Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/24/2025

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Order placed 1/3/25, received on 1/9/25. Order included 2 ******* crabs (both dead on arrival), 2 Halloween Hermit crabs (both DOA), 2 Peppermint Shrimp (1 DOA). The shipment was delayed at an airport in freezing weather conditions, the package was minimally insulated with no hot packs. Water temp in the bags was 53 degrees on arrival. I emailed Live Aquaria immediately to notify, then submitted two separate claims with photos of dead crabs attached - the third claim would not go through due to "system down for repair." Live Aquaria has never responded to emails or claims (I emailed Customer Support again on 2/18/25, again no response. I previously have ordered from LA numerous times with no issues, this situation in unacceptable. I will never use them again. Full refund requested.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/24/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Two separate order #s. One order number A4228258, second order A4228259. All merchandise, coral and snails dead on arrival. Shipped *** supposed to be overnight. All merchandise was dead. Live merchandise. Water was nearly frozen when unpacked. Not all merchandise shipped. Contacted vendor on 2/19/2025. They were unable to either confirm or deny that either order had shipped or when it would be delivered. The vendor states that due to weather conditions shipping date may be delayed. They shipped on the coldest days of the year which in turn caused all livestock to die. Spoke with agent on 2/19/2025, they couldnt tell us when to expect order or where the orders were. Tried calling them today. Hung up on all calls, spent an hour on hold

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/31/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered a fish on this site January 4, 2025. On January 9th I received confirmation that package was being shipped overnight. The package arrived January 13th. Fish was dead on arrival. Requested refund and filed claim on website. Received a response that refund would be processed and to allow up to 5 days to receiv. I have not received a refund to date. I am unable to get someone on the phone or a response via email. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/18/2025

  I received a refund from the business on 2/3.

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/12/2024

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Ordered a pistol shrimp plus some snails they didnt ship the pistol shrimp, but still charged me never gave me a refund. Told me they didnt charge me they did.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/19/2024

   I just heard from Live Aquaria they gave my money back.  I appreciate your help so much the BBB is so valuable to all consumers! 

   

  Best wishes, 

  ****** Boivin 

  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/17/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I'm filing this Complainted agaimst Live Aquaria order # A4184960-1 on 12/01/2023 Package was received at ***** Tacking # ************ that was damaged because improperly sealedand the water leak out ***** call stated package was damage and undeliverable and the Fish Pakistani Butterfly had little to no water in the bag and the pakistani Butterfly (Fish) was DOA

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/21/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!! DO NOT BUY THE FISH THEY SELL!!!!Especially don't buy if they come from ********** as the rep, I believe her name is *****, made it clear that those fish are no handled the same as they are in *********, very clearly implying that the ********** fish always have issue. If you are the same company, you need to make sure no matter where your facilities are that you follow the same protocol. And to knowingly tell people the fish there aren't treated with as high a standard as the ones in *********, and then to do nothing when all of those fish die. This is one messed up company.Will not ever buy from this company again. From the moment I received these fish I was having issues. From shipping issues due to their incompetence and now 3 dead fish with another on the way out, to all of my other fish now all sick and diseased . They extended warranty on one fish but ignored the issues I was mentioning going on with the other fish when trying to talk about them as well. Within 3 weeks of of getting them they are now all dead. My orange shoulder tang is now jerking and twitching about, the exact same thing my powder blue did a few days before dying. The fish they sent me came with blotches, which they said is possible HLLE(acted like that was not a big deal that I had to spend even more money to treat the fish) and the Powder blue they sent me was way bigger than it was supposed to be and ended up being riddled with ich. Not great with communication, nor do they care when a fish dies, just a generic sorry for your loss text.I have a very established tank 3-5 years old and had no issues what so ever until these fish came in.I don't appreciate issues being ignored or the acknowledgement that fish from ********** are handled differently. If you know ********** fish have more issues you need to shut the facility down.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/19/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered a dwarf zebra lionfish which arrived dead. I emailed, texted, called and received no answer then late at night I got a email stating the fish was probably in a deep sleep and I need to acclimate it so I followed the instructions to let bad float on tank for 30 min then drip acclimated it for 45 min nothing the fish was dead like a I thought when I received it so I tried to contact them nothing, I have even submitted a form for the arrive alive guarantee with photos of the fish and nothing. This business either needs to take corrective measures to contact customer or just shutdown because I'm out about ****** now.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/29/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Three dead fish upon arrival; Filed to their website the same day with photos. Second day; Three more dead overnight. Filed with photos. Third day; I only see three swimming in the aquarium. Since I have a heavily planted tank, I presume they are dead on the bottom, or eaten by the other fish. They claimed that they never received any of my photos that I uploaded to their website. They lost them! I did everything within my power to resolve this matter and they rejected me. The result; I paid $126.00 for the fish plus shipping and ended up with a mere three that are alive, and nine that perished. No resolution to this issue whatsoever.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/15/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a Blue Tang from Liveaquaria.com as part of a larger order. I received the order from the company but no Blue Tang. The was no invoice or any other paperwork included in the package. I waited several days to see if the Tang was shipped separately. I called the company and told them what had happened. She told me that they had cancelled that portion of my order. I asked how that was possible that they were in fact running a "Special Sale" on Blue Tangs for $135. She said yes and she would me the Tang for $135. I said that I had bought the Tang for the "Special sale price" of $80. She said yes but we cancelled your order. I proceeded to tell her that unethical if not illegal. When I persisted She got hysterical and started screaming at me and hung up the phone.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/08/2022

  Im sorry you had such an unpleasant encounter with one of our associates earlier. We try to make our customers shopping experience easy and enjoyable, and we hold our services to a very high standard. In this case, we clearly fell short.
  Ive forwarded your complaint to the customer experience management team. We will do everything we can to make sure this doesnt happen again.
  Wed also like to make it up to you by offering a 15% discount on your next purchase online.
  Once again, ******, I apologize for our failure to serve you well. Thanks so much for letting us know. Your feedback is valuable to us.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/05/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On February 1, 2022, I completed an order with Live Aquarias website, www.liveaquaria.com. I received an order number of A4083401, with an itemized list of the items that I ordered, to my email at ******************** I have attached the itemized list from the order as a PDF to this complaint. On February 11, 2022, I received a package with a dead bristlenose pleco, three dead assassin snails, and an incomplete order of the items that I paid for. On the same day that I received the package, I attempted to contact the company through text message, email, and direct message through the website. I have attached a PDF of the email as proof of contact. The order was missing 2 reticulated hillstream loaches and 3 electric green danios. The remaining order that I did receive died within two weeks of arriving at my house. I would like the company to resolve this issue by either, (a) refunding me for the entire order, or (b) resending the entire order to my address. I would consider the matter resolved to my complete satisfaction if I received either of those two options. Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2022

  Customer did place ********************** on 02/01/2022 A4083401/A4083402. Order was shipped on 02/10/2022, and according to tracking shows delivered on 02/11/2022. Customer sent email on 2/11/2022 replying to her order confirmation which goes to a no reply email address (See attached PDF picture #1). Customer submitted 14 claim forms within the 7 day warranty and was given an instore credit totaling $68.59 9. This credit is good to use for 1 year (Expires 01/31/2023). There were some claims that were denied as our guarantee clearly states that the photograph of the deceased specimen should be photographed out of the shipping bag and tank or they were duplicates (see attached Excel document). We emailed the customer on 02/13/2022 explaining this. Cust did resubmit some of the claims with correct pictures (these are included in the $68.59 credit). An email from the customer was received on 02/14/2022 stating that she could not provide a new photo of the albino busy nose pleco as it arrived already dead in the bag and was decomposed and a second email from the customer was received that same day stating that she was missing the Reticulated Hillstream Loach qty 2  & Electric Green ***** qty 3. Due to some confusion we thought the issue was taken care of and did not respond to the email (see attached PDF picture# 2). Customer has not been in contact with us since 02/14.2022 regarding this issue otherwise we would have caught this sooner and would have been happy to resolve the issue. We have processed further credits of $58.07 for the missing items & the loss of the fish that was decomposing on arrival. This will bring the customer's total credit to $126.66. If the customer would like to have the fish that she has been given credit for replaced she will need to contact us to arrange this and we will waive any shipping or box fees. We are unable to issue a full refund or reshipment of the entire order as other fish on the order were not reported within the warranty. Please keep in mind we are only able to offer replacements if the fish she wants are in stock. We can do substitutions with items that are in stock but if there is a price difference the customer is required to pay for this. Customer can place ********************** online with adding a note to waive shipping and box fee or can call us at ************** to have this placed by one of our **************** Representatives. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/07/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Thank you for the credit of $126.66, for offering to waive the shipping/box fee, and for recognizing that part of the order was missing. However, I have an additional issue with your customer service policy, which I did not clearly state in my original complaint. Your policy states that I need to place an order, pay for it with a card, and write the amount of credits owed to me in the comment section while ordering. I do not to put any more money toward this order. I do not want a temporary transaction hold on my card to process a future order that is $126.66 or less. What can you do to assist me with placing a future order, while still being able to use these credits?
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************

  Business Response

  Date: 09/08/2022

  The customer may call us at ************** to have the order placed using the credit, if no further payment is required the customer will not be asked for any credit/debit card information.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/12/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  Thank you for taking the time to work with me.
  
  Thank you!!!
  
  *******************************