Frag shipping questions?

[J4Life]

Okay I have a bunch of frags to ship out to people and I would like to know what the best choice for containers are and the cheapest?

I have the packaging covered. I just want to know the best leak proof ideas for putting corals in. Needs to be low budget.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Bill

[Monkey_Bone]

Fish baggs, rubber bands, and stryrofoam insulation.

Double bag them and put the second bag on upside down.
place neswspapers or packing peanuts all around and over the bag to prevent
movment.

[J4Life]

Thanks. That is what I had in mind. Just wanted to make sure that would be good enough.

Do you fill the bags with are as well as water like they do at the fish store?

-Bill

[SteveOhh]

All my zoas I've recieved have been wrapped in wet newspaper in a bag.....................no water.

I've never recieved any other corals that have been shipped, so I can't comment on those.

Steve

[cschweitzer]

I like damp shipping also, with wet paper towel and water. It saves money on shipping a gallon of water(8lbs/G) and safer as it will have less chance of bag popping. Eric Bourneman did a whole article on the benefits, but in summary: Most corals shipped do not die because of salinity, heat, ammonia, etc. that everyone believes is the reason. The major contributor is suffocation. The air and water cannot mix in a bag, no flow, no skimming, =no aeration... Coral, unlike fish, cannot move around, stick their head out of the water, splash the water to get air, they are stuck drowning in (yes, I know it sounds ironic, coral drowning!!!) O2 depleted water. He recommends dry(just a name), or damp shipment wrapped in paper towel. Corals CAN live out of water for hours at a time(do not test this without comprehension). They create a mucus that covers them and protects them fom drying or dying. During low tide, corals can be found jutting out of the water quite a distance...they just kept growing and didn't stop at the low tide. They seem to make it through the tide changes with little to no effect on their health.

[J4Life]

Thanks everyone. I would never have thought of using wet paper towels but it does make sense. That method probabl isn't a good idea if shipping 2 day though. Maybe a littel water with the paper towel to help keep it moist would work.

Do you think this method would work on all types of corals and not just softies. I have to ship out zoa's, toadstool frags, a couple sps, and some Yuma ric's.

Thanks,
Bill

p.s. this is great info and I do like Eric's stuff. One smart cookie.

[dmbnpj]

It will not work with xenia. It will just turn to mush.

[J4Life]

Thanks but I am not shipping xenia. Just what I listed above.

[mvite]

Your method of paper towels and SOME water will work great. I do that always--and knock on wood--no problems with zoanthids--they are TOUGH!

[kass03]

I dunno why but Ive had zoa's shipped to me in wet newspaper a cpl times and they died every time.

The way I ship is in plastic bag/rubberband inside a ziploc twist n loc container.
They have a screw on lid so don't pop open. They run about 3 bucks for 2-3 depending on size.
I put them in a styro lined box in newspaper. Works really well.

kass

[dmbnpj]

Where can I buy those styrofoam boxes?

[kass03]

You can buy the styrofoam at Menards and then cut it to line the box.
If your shipping USPS priority you can go to the post office and get those boxes for free also. Not styro lined but a box to put them in.

kass

[mvite]

You can also get styro at Lowe's or Home Depot. I swear I spend half my life cutting styro!!!

[dmbnpj]

Do you just cut it to fit the box your shipping in and add an ice pack? Do you tape the sides together or anything?

[mvite]

No tape--I just cut the styro to fit---it's very forgiving. I don't use a cold pack because ice melts in a couple hours and then you are all done! I just shipped 3 days to Louisiana from Pittsburgh. I triple bagged the zoas and put them in a medium sized Priority box from USPS. I believe that the combination of styro lining, double or triple bags---and a generously sized box all make for better success. I have received stuff in very small boxes--to save money on size apparently--and the ambient temp of the box is more affected if it is a small box than a larger one. Just my .02---and I am probably jinxing myself right now......

[J4Life]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the suggestions. I must say that free boxes from the USPS is very nice and I was able to pick up some bags from Pet Smart. I found that bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts work really well in shipping corals as well as triple bagging.

Hope that helps some others.

Thanks,
Bill

[mvite]

You can also find shipping bags on aquabid.com--

USPS will ship the boxes right to your doorstep from their site.

Best of luck!

[kass03]

I like to use those ziploc containers with srew on caps so they don't come off in case the bag does leak. It costs a little more but worth it to me.
If your box gets wet there can be problems. Plus I don't think your suppose to ship anything in water anymore.
Don't tell them it's live corals.
I usually write perishable on the box also and they have a stamp for that at USPS (not that it prolly matters lol).

As far as styro peanuts go they seem to melt in saltwater. Ive had corals shipped to me that leaked and it was a mess.
I personally think newspaper works better.

When shipping several corals Ive also used those collapsable 6 pack coolers ( I got some on sale at Menards last year for a cpl bucks). They're like the lunchbox soft type.
They just fit in the USPS flat rate box and worked great.

I also agree about the icepacks. I've used them but think they might do more harm than good. Cooling at first and then melt too fast.

kass