LiveAquaria Reviews 

78
TrustScore 2 out of 5

2.1

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Rated 2 out of 5 stars

7/18/2026 I’ve been ordering from Live Aquaria since the Old Foster & Smith days. In the last year they have gone from 5 stars down to 1. Delays in shipping, poor specimens and poor customer servic... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

If there were negative stars that is what i would give this horrible company. Placed an order, everything arrived dead. They only gave me partial store credit. I placed another order with the store cr... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I ordered 200 dollars worth of stuff from them before the went dark, bankrupt, whatever happened. I was never credited or refunded when they came back online and they have refused to even acknowledge... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

One shipment arrived a day late (ups screwed up) with dead specimens. Their guarantee claim process is weird. I sent in required photos, they emailed back to ask for clearer photos 3 days after t... See more

Company details

  1. Aquaculture farm

Written by the company

LiveAquaria is the largest online shop for all of your fish needs. From sustainably raised freshwater and saltwater fish, plants, invertebrates, corals, and reef rock to premium aquarium supplies, food, and equipment. Shop today and get free shipping o...


Contact info

2.1

Poor

TrustScore 2 out of 5

78 reviews

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2.1

All reviews

(78)

13 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

This is terrible

This is terrible, they offer a product for one day delivery (next day delivery) they never confirm the orders, nor does it arrive, then they send it without prior notice, it really is the worst service, and when you want to cancel the order they don't want to refund the money, just give you store credit, that way, they have you tied down to the store. And the last 4 orders I’ve received, the packaging is an absolute mess

27 January 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Dead fish, bad guarantee

I ordered several killifish; 6 rainbow Boesmani, 2 angelfish, and a dozen cardinal tetras. They failed to send a shipping email, which I was told to expect. It's getting cold, so I'd like to have a rough idea when they are shipped. Luckily, I was home. Angelfish were canceled-no big deal. Tetra bag leaked in box, but they were alive-we'll see. All 6 Boesmani were dead. I was refunded $75 in store credit. Between the $30 shipping and $10 box charge, that leaves $35 in credit to a company I no longer trust to send me live fish. If they send you dead fish, they should replace them, and cover shipping.

7 December 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I ordered 10 blue rams

I ordered 10 blue rams, they sent me 10 gold rams. Not what I ordered, but okay I'll keep them. Acclaimed them to my tank with just a few catfish in it. Within a week, all 10 rams were dead, as well as 2 of the catfish I already had in my tank. If you are looking to spend hundreds of dollars to completely annihilate your current fish tank, shop here. You tank will crash in no time!

20 October 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Ordered abunch of different tetras

Ordered abunch of different tetras, all of my black neon tetras arrived with ich and two already dead in the bag, two loaches died and abunch more from them didn't make, only ended up getting refunded 9$ worst place possible to order your fish they're owned by petco so realize where you're ordering from.

4 October 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Free ICK with every order of dead fish or bag of water

let me start off with saying I've been breeding fish for years and and know what I'm doing.
I ordered 10 Panda Corys 6 Aldofo's Corys 5 Tiger Barbs and 6 Cherry Barbs. The order was split into 2 shipments for whatever rason. The first order shipped then a few hours later I got an email that the second order was delayed due to Covid and would be shipped once 75%of my order was available keep in mind i had already been charged at this poing. I received the order of 10 Panda Corys, after drip acclimating them for 4 ours I placed them in a completely cycled quarantine tank with no other fish and immediately noticed they all had ICK very badly. About an hour after putting them in the tank 4 of them started swimming at the top of the tank with their mouths out of the water but not moving much at all. 1 fish ended up dying before the lights went out I Emailed the company to inform them of the situation and that 4 fish were not doing well and see if they would work with me at all on this issue. It was around 5pm their time so I was not surprised that I didn't get a response that day however I did receive notice that my second order had shipped to be delivered the next day. The next morning I woke to 3 more dead fish and once I got home from work the remaining Panda corys had perished. I had still received no response from LiveAquaria but did receive my second order. I opened the package very curious to see what disease this shipment would be infested with but was even more surprised to pull out a bag filled with only water Not a single fish in the shipment. Emailed the company for the third time only to receive no response. I wish I would have read reviews about this pathetic company before ordering. I've disputed the charges with my credit Card Company and encourage anyone else with similar issues to do the same. Hope you go out of business soon for the sake of all of the fish you're Murdering.

9 April 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Do NOT BUY!!!

I wouldn’t recommend this place. They just take your money and send you sick fish. Both my fish died within a hour. I complained and of course customer service is no help. Please BEWARE the fish are sick and will die and your money you will not get back!!! I was charged several times as well on my credit card. Have to dispute with my bank. Do not buy from this company, they should be shutdown!!!!!

30 March 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

1 DOA and 1 DISEASED

Received once dead on arrival and one clearly with a bad infection, the would have known when they bagged it, died within 36 hours, and one fish missing.

25 March 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Beware. My order arrived dead and they won't honor my store credit

They sent me over $200 of dead items that arrived a day late and on Xmas Eve. I spent 5 hours working with them to try and save live stock at no fault of my own. They got MY money. I got a wasted Xmas eve that I should have been spending with my family. Went to use my store credit and they told me it had expired. Now that I worked with them, thy can't work with me. Very rude customer service that is replies every few days. Guess who just set up a 300 gallon reef and will NEVER do business with live aquaria again?

18 March 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Enough is enough

Things with Liveaquaria seem to be going down hill quickly. This used to be the only place we would purchase fish and now we just want to use up our store credit and we can’t even get that done right. Earlier this year we placed an order for a lemon tang. We were totally surprised when we opened the package and it was a different fish. We contacted the store and described it and they told us it was a mimic and we could keep it and they would put a credit on the account so we could order another one (which of course was no longer in stock). We placed a new order when they came back in stock and we contacted them over and over asking when our fish would ship since we saw them coming in and out of stock for over a month and still no shipment to us. Finally we gave up on getting that fish and we placed an order for 5 Roland Damsels that we also wanted. The fish came in with almost no water in the bag and 2 of them couldn’t even swim. Of course 4 of the 5 died so again we ended up with a store credit. I can’t even imagine how the fish suffered in transit.

My husband and I decided that we just want to use up the credit on salt and food so we can be done with Liveaquaria all together. I called this morning ready to place my order and the customer service rep tells me that I can’t use my credits for $139 because their computers are down and even though she could place an order if I used my debit card, she can’t see the credits. I am not going to give them $139 more and then have to fight to get the money back based on the most recent experiences I have had.

22 December 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Not a good experience. Beware

Ordered four fish. Coral beauty arrived, frayed fins and not eating. Diseased, they had to have seen it before shipping. I knew this would not end well. Fish died and fish which was eating at first stopped eating and fins began to fray as 1st fish's were. 2nd fish died. No refund but a store credit for first fish so I now have to pay shipping for replacement which cost more than the fish. I had order over $179 to get free shipping the first go around. Not happy with this company. Why send sick fish to customers.

12 December 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

First order will be last

First order will be last. Sherry, the customer service rep on phone was rude and unprofessional. Supposed to be overnight delivery by 1:00 pm but FedEx is awful and Liveaquaria is an apologist for their inadequacy. Their website when ordering is also deeply flawed causing me to place a duplicate order which they claim will fall off my account in a few days. That remains to be seen. Would not recommend this company.
Update : Fish arrived, late but alive. One BIG problem though, the two Kribensis I ordered and paid for were long finned Zebra Danios. Really? How can these so-called "aquatic experts" that "carefully select the fish" make that kind of mistake? I mean really the person selecting the fish must be totally clueless.
Again it is the amateur hour over there.

11 November 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Last review for liveaquaria because I…

Last review for liveaquaria because I will nevaaa buy from them again.The fish came from 3 different places...ok that's fine but out of the 4 boxes I got one had my Convic Tang. it was DOA. The box had nothing to protect the fish or no heating pads. The box was wet inside.Keep my money Liveaquaria for the second time...U will never get my money again. People if I were U ....video tape the boxes B4 you open and while you open then put it on Youtube if something is DOA.

2 November 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Worst Service, find another store

Ordered a lot of live stock, all arrived dead and they refuse to refund because i file a claim week later, even though i did email them on the same day reporting the issue with pictures.

20 October 2021
Unprompted review
LiveAquaria logo

Reply from LiveAquaria

Good afternoon Bala-We apologize that you are dissatisfied with the warranty policy. Images of specimens that are still in the aquarium are not accepted to be considered for credit. Images of losses, outside of the shipping bag and aquarium should be sent prior to the end of the 7 day warranty. According to our records, the claim form was submitted on day 13 and image was of the urchin in the shipping bag. We typically would make a one time exception and reach a resolution even if outside of warranty, however a chargeback was done, therefore we are unable to consider a goodwill gesture. We will reach out to you to discuss the matter further and attempt a resolution.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Much Better!

Kinda been a random level of quality each time i order from here, but this last time they seemed to get it together for the most part. Each fish was bagged separately, and packaged in anti bacterial/ anti fungal medication. The bag water was cool and clean, fish were 98% healthy on arrival. Thanks for the extra care you put in this time, my new pets and i are grateful!
Also the plants i ordered arrived green and lush, and considerably cleaner than most plants I have gotten from alternative sources! Keep up the good work!

29 September 2021
Unprompted review
LiveAquaria logo

Reply from LiveAquaria

Good morning @Bigdubb. Thank you for sharing your positive experience. We are so happy to hear of your improved experience. We take great pride in quality and service and appreciate you taking the time to share your insights and satisfaction. We look forward to working with you in the future!. Have a great day

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Ordered fish most of them were…

Ordered fish most of them were completely stressed few dead and complete wrong fish all together I ordered 18 cherry barbs well they only sold me 2 and rest were ember tetras do not order from them. They claim to give you a refund but I have not gotten any

20 August 2021
Unprompted review
LiveAquaria logo

Reply from LiveAquaria

Hello Elijah. Through several conversations across various means of social media, this situation has been discussed. We apologize for your dissatisfaction, however the concerns were resolved and your Mastercard was credit $51.52 on 9/9/21. Please confirm with your financial institution if you have not received the credit. Thank you!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They do not really refund your money

They do not really actually refund your money when the fish die. They gave me a store credit of $10. For the 5 dead fish that passed after I received them. You can get nothing to replace the fish because of shipping. So that $10 credit will just sit there. Also I've lost a few more of their fish about two months in and the tank is doing great Other fish I had as well as ones I've bought elsewhere are fine. Go local. Or find another company who will actually guarantee their fish. I even got one who arrived with one fin. Do not recommend this company (who is owned by PetCo)

11 May 2021
Unprompted review
LiveAquaria logo

Reply from LiveAquaria

Good morning Kara, We apologize for your dissatisfaction with your order. Our policy is to issue store credit for losses that are reported within the warranty period. Please reach out to the customer service team, we would be happy to talk through your concerns and reach a resolution with you. FYI: we have not been affiliated with Petco for quite some time. We are here to help and appreciate your feedback. Have a great weekend!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

DO NOT BUY FROM HERE

DO NOT BUY FROM HERE. I've used LiveAquaria in the past, but never again. My most recent order contained a purchase of "expert only" fish, half of them arrived dead. But because I was ONE DAY LATE in submitting my claim, they denied it. The only reason for denying it was timing of my claim. That's it. No other reason. They literally do not care that half the order arrived dead. I ordered inverts in the same shipment, they're fine. But somehow it's my fault that the fish died. They basically steal your money. They do not back up their products and respond to inquiries with form responses.

Update 4/28: got another form response, essentially blaming me for their bad customer service, no comment on the fish that died the next day. DO NOT BUY FROM HERE. See the response from them to this post, the "guarantee" has a qualification process, so that's not a guarantee of any kind.

22 April 2021
Unprompted review
LiveAquaria logo

Reply from LiveAquaria

Good afternoon Emily-We apologize for your dissatisfaction. The reason you did not receive credit for any losses is because you did not report the loss within the guarantee timeframe. The Cardinal Tetras you ordered are under the Expert only category . Throughout the ordering process as well as in your order confirmation email, the call out was: *Please note: If your aquatic life does not arrive alive upon delivery, please submit a claim within the same day of delivery to qualify for your Live Arrival Guarantee. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to reply.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Dishonest - they take your money and run

The company does not stand by their refund policy. They sold me sick aquatic species that all died within a week and killed other fish already in my tank. They refused to provide a refund and threatened to block me from all future purchases if I filed a credit card charge dispute, which I did. But it doesn’t matter now because I would NEVER order from their company again. There are other better alternatives out there. Don’t use this company.

22 April 2021
Unprompted review
LiveAquaria logo

Reply from LiveAquaria

Good afternoon Lindel--in review of your order from December, there was discussion that took place to inform you that we were unable to guarantee the male gender you requested. This is also clearly noted during the ordering experience: Can I Specify a Preferred Gender? Unless specified on the product page, we are unable to guarantee gender. Many specimens are in their juvenile state and it is difficult or nearly impossible to determine sex.
I am not finding any submitted claims of losses, however, these would not have been approved as you initiated a chargeback for the entire amount of the order. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to respond.

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