yes they were $$$. 

They are spread between two tanks. Every time my LFS has them I snap them up. I've bought 9 since January. I want some for my new tank but I can't put them anywhere that I will be able to net them out again. 

This little (more like big) guy is slowly making his way over to the zucchini


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## lauraleellbp

Quick update- been emailing back and forth with the owner Loren- there have been a few delays, and the fish hopefully will ship out tomorrow, so I should get them Thursday...


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## monkeyruler90

are your fish being sent out with cold packs? that mercury is rising awfully fast in florida.


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## MedRed

i keep reading about cold packs... i guess i'm lucky to be in portland, or... we're still in the 50's!


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## A Hill

Let us know how it all goes.

On aside laura I got 5 ottos today to start getting my colony growing (they can add up slowly and it won't seem like its as much money, plus getting the best from each batch at my LFS. I believe 4 are Females and one is a male. 

Hoping for the best!

-Andrew


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## Church

Laura, I'm waiting on you to tell us you got the fish and they are all healthy, so that I can immediately order me some of the same cories... so please don't hesitate to post here as soon as you get the shipment!


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## lauraleellbp

Church- I'll let you know for sure.

I haven't received word today one way or the other whether or not the fish were shipped... so I emailed again.

Andrew- good luck setting up your breeding colony! Have you checked out www.otocinclus.com? The guy that wrote the TFH Feb 08 Oto article is a good friend of mine over on TFH's forum- he loves and breeds otos and I'm sure would love to chat with ya or give you any pointers  CrazyGar is his moniker. He's a nut.

Med and Monkey- once the fish have shipped they're supposed to get here in a day or less (probably less- they're only coming from Miami and I'm 1.5 hours away...)

EDIT- just got a reply to my email "tomorrow for sure" *sigh*


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## lauraleellbp

Quick update- my fish should be here by noon tomorrow! :fish:


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## A Hill

I wonder how I could get that article...

Do you still want yours? lol.

Maybe you could copy it and email me the copy?

-Andrew


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## lauraleellbp

Actually I think I have 2 copies of that issue- I'll mail you one if you PM me your addy  

You can get it online but you have to have a subscription to TFH digital. (You can view all the TFH issues back to Feb. 2007 online if you have a subscription- IMO that's pretty cool :thumbsup: )

UPDATE- BoxLot reports that my fish went out today and should be here by noon tomorrow!


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## MedRed

lauraleellbp said:


> Quick update- my fish should be here by noon tomorrow! :fish:



awesome!


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## monkeyruler90

cant wait


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## lauraleellbp

The fish are here!

Turns out they were delivered to one of my neighbors instead  and I"ve no idea how long they might have been sitting outside in the sun... but the box wasn't steamed up when I opened it, and there were only 4 fish DOA that I counted, which isn't too bad.

Other than I for sure have C. schwartzi and O. macrospilus, I don't think I have C. hastatus (probably hasbrosus instead)- but I can't see too well to ID all the fish from the top, and they're swimming around too much to get a good count.

The fish were all came in one big styrofoam-lined box in a single bag with about 2 gallons of water. The water was brown and full of poop. I hope the brown is tannins...

I transferred the fish to a bucket and immediately added Prime to lock up the ammonia. I'm adding about 1/2 cup of tank water every 20min. Once I've doubled the amount of water in the bucket I'll start doing PWC and siphon up some of that poop from the bottom. I'm probably going to move the fish into the tank between 5-6pm, which will have given them a good 2-3 hours of acclimation. I'll try to get an accurate count and ID the pygmy species then.


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## CobraGuppy

Good luck with the fish :thumbsup:

I really wish that they sold other fishes than SA fish such as gouramis and barbs.

Offtopic question: Does anyone know any other Florida based online fish stores that sell tiger barbs...​


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## lauraleellbp

IDK many FL online stores, which is ironic, isn't it! Here's some links I've found, though I've never used any of these:

http://www.centralfloridafarms.com/aqua-life.htm

http://www.tropicalfishfind.com/WebStores.asp

http://www.ftffa.com/content/member_directory.php

www.CorysRUs.com


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## lauraleellbp

Here's some pics of the way the fish arrived. 

There were 4 DOAs, and I've lost 2 more pygmy cories since. The pygmies are really, really tiny and seem to have taken a beating- the ones that died had holes in them that I can only guess came from some of the other catfish during shipping?

I took about 3.5 hours acclimating them, and the rest of the fish seem to be doing pretty well. I also had 2 hitchhiking Apistos- one of them is looking pretty good, but the other I won't be surprised if doesn't make it- very skinny and fins are all clamped. We'll see.

Anyways here's some pics:


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## monkeyruler90

so would you recomend them?
i mean, they shipped late,
to the wrong address,
sent you the wrong fish,
and the water was dirty?

do you think the price justifies it. you get what you pay for?
i'll definitely be purchasing some more fish from this website and i'll write up a review as well.

oh and also laura, how was the custumer service? did they respond well and everything or did you have to badger them with emails?
oh and good luck with the fish


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## lauraleellbp

Actually, BoxLot had my address correct, so it was DHL that messed that up, not BoxLot's fault (they delivered to the wrong SIDE of the street even- can't tell the difference between even and odd numbers I guess! :icon_roll )

Shipping was late- but communication was good. It would have been different if I didn't work from home and had made arragements with work to take off to receive the fish, though... so that's something to take into consideration.

So far, I'd recommend them IF you live in FL and if you're buying large bulk orders and are prepared to accept 30% losses. Understand the source- these fish are fresh off the boat from SAmerica, and BoxLot just packages them up and ships them out- so no care other than whatever they receive from the holding facility. I'm not so sure I would order from them out of state unless you simply have no other source for a particular species and you want WC with all the inherent risks.

I haven't emailed yet about all the pygmy Cory losses b/c I want to wait a few days and email an update all at once. So I don't know if or what they might do about them. I'm not sure what I would want them to do, anyways.


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## lauraleellbp

So I told Loren about the pygmy cory losses and asked for store credit- he didn't bat an eye and said that's fine.

Soooo I'll be placing another order that will go into my QT tank. Not sure when, but within the next few weeks. We'll see how tetras do this time.


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## eyebeatbadgers

That's good to know. Hopefully the next batch will be a little more alive


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## monkeyruler90

thats awesome, sounds like great customer service


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## lauraleellbp

Yep, I was happy with the customer service. I must have emailed back and forth with various questions at least a dozen times, and usually a response within a few hours (if not less in the evenings)...

I'll be looking in this thread for updates on how your Cardinal order goes, Monkey :thumbsup:


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## Momotaro

No vendor reviews here on TPT. Long standing rule here, which we have gotten a little slack on lately.



Mike


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## suebe333

Lots of good info on this company,,, anyone with any newer feedback ?


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## DarioDario

suebe333 said:


> Lots of good info on this company,,, anyone with any newer feedback ?



Read's momotaro's post NO MORE VENDOR REVIEWS on TPT...touchy subject

I'd imagine this thread should be closed.


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## suebe333

whoopsies  sorry


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## tazcrash69

Good idea. Closed


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