MASTERFISCH Reviews 121

No customer support, ordered two weeks ago, called 20+ times and no answer or reply. Emailed 4 times with no reply. Paid and they don't ship. Have opened a dispute with my bank to get a refund.

The fish and starfish arrived in good condition and finally, when Masterfisch got the package out, quickly.

I would have given 5 stars otherwise, but I ended up with two stars because:

Masterfisch customer service communication is hopelessly poor. The shipment had been agreed upon a week earlier. It had been agreed that I would be home the next day and that the fish species could be changed to another. After this, nothing happened in tracking the order. I contacted them several times and asked if they would send the order to me or not.

Finally, they bothered to answer me a week later. They justified the poor communication by saying that they had one public holiday in France. So one day prevents the French from keeping their customers informed! So on Tuesday the 12th they could not announce that they had not received the package in traffic, because Friday the 15th was a holiday? In addition, three normal weekdays went by without the customer having to be completely in the dark about what was happening.

Finally on 18.8 when they bothered to reply to messages they really did appeal to this one extra day off, French work ethic? On the 18th the package was finally delivered, but unexpectedly they wanted 2€ more money (they took it from the accumulated bonuses) when that fish species changed. Normally when a customer has had to wait one day at home for a delivery that has never been sent, and customer service has not been in touch, then the customer is compensated for the mistake made by the company. Not how Masterfisch works.

I am considering ordering again, because the animals were in good condition and the delivery costs are reasonable, but if the customer service communication is as bad the second time, then it will be the last.

Ordering from Ireland -I was worried from the bad reviews and the time for the payment to be processed but I am very happy! I just got all my fish by the date they provided and they are all beautiful and seem healthy :)

No, I placed an order. You refused to repy for quite some time then told me what I ordered was not in stock and asked me if I would accept a substitution. When I replied that I would you cancelled my order illegally without my consent and violated EU consumer rights laws. I highly recommend anyone else having problems with this company whose service has gone down significantly this last year or so start filing complaints both in German and France (where the physical store actually is). And when they deleted my account without my permission they violated GDPR and stole my credit balance that I had due to a refund from the last order I placed with them before.

I’m sharing this to warn others. I placed an order with Masterfisch for a rare pair of Albino Red Cauliflower Swordtails and other fish on July 2. I paid in full (€156.21) and received confirmation.

After 20 days of vague replies, they told me some items (including the swordtail pair) were “not ready.” I clearly stated I wanted the swordtails, and I even offered to accept 3 males instead. They acknowledged my email: then refunded my entire order without my consent.

I formally asserted my rights under EU law:

Directive 2011/83/EU – Right to receive paid goods

Directive 2005/29/EC – Ban on misleading commercial practices

German BGB §§ 433–434 – Obligation to fulfill sales contracts

Despite this, they processed a second refund and deleted my account entirely; no warning, no justification.

As of today, the same fish I ordered are still listed on their website with 10 pairs in stock. I’ve taken full screenshots.

This is not about one fish — it’s about being lied to, stonewalled, and erased as a customer after asserting my legal rights.

I’m pursuing formal complaints through the EU ODR platform, ECC Ireland, ECC Germany, and Verbraucherzentrale, and will be filing a GDPR complaint for unlawful deletion of account data.

Buyers: Be careful. Save your receipts. Know your rights. If Masterfisch decides not to fulfill your order, they might just delete you instead.

I ordered guppy fish in different colors. Customer service confirmed over the phone that the planned next day delivery time would definitely work. The fish arrived in Finland very quickly, well packaged and all alive and doing well, with a delivery package and written instructions. I will definitely order again in the future! Warm thanks and recommendations!
👍🤍🩵💙

This was my first time ordering from Masterfisch, and overall I’m very satisfied with the experience. I ordered a mix of corals (including some SPS), an urchin, snails, and hermit crabs. The shipment was in transit for nearly 3 days because UPS hands off the "last mile" delivery to a third-party company in my area. Despite the extended travel time, the survival rate was surprisingly high — only one hermit crab didn’t make it (likely eaten), and there was some minor bleaching on one Acropora coral. Everything else arrived healthy and in good shape.

A big plus is the included acclimatization kit — a thoughtful touch, although the quality could be improved. Mine leaked at the connector where it attaches to the aquarium, and I had to seal it with tape to make it work properly.

The packaging was excellent — very secure, nothing spilled, and the corals were well protected and undamaged. Free shipping on orders over €150 is also a great bonus.

All in all, a solid experience, and I’d be happy to order from Masterfisch again in the future

I have ordered from Masterfisch on numerous occasions and the service has been amazing. I put in an order last Tuesday (more than a week ago) and so far I have heard nothing from them. I have mailed and phoned on numerous occasions but no response. Are there any problems?

First time ordering from Masterfisch and found it to be a totally professional and ultra efficient service...brilliant conscience website..very reasonable prices and their dispatch /delivery with UPS was incredible...from confirmation of my order to receiving my fish took less than 24 hours from France to Ireland....will definitely be ordering from them again.

Everything was fine until it was not... I do not usually give bad review but I had to in this case. This merchant is doing business in bad faith and you should know.
I have been buying fish, invertebrate and corals for a couple of years with them without problem. Then one day I decided to buy a bred fish (Pyglopites from Bali Aquarisch), more expensive but supposed to be hardier and ready to eat.
Mind you it did not eat after arrival and died three days later. I contact them, they tell me it is my fault but will reimburse me. I tried to order a new one, they had increased the price by 50 eur!! I still pay the additional 50 eur to get a second one, as I believe (naively) that there was a honest problem with the first one.
But no, the second one dies three days later while in its acclimatisation box, without once again eating anything.
At this point, the shop completely stop answering my email and simply ghosted me since. Very professional!

Extremely horrible experience. DO NOT buy fish from them. False photos where I received the 'golden albino corys' that looked nothing like it, Same with the shrimps. The 5 'golden albino corys' have all died now since purchase along with passing some illness into my tank, I now have to figure out what it is and save the 500+ euros worth of fish, plants and investments already inside. Brought red dotted snails from them one arrived dead and the other does not have markings at all! Their stock is over bred and poor selection and you will know when you get brown shrimps when they are meant to be a low-grade red cherry... customer service was unhelpful saying i put algae eating shrimps in with the red shrimps to try and wiggle out of refunds. In the end i didn't argue anymore didn't need the stress and WILL NEVER buy from them again

I have been using this company for some time. Overall my experience has been very good. There was an issue with only one order. They did not send part of my order but did refund without hassle.
The quality of their stock is excellent. Some of their stock is a little pricer than competitors but others are a steal. It really depends what you are buying.They have the best quality guppies I have ever seen. I think for the quality you receive, the price is very good. I have never had any D.O.A.
Shipping: Activated carbon pellets are added to the bags, heat packs are used. The bags of livestock are placed in foil wrap and a high quality shipping box is used which shows they are experts in livestock shipping. My UPS delivery guy is excellent, always comes to my house first on his rounds to ensure my fish are delivered as quickly as possible. The whole process is completed in 24hrs. Free shipping is offered for orders over 150 which is a excellent and keeps me coming back and I really love the little fish gummy sweets they send out with my orders
As long as you know how to acclimatise fish properly, there should be no reason any fish should perish. I have never had any fish purchased from here perish after days or weeks. They are all perfect.
My only complaint: It would be nice to be able to select the colour of a Crowntail Betta instead of being sent a colour at random. When I order fish, I want specifics, especially for a single space species.

Absolute shocker from the ups delivery upside down to the fry about 20 days old I was sold false advertising rude people took €150 and gave me 8 fry about 2 cm advertise as bigger discrace I’m shocked I should of read the reviews about ur company I’ll never buy or recommend u to anyone I’ll be letting people no too in my fish community about ur false ads ur high priced fry that’s wath they are not wath u state on ur website how u are getting away with it is beyond belief not happy wath so ever u have an answer for everything my local fish shop sells three times bigger for €10 euros each I have cichlid fry in my tank a week old bigger never again I hope this helps someone I’m always king person to see myself instead of reading bad reviews but there all true update !!! There reply is all lies they sent me fry tiny tiny fry no more than 10 days I was told now I’ve asked the wider fish community that they would say this that they have a excuse for everything u sent fry please don’t try make excuses extortion for fish the half size of a matchstick end of story all the others I’ve talked to says they no to stay well clear u charges me €150 for 8 fry !!!! I went to my local pet shop and got 12 4 inch cichlids for €110 so there is no excuse I was taken and it will never happen again I’m disgusted but wath u sent and how u can justify the price u charged me I’ve fish holding here that will spit out bigger never again u lead from ur mistakes the moral of the story is (! Always read the reviews!)

next day delivery to ireland so good . got clowns and there beautiful . 100% recommend.

My first experience with this company was not very good. I decided to give them another chance and I wasn't disappointed. My order was quite large. Everything was 100% perfect. Not a single DOA. All the fish were good sizes and healthy. Activated carbon was included in the individual bags which was good to see. Packing was excellent. I can't fault this company this time. They delivered and executed my order perfectly. I now have restored faith in this company and will be back.
I would just like to add...the female Betta's were beautiful. They are advertised as mixed. I received 1 red, 1 blue and 1 yellow and I am delighted with them.

First time and only time I used this company, I placed an order to be shipped to Ireland, 3 or 4 days later I sent an email to ask when I should be expecting it to be delivered. that was ignored, 7 or 8 days after placing my order I received an automated email to say its delayed,.. No s**t... so again I emailed to find out what's going on and finally got a reply that's said it should be sent out the next day but one of the fish I ordered wasn't available and offered a swap out, I said that fine and looked forward to the delivery. Then the next day arrived and I received a call that I didn't answer and I called back shortly after to find MasterFisch staff on the phone to tell more more of my order wasn't there now (including the main shrimps I wanted) and some were not ready to be shipped, they offered to exchange them in fairness but I had no interest in what they offered, I would have ordered them if I did. I understand that some were unable to be shipped but you clearly also oversold some, shipped them out and had none left for myself, I was told if I wanted what I ordered I'd have to wait till the end of the following week so I gotta refund instead. I find the customer service within the company to be severely lacking and was extremely disappointed with the transaction.

Thank you so much for sending the fishes and all of them a well-received.
The staff is very polite and helped me to guide me to choose the fishes.
I really appreciate all your support and help.

I bought 10 red cherries, 10 crystal reds and 10 sunkist orange for various aquariums. Many have died, my water parameters are perfect. I have multiple degrees in the sciences and water analysis happens to be "what I do".
I only heard from Masterfisch after I opened a PayPal dispute, to which they said "send us photos of each dead shrimp".... WHAT, 2 weeks later you want me to take photos are you nuts?
Additionally, SNAILS..... In each of the 3 bags I received shrimp and snails. I removed the snails but obviously there was some that I missed, because now I have 2 aquariums infested with snails.

Their site gives an indication on the size and grade of the shrimp, however NONE of the shrimp I received where 1cm, most where less than 0.5cm and where very young. The youngsters are the only surviving animals, if there was a problem with my water the young would have died first.

The free acclimatization gadget leaked all over the place, probably why they are free. The defiantly would not be able to sell them.

Shame on you MasterFisch, SHAME ON YOU.

***REPLY TO MASTERFISCH***
When I recevied the order I did indeed mail you, in that mail there was pictures of the bits of shrimps (leg segments etc and the snails. you ignored this email completely!

Since posting this review very few of the original shrimp survived, however the number of pathogenic organisms had exploded. Snails, nematodes, ostracoda you name it, I am certain these all came from you! I use re-mineralized water, the water comes from ultrapure labs, the minerals are sterile and the biologicals come from a reputable source. Decorations were sterilized at 150C for 45 minutes.
Plants where sterilized in methylene blue then potassium permanganate then hydrogen peroxide baths. I have never had a problem in any of my aquariums, this is the only aquarium I have ever had your product in and the only one I have had such extensive problems with, coincidence? I think not.