How To Ship Live Coral

[Paandemonium]

We've all at one point or another reallllyyyyy wanted something from the livestock section only to read the ever so dreaded "don't know how to ship, don't ask" line. This is my response to all the frustration I've faced from seeing SUPER awesome stuff on FS threads from people that live like 300+ miles from my little corner of the world. I hope you guys enjoy it and learn something new.

This is basically the cheapo/ non-vendor version of BuddyTheLion's gum ball plastic thingie method because not all of us want to buy those things in bulk and then spend 30 minutes drilling holes in them lol.

 

 

 

First off, these are the things you will need. Some of these things are optional... or more so for people(like myself) that tend to ship more often or just like being lazy

 

 

Pictured here(front to back): Live coral stickers(O), 1 oz condiment containers, "frags", permanent marker, box cutter and or razor blade(s), 2mm baggies(roll, 2 in), 2mm baggies(cut, 2 in), 4mm baggies(roll, 2 in), 2mm baggies(cut, 5 in, inside ziplock), tape, heat sealer.

Not pictured: 5x5 box, styrofoam.

 

If you guys have ever purchased coral online or at the LFS you'll notice that almost everyone has different frag plugs, in fact almost all of these "frags" came from my LFS and none of the plugs are the same

 

 

but for this specific method I would suggest you guys avoid these

 

 

and try to stick to these.

 

 

You'll notice that the ones with the thicker stems are the best OR the micro plugs because they rarely slip out.

 

Once you've selected the proper "frag" you'll want to set it aside on a frag rack so that it is ready when you want to ship. Remember that all frags should have a minimum of two weeks heal time before you ship them out so that they at least have a chance at survival. Preferably you'll want to give it a month so that you're absolutely sure that that coral is completely healed and at its healthiest. You wouldn't want someone to ship you an dying coral and you REALLY wouldn't want coral to arrive DOA as it is a loss to both parties. Not only that but as the seller if you provide DOA policy(which IMO one always should if the item is shipped overnight) you must replace or refund the frag.

 

Prep for SPS frags 1/4- 2 inches:

You'll want to get your box cutter/ blades and your 1 oz condiment cup

 

 

and slice an X right down the bottom of the condiment cup. IF you feel that the frag needs a little more flow than the cup is providing currently you can punch holes in the cups with a $3 single hole puncher from your favorite dollar store.

 

 

 

 

For a tighter fit make the X smaller(this could be done for plugs that have a thinner stems)

 

Now you want to put your frag into the container so that it fits snug.

 

 

 

Once you've done this you put your frag inside the baggie(in this case 4mm plastic tubing) and you heat seal it up.

 

 

 

 

BAM! Look at all the sexy happening here

 

 

Second set of baggies

 

 

 

Last set of baggies

 

 

 

All the baggies may seem excessive... and they are. But I do this so that EVERYTHING has to go completely wrong + a nuclear bomb has to go off for someone's frag to arrive without water.

 

 

Prep for zoas:

Generally for zoas I don't do the cup procedure because they are a lot hardier and I always glue them to the center of the plug so generally speaking it never even touches the edge of the frag plug(unless they've grown in a really weird way at which point I cup it up). That being said zoas are a lot easier and take shipping like champs.

 

Get your frags and 10000000x bag em up

 

 

 

Also, dont forget to label the goodies so that in the odd event that a DOA occurs there is absolutely no question as to what was dead.

 

 

Well Clayalaleona, not all of us keep a heat sealer around the house... what then?!

You dont NEED a heat sealer I just HATE rubber bands lol. Also this is where the precut baggies come into play

 

 

 

 

and continue previous bagging procedure

 

I prefer a heat sealer because 1. I'm super lazy and I hate rubber bands 2. Its a lot safer and reliable than rubber bands 3. Makes questionable DOA claims a wholeeeee lot easier.

 

Finally you'll want to line a box with styro, put your frags in there with packing peanuts(along with a cold* or hot* pack as needed, with newspaper to buffer the frags from direct contact with the got cold pack), seal it up and put a bunch of stickers on the outside so FedEx/UPS/USPS doesn't decide to eat the box

 

 

 

 

 

* Since I ship fedex priority overnight 90% of the time I like to avoid cold/ heat packs. If the box is insulated properly nothing will happen to the corals in 14 hrs.

 

 

FAQ:

Do the corals need any air in the packaging?

Nope.... not really. I suggest not leaving any room for air inside the baggie because things tumble around in transit and you do not want the corals exposed to air for countless hours.

 

Is USPS priority or FedEX/UPS 2 day a viable option for shipping corals?

Yes and no, you can use this method to ship zoas but I HIGHLY suggest it not be used for SPS. Many people offer this as a cheaper alternative to overnight shipping which may become costly but rarely do they provide a DOA to go along with it. Zoas will generally do fine with this shipping method and I have shipped and received zoas with this method about a million and a half times.

Life tip: If it cost more than $100 pay for overnight

 

Where do you get all these supplies?

Ebay, always.

 

Why can't I just bag the corals twice and be done with it?

Because nobody likes a wet box.

 

My corals arrived DOA, I'm going to put in a claim with Fedex/ UPS/ USPS and get my money back... its insured after all.

None of these companies will refund you for the loss of a live animal/ plant/ whatever they assume it is. We've all tried it and it'll never happen. The best option out there IMO is to spend a little extra on overnight + DOA through the vendor.

 

Claudia, why do you hate USPS?

Because they suck

[Horerczy]

:bowdown: :bowdown:

[glennr1978]

I've tried the little cup method in the past and IMHO, it's not necessary. More times than not the the frag will slip out of the cup, causing more harm than good, and most of the time my SPS frags don't fit in them anyway. As long as the frags are bagged thoroughly as you've suggested, and the bags are nice and thick (I don't use anything under 3mil), even super sharp tipped birds nest frags won't puncture them.

 

This may just be in my head but I swear that couriers prefer to play soccer with boxes labeled as fragile, live animals, etc.. It's only happened a couple of times (fedex is really good w/ the packages 99% of the time), but it's always when the boxes are labelled. I've never had any issues with a box that was unmarked.

 

I'm completely with you on the ice packs. Those things are completely worthless, IME.

 

All-in-all, excellent write-up!!

You left out one thing though...The most important factor when shipping coral is the coral being 100% healthy to begin with . No matter how well you pack them they likely won't make the trip if they aren't in great shape from the start.

[Paandemonium]

I've tried the little cup method in the past and IMHO, it's not necessary. More times than not the the frag will slip out of the cup, causing more harm than good, and most of the time my SPS frags don't fit in them anyway. As long as the frags are bagged thoroughly as you've suggested, and the bags are nice and thick (I don't use anything under 3mil), even super sharp tipped birds nest frags won't puncture them.

 

This may just be in my head but I swear that couriers prefer to play soccer with boxes labeled as fragile, live animals, etc.. It's only happened a couple of times (fedex is really good w/ the packages 99% of the time), but it's always when the boxes are labelled. I've never had any issues with a box that was unmarked.

 

I'm completely with you on the ice packs. Those things are completely worthless, IME.

 

All-in-all, excellent write-up!!

 

You left out one thing though...The most important factor when shipping coral is the coral being 100% healthy to begin with . No matter how well you pack them they likely won't make the trip if they aren't in great shape from the start.

USPS played soccer with one of my boxes once but that was expected Fedex has been good to me thus far

 

HEY hey hey! I did make a little note about the hella healthy corals to begin with or at least healing time

 

Thank you <3

 

:bowdown: :bowdown:

[NanoFever]

Thanks for the write up clay! Now who wants to ship me some corals to test it!

[jservedio]

I like using cups as well, but you need to get over your aversion to rubber bands! A single rubber band around the bottom of the frag plug's stem will prevent it from slipping out of the cup. One of my friends shipped me cupped acros without rubber bands on the plugs and 4 out of the 5 slipped out of the cup, even with the smallest possible "X" cut in the cup.

 

And for that thread a while back "Reef terms that sound dirty" or whatever, even though it is quite incorrect, you accidentally just took the cake with

Because nobody likes a wet box.

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

great write up. going to looking into these items. do you have a link of the bags your using?

 

i must have got the dumb delivery guy cause even with those sticker it was placed on it side. but the method worked extremely well.

[Lawnman]

Nobody likes a wet box speak for yourself . Great write up!!!

[Paandemonium]

great write up. going to looking into these items. do you have a link of the bags your using?

 

i must have got the dumb delivery guy cause even with those sticker it was placed on it side. but the method worked extremely well.

I'll post links once I have all the items together, give me a little

 

Nobody likes a wet box speak for yourself . Great write up!!!

haha you have a point x)

thanks sunshine

[RC1313]

Has anyone ever used ship your aquatics before? Great write up btw, hopefully will use someday!

[Lawnman]

Has anyone ever used ship your aquatics before? Great write up btw, hopefully will use someday!

They use to be a sponsor here. Not sure if anyone actually used them though.