Might as well chime in with my AZ Gardens experience, even though this is obviously the wrong forum. :?
I placed an order two weeks ago for eight adult SAEs, six Ottos, and two cherry red shrimp. I asked specifically for a Thursday delivery if possible.
The next Thursday I had not heard anything from them. I wrote and asked if the shipment was on its way because I did not want to miss the delivery. They wrote back almost immediately saying they had sent me an email about not shipping my order because they were out of SAEs. Funny, I never received an email.
Since my order had not shipped, I decided to make some changes. I asked the Ottos be removed and instead two wood shrimp be added. They acknowledged this change.
My order did ship yesterday and I received it today, a Thursday as requested. All the livestock were in order and reflected the changes I had made. All the shrimp were alive and looked good. Three of the eight SAEs were dead on arrival, and all the others look banged up a bit but alert. Everything is in their respective tanks now and have been for about four hours as of this writing.
Notes:
The "Cherry Red Shrimp" were VERY small. I knew they'd be small, but I was convinced I had received ghost shrimp at first! But once they were in their tank and acclimating, their intense red color returned nicely.
The wood shrimp were BIG.
Adults, for certain.
The SAEs are indeed true SAEs, and I know they are difficult shippers. However, the dead SAEs looked like they had died within minutes of being packaged. Signs of decay were already present. It makes one wonder if the problem is in the capture and packaging, and not the shipping itself.
Also, in each bag a strand or two of anacharis was included. Very nice looking, too! I know it is probably to make the fish feel better during shipment, but wouldn't the plant be using up oxygen during these dark conditions?
