gmerek2 January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 I have ordered coral/fish and nems 4 times in the mail. One nem showed up a day late DOA. One coral order late and cold 50% of coral died. 2 packages no issues. Those aren't good odds for our livestock. That's 50% Chance of a death IME. Post your odds of a death in transit Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 I would have to check the actual numbers, but I have not had a single fish DOA. I don't think I have had any coral DOA. Inverts has been very few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 All depends on the source you're getting the fish from. Keep in mind that virtually every fish and coral in our tanks has been shipped AT LEAST once, more likely at least 3 times. Any good online retailer should have survivability well into the 90%'s. If they don't, they are not shipping healthy animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nextlevel808 January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 Check where you get them from. I've got fish and coral from liveaquaria.com and bluezooaquatics.com and to this day never lost one. Knock on wood now as hope didn't jinx self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbowdeep88 January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 Time of year also has a large effect on death rate. Snow delays flights in the winter. And the slightest delay in the summer can allow the water to get so hot. Heat is worse than cold for most of these critters (ex 60 is survivable short term, 100 isnt). Spring and fall are the best times to ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 Coral loss=0 fish loss=1 Summer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 I have ordered coral/fish and nems 4 times in the mail. One nem showed up a day late DOA. One coral order late and cold 50% of coral died. 2 packages no issues. Those aren't good odds for our livestock. That's 50% Chance of a death IME. Post your odds of a death in transit Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I ordered a large order, GB with a couple of friends online and they forgot to put heat packs in the box about 90% of Livestock were DOA, they re-shipped everything and they all arrived healthy a few days later, I tend to only buy Inverts online now since joining WAMAS, cuc's are so cheap online even if a few die it's still cheaper than buying empty shells for my hermits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 I think it also depends on the temperature outside.... Even with heat packs, insulations, etc... if its very cold, your live items will suffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 January 29, 2015 Author Share January 29, 2015 I need to start picking the coral up at the distribution center instead of having them deliver to my house. Package was delayed because of the inch or so of snow we got up here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 Time of year also has a large effect on death rate. Snow delays flights in the winter. And the slightest delay in the summer can allow the water to get so hot. Heat is worse than cold for most of these critters (ex 60 is survivable short term, 100 isnt). Spring and fall are the best times to ship. Dr Mac will not ship when the weather is super bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thakki January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 In my experience...fish mostly will not survive the shipment stress...out of three fish that I ordered online only 1 survived. Corals on the other hand...did okay. My order for a birds nest came in two pieces...it was broken...but both of them are now thriving in my tank. Like someone said on this thread...buying CUC online is great...good prices and personally had no loss...sometimes they throw in additional invert too. I am not sure if weather is the reason as they come packed in head patches...I just think that the fish are just stressed from the entire process of shipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 I had a clam shipped, no problems. I've also had corals shipped from ERC wth no issues as well, with an anemone included in that package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 LiveAquaria has shipped packages around the country with temperature logging devices. They do not just throw some heat packs in. The expected temps are taken into account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 I've only had issue with maybe 5%, and almost always due to shipping delays. I sold/shipped zoanthids before moving up here and only had one DOA of dozens of shipments, a multi-day mixup at USPS. I shipped/received coldwater livestock and mini carpets for a few years up here and never had an issue with those. Lost one fish sent from Diver's Den, which I consider a fluke since I've bought plenty from them without any other issues, and a couple of corals lost due to shipping delays from other places. I just stick to a few rules: don't order during extremely hot summer days or cold winter days, when bad weather is expected here or between you and the shipping facility, and avoid the big holiday shipping seasons. Then it's just a matter of knowing/trusting the vendor and being there when the box arrives. But I'd still prefer to shop locally for most things so I can inspect it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lutz123 January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 No problems, but I am careful to watch weather (as are the sellers). In the winter or summer I typically have them hold at the post office or fedex location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 (edited) I have done it about a jillion times, and had very few losses. Never had a fish DOA, but have had a few gorgonians die either in transit or soon after arrival. Step one is to go through an experienced seller. Inland Aquatics, LiveAquaria, KP Aquatics, to name just a few, have done a lot of shipping, and know how to make it work. I just got a shipment of slugs from KP Aquatics this morning, and they were happy and beautiful, despite the chilly conditions outside. I took the risk because there were not expected to be shipping delays between Florida and MD, and because I really, really wanted the slugs. Then again, another of my suppliers (also very experienced) somehow managed to forget insulated packaging for a couple orders of cockroaches (yes, cockroaches) last winter, and they were DOA. Importantly, they took care of the cost for replacements. I would agree that, in general, spring and fall are better. I don't even think about ordering in mid-summer. Edited January 29, 2015 by mogurnda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 I need to start picking the coral up at the distribution center instead of having them deliver to my house. Package was delayed because of the inch or so of snow we got up here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk just got some dead shrimp in the mail today, they didnt use heat packs again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 4, 2015 Author Share February 4, 2015 RTN to no TN hopefully. The polyps shot out today and tips look bluer. The other SPS that got cold are doing fine. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 I need to start picking the coral up at the distribution center instead of having them deliver to my house. Package was delayed because of the inch or so of snow we got up here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ^^This is what you need to do^^ I've actually ordered from a couple of places that won't guarantee the product UNLESS you pick it up from the distribution center. They say that the trucks could be delayed or the livestock may sit on truck all day, etc. I don't remember who it was specifically, but it's not a bad idea in any case to go to the center yourself in the morning rather than wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 ^^This is what you need to do^^ I've actually ordered from a couple of places that won't guarantee the product UNLESS you pick it up from the distribution center. They say that the trucks could be delayed or the livestock may sit on truck all day, etc. I don't remember who it was specifically, but it's not a bad idea in any case to go to the center yourself in the morning rather than wait. I know PEA does it, and I also know that I've done it with ERC before, they just send you a text or call you when it comes in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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