Shipping Fish shrimp plants Kordon & Heat paks

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Autumnsky

Moderator
Site Team
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
16,742
Location
Northern Colorado, USA
Have read about shipping these things but looking for a little extra info for those with experience. Have shipped a few. But...have some things which I would like clarification.

Kordon breather bags for shrimp, snails and fish, good to use these, yes?

Kordon for plants, NO? Plastic fish store bags ok? Yes, NO why?

Heat packs, have 72, 60+ and 40+ hour ones. It seems they get pretty hot, so how should I package them so I don't cook and fish or shrimp, snails or plants for that matter. I am planning to use USPS flat rate boxes, possible hold at P.O. depending on weather and recipients postal service quality experiences. Wrapped with plain puppy puddle pads to absorb any possible liquid, bubble wrap and/ or some insulation foam board. Also I have a few styrofoam shippers on hand and can get more for $4. from lfs.

Any assistance to make sure everything is perfect is greatly appreciated!!!(y)
 
Kordon breather bags for shrimp, snails and fish, good to use these, yes?

IMO it depends on what you're shipping. Most fish can go fine in a normal (non breather) bag with priority mail, but some of the larger ones may need it. For shrimp, it's still optional. I have shipped hundreds of RCS without using breathers and 98% arrived alive. For more sensitive shrimp like crystal reds, I would definitely use it. For snails, IMO it isn't necessary. They aren't very active in general, so they tend to not need as much air. I usually wrap snails in a wet paper towel and then put them in a normal bag.

Kordon for plants, NO? Plastic fish store bags ok? Yes, NO why?

IMO there is absolutely no need to use breather bags for plants. Plants aren't as sensitive as fish and inverts, and they don't need to respire as often. Yes, plastic fish store bags are ok. I have been using them since I started shipping. I never used breather bags because most of the things I ship are pretty hardy (guppies, RCS and plants). In shipping most fish/inverts will rest (like at night) so that they move around less, thus not breathing as much. This is one of the main reasons why plastic fish store bags usually work. Plants do not need heat/cold packs either- as long as they are not in freezing temperatures, they should be fine.

Heat packs, have 72, 60+ and 40+ hour ones. It seems they get pretty hot, so how should I package them so I don't cook and fish or shrimp, snails or plants for that matter. I am planning to use USPS flat rate boxes, possible hold at P.O. depending on weather and recipients postal service quality experiences. Wrapped with plain puppy puddle pads to absorb any possible liquid, bubble wrap and/ or some insulation foam board. Also I have a few styrofoam shippers on hand and can get more for $4. from lfs.

I would get 72 hour ones- most of the time priority mail is fine for shipping, and that usually takes 2-3 days. It's important to time your drop off at the post office correctly when using heat packs (pack up the boxes soon before the PO closes, then activate heat packs and ship at the latest time you can before they close). This will hopefully make sure that the heat packs are not activated (they warm up within 30 mins of opening usually) too early while the package sits inside the PO (this could potentially overheat the box). As for packing, just wrap the heat pack with newspaper and take to the top of the box. Make sure to have a few layers of newspaper of other packing material between the heat pack and the critters' bags. Keep in mind that the 72 hour heat packs weigh about 6 ounces. This can raise your shipping cost by a few dollars. Styrofoam shippers work well, but if you no longer want to spend the money on them you can buy sheets of styrofoam (.5-.75" thick) and cut it yourself to line the box.

I put my comments in blue :)
 
Back
Top Bottom