Has anyone shipped corals internationally?

[Drez]

I often see coral in the classifieds and yet I live over the boarder in the north. Has anyone tried shipping like this? Especially USA--> Canada.

 

I've no exp shipping coral at all and don't know how long things can last (i.e. how does a Zoa from CA fair when getting shipped to Buffalo or Detroit, which happens to be around 2 hours from me).

 

Do customs give any trouble letting corals go over the boarder?

 

Thanks!

[SCUBA BUZZ]

ok heres the deal from what my friend @ customs said

 

do not try it it has at least a 33% chance of getting held up i live in a border town i get stuff shipped to the michigan side and then pick it up

 

p.s. i wouldnt claim you had them at the border

[dshnarw]

Zoas overnight or 2 day are no problem. 3 days is still a pretty good survival rate, but after that it's a bit iffy. May be fine, may not. Had some go through USPS for a week and a half and most of them were okay.

 

Have no idea what happens when they cross a border though.

[mvite]

I think it's a very bad idea.

 

I also believe that a member here had to hire a lawyer to help defend him when someone overseas tried to send him coral--Propagator--right???

 

Don't bother--

[Drez]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like some more hardy stuff like Zoas can probably survive the trip, even if held up for a little. However, it's probably also more risk and hassle than its worth.

many thanks

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

i couldn't even get macro algae to survive the trip. (tried a few times)

[Drez]

Forget that then. Canadian corals will be just fine.

[StevieT]

Forget that then. Canadian corals will be just fine.

 

I wouldn't try it. i work with logistics and am very familiar with UPS. You are looking at at least two days with them before you see the shipment. It has to go through customs, and you don't want to know the bad places they put things. It could sit on a hot runway for hours.

 

I can't see it being worth the extra expense to ship.