Shipping costs?

[RogueDiscus]

I have some folks interested in some fry I have, so I went ahead and got shipping supplies together; bags, boxes, heat packs, O2. I took a box to fedex that I guestimated to have about the same shipping weight as someone wants (15x15x18, 1 gal water), and they want almost $200 to ship from here in Oregon to the east coast. Am I missing something, or is this what to expect? Suggestions appreciated.

[TURQ64]

Het there.grab a hotdog, some chips, and welcome to the ballgame!...The only cheaper option is airport to airport....my only option..Gary

[yim11]

Sounds about right, that's a really big box with a lot of water. Don't tell fedex its fish or they may not let it go, have to go through their certification program and sign waivers to be "legit".

[RogueDiscus]

Thanks man I really do appreciate it! I had just decide I had joined a new club, or, taken the addiction to the next level, and you confirmed it. I've got a pair of F1 Albino-intermediates, look like snakeskins, spawning as I write. Gotta go.
Steve

[RogueDiscus]

Thanks -
Yeah, maybe I over-did the water, which might help a lot with the price. Since I haven't done this before, I had a hard time deciding which size box to buy, but went with one similar to what I've received shipments in.
Steve

[mmorris]

I have some folks interested in some fry I have, so I went ahead and got shipping supplies together; bags, boxes, heat packs, O2. I took a box to fedex that I guestimated to have about the same shipping weight as someone wants (15x15x18, 1 gal water), and they want almost $200 to ship from here in Oregon to the east coast. Am I missing something, or is this what to expect? Suggestions appreciated.

That's a big box! I ship two inch + discus in 4 inch bags with two cups of water per bag. If I remember correctly, I get 8 or 9 bags in a 12x12x12 box. I think you will find that while you may give a lot of shipping quotes to people on the east coast, most of your business will be more local. Sign up for a fed ex account online and pay online and you will get a slightly better price. Also check into USPS express. I ship discus with them if and only if they guarantee next day service. Sometimes USPS estimates two days for express, depending on where the package is going. Open an account with them, pay and print the shipping label online and the price will be a lot less. I've had no problems with USPS express. Tap wood. :)

[RogueDiscus]

Also, the guy at fedex checked and read me their internal memo about shipping "Live." Fish, lobster, small aquarium (tanks?), OK. Snakes, reptiles, no. Came out in December. I had no problem. Could be local, but didn't sound like it.
Steve

[RogueDiscus]

Thanks! I should have thought to ask for more box advice here! Sounds like I could get by with smaller.
S

[mmorris]

I buy sheets of styrofoam and line the box myself.

[terps]

Fedex has a page where you can estimate shipping costs:

https://www.fedex.com/ratefinder/home?cc=US&language=en&locId=express

Just choose "your packaging" selection under the Package Type listing and put in the dimensions of your box. This will be in the section "2. Package and Shipment Details" after you enter in the zip codes and weight of your package. The estimated cost will be a little less if you have an account and ship a lot. Shipping is very expensive now.

[DiscusOnly]

That sounds about right if you are using Fedex. They are probably charging your a special handling surcharge fee.

I said go with USPS Next day. It's not as fast as Fedex but should be cheaper.

[DiscusDrew]

Go through the process.... do it right.... it surprises me so many dont. I know its a paid... TRUST ME... but it also leaves you with better pricing, and better legal coverage than you may have otherwise if say your box leaked and destroyed 20 other boxes. But yes in general, people dont reallize how much it really costs to ship a fish, thats why I say every customer should go and price sending a box, and pricing out supplies.

[DiscusDrew]

We certainly dont do it for a profit :)

[RogueDiscus]

Thanks everyone for your input. It's a little scarry taking this step, but I'm glad to do it.

[DiscusDrew]

And lining your own boxes with Styrofoam... It works.... Kinda lol. Problem is there are seals for potential leakage. However yes it is cheaper. You'll notice those of you that rave about "great packaging" are all boxes received from approved shippers that use Styrofoam carton boxes that can not and will not ever leak. Also the bags are thick, double or triple lined with a protective black sleeve in between to prevent being punctured by spines. It's worth doing right if you expect success.

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[the20tonknuckler]

Anyone ever use the kordon breather bags? They supposedly allow you to ship with less water. The only fish I've gotten by mail were quarter sized and shipped this way. The bags were only 2x2 inch. Very little water. All 4 were alive and well. Shipped by USPS next day.

I have never shipped myself. Maybe soon as I am getting close to having fry. Got wigglers again. Maybe this time they will attach to the parents before being eaten.

[the20tonknuckler]

BTW the fish that I got were from Joe Gargas off of aquabid.

[CliffsDiscus]

BTW the fish that I got were from Joe Gargas off of aquabid.

Which of the Discus in your pictures were from Joe.

Cliff

[the20tonknuckler]

The big orange and white pigeon blood. He is 7 inches. Got 4 from him 18 months ago. 1 died. I sold the other 2 when they were 4 inches. I've been trying to make a fish rainbow in my show tank. 1 of this. 1 of that.
They came with very little water. He offered free shipping. I think I got all 4 for around 50 bucks total.

[DiscusDrew]

Less water equals less temperature retention equals higher mortality rate, I don't use a ton of water but.... Be careful.... That's my point, dead air space in boxes you will find to be detrimental to maintaining temperature when your shipping in cold weather. Don't go in half cocked...

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[dagray]

I haven't shipped any fish or aquatic fauna, but have recieved fish, shrimp in Kordon breather bags. I think for younger smaller fish they work very well, and they would work well with older fish. When I have recieved fish packed in the breather bags the water was never cloudy or smelly (like something died) even if there was just a hint of debris or fish waste.

Kordon breather bags can be a trick to unpack as the bag wants to stick to itself instead of being able to gently pour the fish/water out like you can with 3mil or 5mil bags. I think both types of bags (mil bags and breather bags) have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Dave

[mmorris]

I wonder if the tiny discus fry need to be fasted longer in order to ship them like this.

[lipadj46]

I wonder if the tiny discus fry need to be fasted longer in order to ship them like this.

I want to say gargas fasts dime sized fry for a week before shipping. It was so long ago I forget though. Mine still turned out nice, but not nice enough I gave mine away

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[DiscusDrew]

Thats an awful long time to starve that small of a fish.... I dont see how a recovery could happen from that at that age.

[mmorris]

A week doesn't sound right. I would think fry would be cleaned out long before that. I don't know though.

[CliffsDiscus]

I fast the dime size for 3 days, the waste are pretty empty out of the fry by then.

[RogueDiscus]

What about adding some epsom salt to encourage elimination during the fasting period? I just had this idea, and whether it's totally wrong/ or obvious, I don't know.
Steve

[discusdaddy]

+1 for gargas fish

[andy123]

here I made a video on how I do it. this will work and it's so far the cheapest and easiest way to do it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhHUMJbw770
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vufr-LfO1Fk

if anyone has questions ask..

only bad thing about using breather bags is that you really don't know if they are working. I have shipped fish out before and 2 out of the 4 bags were dead why dont know only thing I could think of was the bag was working right. So I changed it to this method in the video.

[mmorris]

It looks like you use a lot of water, which means less room for oxygen. I use 2 1/2 cups for a 2 - 2 1/2 in. discus. I bet others use even less. Your box is a USPS priority box. Discus, imo, must go by overnight - express if USPS can do it in a day; otherwise, Fedex. Lots of water will increase the weight and hense the costs. Have you shipped discus using the method in the video?

[andy123]

most of my packages make it in 2 days and I have never had any loss's. I had one package by my fault I had the last two digits on the zip backwards and the box was out for shipping 7 days I figured by day 4 the fish would've been gone for sure but the guy said he opened the box and only 2 fish were dead and the other 10 made it. I was shocked he said they were thin but still alive. I did give him a full refund. remember if you package the fish right and the box is dark inside the fish will sleep and 24 to 48 hours they can't tell the difference.

[Ryan]

The smaller the fish, the better.

In the summer months when it's warm I ship all my small cichlid juvies through USPS Priority. Most boxes make it in 2 - 3 days with no losses. I had one box last year go 5 days and all the fish were eating right out of the bags. It's all in how you bag them.

Breather bags are great for tiny fish. Unfortunately, once cichlids get over an inch or so, the hard anal and dorsal fin rays will puncture right through a breather bag. I learned that with my severums last year. Unless you're shipping small fish like tetras or very young cichlids/discus, I wouldn't even bother with the breather bags.

For larger fish, I triple bag, taping the innermost bag about 1/3 of the way up with duct tape. This helps to keep the fin rays from puncturing through. Then I use 1/3 water to 2/3 pure O2 that I pump from an O2 tank. This is where appropriately-sized bags come into play. If the bag is too small you're going to end up with a lot more water than air, and this isn't good because A) it adds weight which increases the shipping cost, and B) it reduces the amount of oxygen in the bags which will be important if the box gets lost or delayed. Ideally you want the water to just cover your fish.

I fast my fish for two days before shipping, then do a large water change the night before so that their tank water is clean. I use that water to bag them. Each bag gets a Bag Buddy.

I've found it's easier to cut your own styrofoam to fit whichever box you want to use, rather than trying to find matching boxes and styros. You can use some of that expanding spray foam or even tape to try and seal the corners where the styrofoam pieces join together if you are worried about a bag leaking through to the box. You can also get box liners which are essentially giant bags that will offer you an extra layer of protection.

FedEx and UPS base their shipping charges on the weight, box dimensions, and distance. Try and use the smallest box possible for the number of bags you are sending and cut down on the weight by avoiding tons of water. This is hard to do with large/adult fish but juveniles shouldn't be that bad.

If someone is able to receive Express mail via USPS, they do have a flat rate box for Express that costs like $40 - 50. I'm not sure how large it is so that may be an issue. Also keep in mind that USPS cannot guarantee next day for Express mail in some locations and it could actually take up to two days. You'd need to double-check the destination zip code with USPS to find out.

For anyone new to shipping, I'd suggest doing a test run with some culls/runts. If you're unsure of your packing skills or if your bags are going to leak, package them up and just keep the box at your house. I did this when I was testing out breather bags. I packed the fish in a box then left it in my fish room for four days, occasionally picking it up and shaking it around to simulate being handled by mail sorters. :laugh: It sounds a bit ridiculous but when I opened the box there were no leaks and all the fish were fine.

[mmorris]

In the summer months when it's warm I ship all my small cichlid juvies through USPS Priority.

Discus too?

[Ryan]

I've never tried discus but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. They're only in the box a couple days and they'll mostly just sleep. Just make sure they have plenty of O2 and fast them really well. I'm willing to be a guinea pig if someone wants to send a test box. ;)

[mmorris]

USPS Priority is 2-3 days. It arrives in three days as often as two. I've never used UPS. I shipped some fry fedex overnight once, to arrive on Saturday. What I didn't know is that if you ship overnight on Friday, you need to tick a little box. Otherwise, they are delivered on Monday. Monday morning arrived and the fry were all dead...and smelly. :( Three days.

[Ryan]

They must be more sensitive than other types of cichlids. I've only ever shipped adult discus and I always use overnight for adult fish.