Shipping corals damp / moist

[debbeach13]

Happy Sunday morning everyone.

 Have you done this? I read the article by Eric Borneman this morning. Sent to me by a fellow reefer and it makes some very good points. It suggests that the bag of water can be more detrimental to the coral than air. It does not work for all coral but I am talking about shipping mushrooms. It is using wet paper instead of water. Of course the price for shipping can be greatly reduced if you do not have the addition weight of water. The amount of time shipping takes will still be the major factor. Years ago I received LR shipped in wet news papers and the hitch hikers including a crab arrived alive. Please tell me about your experience if you have shipped or received corals using this method. Also was the shipping next day, 2 day, 3 day, which carrier was used? Thank in advance for any replies. 

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

This was more of an oops along the way, but I did once receive a purple digitata from ORA to my Petco store I work at that was just wet. What happened was that the bag somehow broke in transit and the coral frag was only moist overnight. It's fine. My manager freaked out and called it DOA. I calmed her down saying that some acroporids are resilient to a low or negative tide in nature so it's likely the frag will bounce back.

 

To this day it's just as purple as ever.

 

I have noticed that ORA bags their corals with half air and half water usually the frag plate or piece attached to a thing of styrofoam so the coral is inverted and always in contact with the water.

[A.m.P]

The Brits and Euros ship all-the-time in paper, sps frags over two or three day shipping to boot. 

 

Always overnight, super insulated, crazy careful shipping is kind of a US phenomenon.

 

I've gotten animals over two or three day shipping and couldn't tell the difference, probably because it can take two or three days for distributors to get their shipments from collectors in the first place lol...

Shoot tahitian clams get dry shipped to save on costs and just about all you see are their Maxima's in the states.

 

@Ratvan Can probably give you better pointers than I can.

[debbeach13]

Thanks for the replies. I would love to try it. I would also like to try 3 day shipping which is under $10 for the small box I would use. My only concern with 3 day is some times it ends up being 5 days. I know USPS does not consider the day it is shipped or the day it s delivered. So if you ship on Monday 3 day it will be delivered Friday. UPS shows actual 3 day shipping But they cover themselves by stating no refunds if it does not happen. I think if we could successfully ship some corals for under $10 more people would be willing to trade with other reefers. Also I am in Florida so for the next 4 or 5 months it is a perfect time to ship with out ice or heat packs. But depending on where I am shipping to that might not work.

If you want to read the write up

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/eb/index.php

[A.m.P]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

Thanks for the replies. I would love to try it. I would also like to try 3 day shipping which is under $10 for the small box I would use. My only concern with 3 day is some times it ends up being 5 days. I know USPS does not consider the day it is shipped or the day it s delivered. So if you ship on Monday 3 day it will be delivered Friday. UPS shows actual 3 day shipping But they cover themselves by stating no refunds if it does not happen. I think if we could successfully ship some corals for under $10 more people would be willing to trade with other reefers. Also I am in Florida so for the next 4 or 5 months it is a perfect time to ship with out ice or heat packs. But depending on where I am shipping to that might not work.

If you want to read the write up

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/eb/index.php

I think 2 day priority, if your destination is within the 1-2 day expected range, works perfectly fine.

[Ratvan]

Hi yeah I have had more than a few corals and macroalgae sent via "damp postage" I have had mushrooms (50/50 but that's always the case with me and mushrooms posted), GSP, zoas and Palys all arrived perfect. Montipora and acropora took some damage from the tissue paper but otherwise arrived fine. 

 

The largest issue is still maintaining temperature in transit. Too cold doesn't seem THAT much an issue compared to too hot

[billygoat]

I've always had mushrooms and Ricordea shipped in water (both 3-day and overnight), but I've had gorgonians shipped in wet paper towels + a small amount of water overnight with no problems. I imagine that 3-day shipping would not bother them much in this same situation. I also read a story about reefing god and gorgonian enthusiast Julian Sprung collecting gorgonian fragments from a Florida beach after a storm, placing them in his luggage (it was back in the '80s I think, before the international shipping of livestock was really regulated in any way), and flying with them to Europe without any issues, which makes me imagine that most gorgs at least are extremely resilient when it comes to shipping.

 

Honestly it takes a whole hell of a lot to kill a mushroom. What I would do in your situation is send a few 'shrooms in a "test" shipment to see how they fare, and if it goes well stick to that method in the future.

[A.m.P]

If I recall correctly they ran into an issue with their mushrooms being killed by shipping delays in nasty heat previously. The interesting thing about luggage is that it would be fairly-well temperature-controlled (especially carry-on).

 

There are quite a few stories of people airlining with coral and fish as well lol, but the temperature differentials in the states can be rough, and usually in the opposite direction you see in other first world (and cooler) nations.

 

It doesn't help that, in 2020 and with a pathetic infrastructure reliant on inefficient truck-transit, A/C or climate control is considered a luxury for both the drivers and the cargo in the US.

[billygoat]

The way we do it at work (I work for a wholesaler) is by looking at the current in-house temperature vs. the temperature at the shipping destination and roughly estimating how many heat packs/ice packs it will take to overcome that difference. It's a super hit-or-miss tactic when you factor in shipping delays (since heat/ice packs will quickly cease to matter if the shipment takes longer than you think it will), but it's at least better than nothing I guess. 🤷‍♂️

[debbeach13]

Thanks every one. I think the possible shipping delays is the biggest concern. Shipping a few cheap mushrooms to test the damp / moist option is not a problem. I live in Florida and lets say I was shipping to NY. The shipping cost for 1 day / overnight is about a $100+, 2 day is pretty varied so but lets say $40 and up, 3 day is around $10-$13. Taxes and what ever not included. If things shipped like last year when 3 day was delivered on day 3 or 4 the latest it would be OK. I just received a USPS shipment 5 days after quoted delivery date (not coral) so you have no idea when items will arrive without spending$$$. I have thrown mushrooms and Kenya tree away because no one local wants them. So I will probably give it a try. I am thinking maybe next month if I see a few days with temp.'s in the high 70"s for a few days in a row.

[A.m.P]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

Thanks every one. I think the possible shipping delays is the biggest concern. Shipping a few cheap mushrooms to test the damp / moist option is not a problem. I live in Florida and lets say I was shipping to NY. The shipping cost for 1 day / overnight is about a $100+, 2 day is pretty varied so but lets say $40 and up, 3 day is around $10-$13. Taxes and what ever not included. If things shipped like last year when 3 day was delivered on day 3 or 4 the latest it would be OK. I just received a USPS shipment 5 days after quoted delivery date (not coral) so you have no idea when items will arrive without spending$$$. I have thrown mushrooms and Kenya tree away because no one local wants them. So I will probably give it a try. I am thinking maybe next month if I see a few days with temp.'s in the high 70"s for a few days in a row.

I might wait until after the election, especially if a priority is made to restore the functionality of the USPS.

[debbeach13]

Good idea

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

The admin of USPS is a Trump lapdog according to my friends that work with the federal government at a pretty high level.

 

5 hours ago, billygoat said:

The way we do it at work (I work for a wholesaler) is by looking at the current in-house temperature vs. the temperature at the shipping destination and roughly estimating how many heat packs/ice packs it will take to overcome that difference. It's a super hit-or-miss tactic when you factor in shipping delays (since heat/ice packs will quickly cease to matter if the shipment takes longer than you think it will), but it's at least better than nothing I guess. 🤷‍♂️

Let me guess. Do you work for Quality Marine? haha.

[A.m.P]

Not to derail but, even if they weren't, they have heavily-vested business interest in the post office doing poorly and have spent most of their life lobbying for privatization, massive federal subsidies, and quintessentially trying to break-up or disrupt the post-office for profit.  

[billygoat]

On 10/11/2020 at 6:46 PM, Diamonds x Pearls said:

Let me guess. Do you work for Quality Marine? haha.

No no, not Quality Marine! 😅 We're not quite at that level of box-lugging desperation just yet! Haha.

 

I work for a company called ConsistentSea Inc. It's much smaller than QM, but still quite busy.

[This guy is extra salty]

I have shipped with usps and they’re not bad, usually makes it within their time frame. But then again I have been mostly shipping within a two day area from where I live. 
 

worst case ship Ups 😬 

[billygoat]

11 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

I have shipped with usps and they’re not bad, usually makes it within their time frame. But then again I have been mostly shipping within a two day area from where I live. 
 

worst case ship Ups 😬 

This makes sense. My impression is that most of USPS's problems right now come from a lack of room on airplanes - there just aren't enough flights to fit everything that needs to travel. So if your shipment is going someplace nearby, where it's only going to travel on a truck, maybe there isn't that much risk of a delay.

 

Of course, if things get bad enough trucks could have the some space-shortage problems as planes... so who knows really?🤔 I think I'd just go with UPS too

[A.m.P]

22 minutes ago, billygoat said:

This makes sense. My impression is that most of USPS's problems right now come from a lack of room on airplanes - there just aren't enough flights to fit everything that needs to travel. So if your shipment is going someplace nearby, where it's only going to travel on a truck, maybe there isn't that much risk of a delay.

 

Of course, if things get bad enough trucks could have the some space-shortage problems as planes... so who knows really?🤔 I think I'd just go with UPS too

That's certainly a big part of the problem, but that impacts international more than domestic.
(And has actually improved dramatically, while USPS issues have continued to become considerably-more pronounced)

[Christopher Marks]

Shipping Priority Mail with 1-3 day delivery windows seems ideal for this. I haven’t shipped coral, but I send out tons of packages every week with priority mail, and even with disruptions to service during the pandemic and administrative changes, at worst my packages were arriving a day late. If you mail coral frags on a Monday or Tuesday only, you should have a good buffer for success, even with a delay. 

[debbeach13]

I shipped some mushrooms today. USPS priority mail medium sided box. I did use the insulation that vendors have used when I order online. I did not use any heat packs or cold packs. One bag has wet paper towels and a little water and one bag has water. Supposed to arrive on Thursday. I am hoping no later than Friday.

[debbeach13]

Just took a peek using the tracking number and it looks like delivery should be today.

[debbeach13]

Not sure how long the box was out side. Delivered at noon. The mushrooms in the water seemed to do fine but the damp ones looked terrible. Considering the shipping was so reasonable I would try USPS priority mail again.