was thinking of ordering fish..

[VUE]

i was thinking of ordering fish from ray mccaleb but worried about the cold weather. will the fish make it to me okay?

 

[M0oN]

I'd wait 'til around April if I were you, I live in Southern California and even shipping fish out here has killed a large number (last shipment showed up with 3 dead borelli, 12 dead cory cats, 6 dead leopard ctenopoma...only thing that survived were the snails).

 

[Neil]

How well fish are received in the winter is dependant, in large part, on how knowledgeable and careful the person is that is shipping. Ray is probably going to get them there in fine shape. But make sure you ask for 1 day shipping and see if it is possible to pick them up at the ups, fedex or post office. That will go along way to insuring their safety! And choose a shipping day that the weather is moderate.

Neil

 

[_BaDgUy_]

Even if what Neil says is great, I've had FedEx goof up on a shipment. The box missed the plane, and got there one day late, with all 22 wild apistos frozen to death

I would recommend waiting untill the weather gets warmer.

David

 

[Neil]

Have to agree with that logic.
Better safe than sorry.
Patience is a virtue.
People who live in glass houses...Oh wait, that one doesn't apply! :roll:

 

[M0oN]

Yeap, not to mention the selection of fish is usually a little better towards the warmer times of the year due to shipping across continents etc...imagine how bad you'd feel if you bought somth'n right now and then saw a harder to find fish at the same price a few months down the line...best to plan online purchases thoroughly before goin' through with it...I won't be gett'n my apistogramma panduro for at least another 3 months, gives me time to catch up with other things in the tank like planting it and what not...

 

[Ray McCaleb]

All good comments. I've had good luck in shipping lately. Perfection last week to Pennsylvania during a really bad storm. I package carefully and only ship overnight during the winter. However, I received an overnight package two weeks ago with 10 pair of the nicest fish you can imagine...all dead on arrival. A leaker had extinguished the heat pack...bag temperature was 54 degrees F.

 

[VUE]

thanks for the opinion

hello every one thanks for the suggestions i still have not decided what i am goin to do, but i think i will wait til it gets nicer out maybe...vue

 

[farm41]

The only time I would not recommend shipping is in December.

I had 2 boxes of fish get delayed one day in December, to close to christmas.

I have shipped in all kinds of weather, which is not really an issue, provided there is someone at home to recieve them, and they are packed properly. Heat packs and proper insulation techniques are a must, other than that, if the carrier does their job on time, there should not be a problem. If you are not at home and they leave the box on the front porch in sub freezing weather, thats another thing. Better wait for nice weather.

 

[M0oN]

VUE, you'd probably be fine shipping fish this time of year if you do it from airport to airport and go pick them up, but I think it might still be a little chilly out to be getting them sent to your front door.

Fair warning that picking up fish from airport freight is a major pain if you haven't done it a few times before...