10 Best Online Vendors for Goldfish in 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

Pet stores do not always have our favorite type of goldfish in stock, which brings you to search for online vendors. Most established online vendors for goldfish have a large number of varieties and colors to choose from. Some of the rarer types of goldfish can also be found from these online vendors and they are trusted to send you a healthy goldfish.

Purchasing goldfish from online vendors means you will have to have them shipped and delivered to you. This can take a few days and there is the risk of a delay in delivery due to backlog from the delivery service. This makes it important to choose a good quality online goldfish vendor so that you are reassured to get your goldfish in good condition and this article will help you decide on a suitable online goldfish vendor for you.

A Quick Look at Our Favorites in 2023

	Image	Product	Details
Popular Choice		Coast Gem USA Goldfish	Fair pricing Variety of goldfish stock Return policy after 2 hours arrival	Check Price
Top Choice		Zhao’s Fancies Fancy Goldfish Shop	100% live arrival guarantee Provide goldfish care sheets Good customer communication	Check Price
		Chu Chu Goldfish	Affordable Goldfish hobbyists High-quality goldfish	Check Price
		King Koi and Goldfish	Provide care sheets Large selection of stock Good customer feedback	Check Price
		Kodama Koi Farm	Champion koi Top koi dealer in the industry Cares about the fish’s well-being	Check Price

The 10 Best Online Vendors for Goldfish

Coast Gem USA is a popular online vendor for high-quality goldfish. They sell a variety of goldfish with rare colorations and tail types. They sell the sought-after butterfly telescope as well as goldfish with the panda coloration. Their farms focus on breeding majestic colors rarely found in the pet store. They mainly focus on baby and juvenile fancy goldfish like Ryukin, Oranda, Moor, telescope, and Ranchu. The goldfish are hand-selected from their farms in Thailand where they are then put into quarantine and treated for any illnesses so that you receive a healthy goldfish on arrival. They also sell other types of fish and do not only focus on goldfish.

Coast Gem USA also sells quality fish food and other types of fish products. Customer service is not their strongest suit, and they struggle to provide a good customer to employer communication. The timeline for shipping varies depending on the shipping address. Since they are established in the USA, shipping will be shorter for orders originating from places in the USA. They have a return policy if you receive a deceased or poorly fish on arrival. The pictures of the goldfish are for general reference and Cost Gem USA does not guarantee that the goldfish will look exactly like in the pictures as they are usually the parents of the offspring.

Zhao’s Fancies Goldfish Shop is our top choice because of its public and transparent love for goldfish care and ethics. They are known for sending out care sheets and acclimation information to ensure that you can properly care for the goldfish you receive. They have the bonus of a 100% live arrival guarantee, but they have had a few communications about a deceased or sickly goldfish on arrival. They will give you a refund if you record a video of the deceased goldfish three hours from FedEx’s arrival. They use priority shipping so that you can get your goldfish as quickly as possible.

Shipping overnight is best so that the goldfish has little time to fall ill inside of the package. This increases the likelihood of receiving a healthy goldfish. The only downside is that this type of shipping is fairly expensive and is not affordable for the majority of buyers. Zhao’s Fancies Goldfish Shop has decent communication services available, and they are typically easy to reach by email. They raise their goldfish on farms in the US and ensure the goldfish are healthy when chosen for delivery.

Chu Chu Goldfish is a new online goldfish vendor that was created in 2017. They primarily sell a variety of fancy goldfish varieties. They are comfortable with the quality of their goldfish that come off established breeding farms in Thailand and China. Their corporate headquarters are located in Austin, Texas. They can only ship within the US and are not able to ship their fish to US territories. Chu Chu offers quality bred Oranda and Ranchu goldfish and understand the concerns many buyers have about importing and receiving shipped goldfish. They have excellent customer to employer communication services and are easily contactable. They also have a reward program for loyal customers who frequently order from them.

Chu Chu Goldfish also have a care sheet on how to successfully acclimate your new goldfish which shows that they care about the well-being of the goldfish. They are hobbyists themselves which makes them trustable in the industry.

King Koi and Goldfish have been a family-run goldfish and koi supplying business since 2016. They have a large selection of koi and a decent number of goldfish available for purchase. They have been in the ornamental fish trade for over 30 years and have a good relationship with all their fish farmers. They produce high-quality and rare exotic goldfish for reasonable prices. There have been numerous issues with goldfish arriving deceased, but mainly when shipping was backlogged due to the busy holiday season.

The customer feedback is decent, and they are easy to reach by email. They have some of the best goldfish stock available in America and have the bonus of selling a variety of goldfish foods and pond equipment. They also have fish care sheets on their site which shows that they do indeed care about the well-being of their fish. Shipping rates differ depending on the state you reside in and what type of delivery service you use.

If you're new to the world of goldfish keeping or are experienced but love to learn more, we highly recommend you check out the best-selling book, The Truth About Goldfish, on Amazon.

From diagnosing illnesses and providing correct treatments to proper nutrition, tank maintenance and water quality advice, this book will help you to ensure your goldfish are happy and to be the best goldfish keeper you can be.

Although koi are not technically goldfish, they fall into the same category of fish when you are looking for quality goldfish vendors online. Kodama Koi Farm is one of the leading koi distributors in North America, offering some of the best koi collections on the market. In addition to selling fish, the company provides a decent number of care sheets for koi fish. They also proudly won an award for having top-quality koi varieties from the origin of Niigata, Japan. Based in Florida, New York, and New Jersey, Kodama also have local stores called Kodama Koi Gardens. Their customer service is excellent and we love their return and refund policies. They also specialize in raising champion koi. But buyer beware: high quality comes with a higher price tag.

Next-Day Koi is an online goldfish and koi vendor that have customer safety in mind. They are very responsive and helpful towards their customers. They produce excellent quality stock and have a good selection to choose from. They are one of the longest and oldest running koi farms in Israel. They sell a variety of koi like the butterfly koi, a selection of colorful goldfish, and beautiful blue ridge koi as well. They ship within one to three days; hence, the name Next Day Koi. They believe that fish need to be shipped immediately to ensure that they are alive and healthy on arrival. You get to choose your shipping date. Their service is on the expensive side and the shipping rates are quite high. On the positive side, the company is very transparent about their farming conditions and even have a few videos displaying their stock and farming methods.

Goldfish Island sells a variety of top-quality fancy goldfish. They are located in Stoughton, Massachusetts, and have good communication with their customers. They produce a lot of fancy goldfish types such as Ryukins, telescopes, Orandas, fantails, and many more. The goldfish purchased from their website pictures are not an exact version of the color or pattern your goldfish will display. It is more to show what the goldfish has the potential to look like and the featured pictures are usually of the parent decedents or past generations. They have a 100% live on arrival guarantee but there have been a few cases where the goldfish has arrived in poor or deceased condition even if they had been shipped in the right time frame. However, they do have a decent refund and return policy if the goldfish is not up to the customer’s standards.

• You might also like: Goldfish Eggs: Identification, Hatching & Care Guide 2021

Dandy Orandas is well known for its excellent goldfish colorations and forms. They take pride in producing high-quality goldfish with a wide selection of colors. They are quite expensive, and their shipping rates are high. Although they are on the pricier side, the stock you will receive will make up for it. They have healthy and pre-quarantined goldfish for sale. The goldfish can fall between the categories of babies, juveniles, and adults in size and age and their overall color and patterns vary. They primarily focus on selling butterfly telescopes, lion heads, Ranchu, Ryukins, Orandas, and Pearlscale goldfish. Their goldfish are also up for auction and the buyers will get together to auction on their favorite type of goldfish until the end date. This can upset some buyers if they do not win the auction in time and lose the opportunity to buy their preferred goldfish.

The Goldfish Kingdom has a large selection of fancy goldfish, specifically Ranchu, Yuanbao, Ryukin, and Demekin. They are known for their rare goldfish types with uncommon names. Their goldfish are colorful and sport a variety of patterns and coloration. They have a live-on-arrival guarantee and will refund any deceased goldfish with proof after delivery. They have had a lot of problems with shipping the incorrect stock and take a while to respond to complaints. They only offer to ship within the US and have new arrivals every week. Another downside to this online vendor is that the goldfish frequently go out of stock, which makes selection limited. They are also expensive and are no popular in the goldfish retailing industry.

Live Aquaria is an online fish retailer better suited to goldfish keepers on a budget and are not looking for rare or particular types of goldfish. They have an extremely poor selection and are not heavily focused on the well-being and health of the goldfish. The goldfish are affordable for most online buyers. Another problem with Live Aquaria is that the pictures do not show a close replication of the goldfish you are looking to purchase. They mainly have black moors and Ryukins for sale, but they can be out of stock frequently. Customer service on livestock is poor and alive on arrival is not guaranteed.

Aside from this, they also sell a variety of goldfish products ranging from food, accessories, and plants and are better suited as an online goldfish product retailer than a vendor to purchase healthy and quality goldfish from. They have a free shipping special on aquatic life orders over $149 which means you can buy a large amount of live fish and receive the special. They may not be the best online vendor for live goldfish but have a good assortment of products tailored towards keeping a goldfish healthy.

Buyer’s Guide: Selecting the Best Online Vendor for Goldfish

Important Considerations When Buying a Goldfish Online

Purchasing goldfish online has its pros and cons, both of which outweigh each other. Many buyers may be hesitant to purchase a goldfish online because they are worried about the state of the goldfish when it arrives.

Before you decide to purchase a goldfish from one of the online vendors, you have to make a few considerations to ensure that this is the route you want to follow. Especially since ordering a goldfish online is more expensive than pet stores. As the buyer, you should be completely comfortable purchasing a goldfish from the chosen online store. This makes it important to communicate with an employer personally. They should be able to professionally answer all your questions without using an automated response system.

The Best Products in This Category

Since there are so many different online vendors for goldfish, they all run their shop in different ways. This makes each goldfish vendor unique in their way of quality, pricing, communications, and products.

Tips When Buying Goldfish Online

Transparency and support from the online vendor are important when you are buying a goldfish online. Scamming and false advertisement from the vendor will only lead to heartache and a hole in the wallet. Many people purchase from pet stores because they have the physical fish in their hands when they make the purchase, and this reassures them that the fish’s health and well-being are now in their hands.

Different Types of Goldfish Sold by Online Vendors

Most of the online goldfish vendors we mentioned have a variety of fancy goldfish for sale. Common and comet goldfish are rarely sold on most of the sites and a few of them specialize in selling koi. Coast Gems USA sells a variety of fish such as betta fish alongside their goldfish sales. Some of the websites may also sell other products like food and equipment for goldfish.

The main types of goldfish available from all ten online vendors are Ryukin, Ranchu, Oranda, Telescopes, Moors, Fantails, and koi. All of which come in rare and vibrant colorations pet stores do not typically sell them in.

The Differences Between a Pet Store and Online Goldfish Shops

Pet stores are known for not quarantining their goldfish and are primarily them to sell stock imported from breeding mills for money. Whereas online goldfish shops are usually founded by goldfish hobbyists who want to improve goldfish genetic lineage and colorations. Many online goldfish stores will have care sheets available to ensure the goldfish they are delivering to you is kept in good condition. Established online goldfish shops will have a good ethic towards the health of their goldfish and may even ask you questions on how you will be keeping the goldfish. Many of the online goldfish stores also quarantine their goldfish after they arrive from the breeding farms which are typically in Thailand or China.

The main difference between pet stores and online goldfish shops is the way the goldfish is advertised and delivered. Cost also plays an important factor during purchase, with pet stores being more affordable than online. Although pet stores do not typically sell a large variety of goldfish and the pricing may not be worth the standard color or type of goldfish you are purchasing. Online goldfish stores advertise their goldfish through pictures of the parents to give you a close guess of what the stock will look like. Online goldfish stores ship out their goldfish within the span of a few days and pet stores will have the goldfish ready for viewing in the tank and ready for immediate purchase.

Final Thoughts

Purchasing a goldfish online can be a fun and exciting experience for many aquarists. It is enticing to wait to see the arrival of your goldfish after shipping is completed and be rewarded with their beautiful fins and coloration. Buying goldfish online is becoming increasingly popular and a secure way to buy the best goldfish stock possible. Out of all ten reviews on online goldfish vendors, Zhao’s Fancies Fancy goldfish shop is our top pick for those who are more skeptical of other types of online goldfish vendors. We have Coast Gems USA and Chu Chu Goldfish sitting next to on our list due to the efficiency and variety these online goldfish vendors provide.

There is an online goldfish vendor for every buyer and we hope this article has helped you decide on the best vendor for you!

Featured Image Credit: Nature and Life, Shutterstock