Cheap mangroves available on eBay

[Will]

No, this is not a commercial sales plug or anything, just something that mangrove seekers should know about. Someone from Hawaii is selling mangroves chutes (chutes? shoots?) on eBay, 10 for $10. It's a great deal and worth looking in to. A guy from here in Columbia told me about it and he said he got them and has been growing them with great success. So, if you want a mangrove but don't want to pay $30 for a single shoot, search for them on eBay.
-Will

 

[skylsdale]

I just checked recently and I think the going rate is 10 propagules for $11.95 + $7 for shipping or something like that--still a better deal than you'll find anywhere else.

I also contacted the guy to ask what sort of salinity they are collected from, and you should be aware that once he collects them from a saline environment, they are then kept in FW. If you just plop them in your sump or refugium with full strength SW they could go into shock or possibly die. Most people haven't had a problem...but I've heard some cases where they just withered and died. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[dupontsniper]

thanks for the info, have been harrasing the LFS to get me a couple, but now I will have to look in at Ebay. How do they ship in cold?(Minnesota) Should I wait till spring? Thanks, Shane

 

[kevino]

anyone know if they are red or black mangroves?

Y'all can just save some money and enjoy yourselves by visiting Florida's East Coast (Cocoa Beach area) and grab all the mangrove "seed pods" you like.

One thing to note though, don't come this week, as it snowed (just a bit) yesterday in Cape Canaveral!

 

[skylsdale]

They are red mangroves. Do a search on here and there is a mangrove thread where someone gave the exact words to search for on ebay--otherwise you may never find the guy. E-mail him and find out if they will survive the cold to your destination(I live in WA state on the west coast, so coming from HI he said they would be fine.) At $1 per plant, you can't really go wrong--and there's NO WAY your LFS will be able to beat that, since he probably paid more himself.

 

[Philip]

I emailed the guy about the cold and he was less than helpful.
I think the answer I got was "they'll be OK" but he wouldn't tell me how they were packaged. Somehow I don't think some mangroves in a bag shipped usps prioity will make it bouncing around in a truck when it's -10F out

 

[kevino]

not to be in anyone's defense, but in my experience, these things are pretty hardy. I have seen mangrove "pods" (I am not a botanist) stay in the heat of the sun on pavement for weeks and then go in water and begin to root, and shoot off their first leaves. I have also seen them stay on the sand in our winters (sometimes 4- 5 days (evenings) of 30 degrees F, and in the Spring, they begin to root.

I am not saying that the ones on ebay would fair as well. Just make sure you find out if they are rooted and already growing, otherwise you'll be in for a surprise, as I have had only a 33% success rate of getting un-rooted ones to sprout.

I live in FL, and I have grabbed literally hundreds of these at a time, and placed them in my refugium. For the ones with no roots/leaves: if you don't start to see roots in the first 2 weeks, it is my experience that you can forget about them. However, if you start off with roots and/or top leaves you have more like 80% chance success/survival.

They live in brackish water here (about 1.021) so I slowly get them used to the 1.025 my tank/ref is at.

Hope that helps

 

[kevino]

almost forgot, don't let your location fool you.

No matter what, if coming from HI, these will be in the cargo area of a plane, at somewhere like 25.000 feet (cold).

So eveyone has about the same chance of getting them in the same condition, unless the delivery from the nearest hub to your home takes forever.

I made the mistake of ordering some macro algae from Indianapolis (don't ask).... Anyway, even next day, the stuff was dead, and I blame it on the altitude of the airplane

 

[Philip]

even cargo airplanes are pressurized, the cargo would not fare well otherwise.
Usually the pressurization comes from bleed air off the turbine, so it would be warm.
I'd have to look at a winds aloft chart, but up here @ 24000 feet it's probably -40 or so (-43C actually, I looked.. good guess) at 34,000 it's -54c
they would not allow cargo to get nearly that cold.

those temperatures aren't going to change a whole lot between here and hawaii.

 

[dupontsniper]

ok thanks for the advice and cold weather input. I guess if nothing else, for that price, give it a whirl, thnaks again, Shane

 

[Philip]

I'm going to go ahead and give them a shot in probably a week, I'll let you know how it goes, gonna wait until it's in the 30's

 

[skylsdale]

Keep us updated Philip--I won't be ordering them for another month or so.

 

[Will]

I think I'm gonna go ahead and order some of them too. I was hoping someone who has gotten them would post here, but at 10 for $12, you really can't go wrong. Even if the survival rate is only 33.3%, that's still 3 mangroves. So, I too will let everyone know how it goes. One thing though, what should I do with all the ones that live!? I only want like 2. I guess I could take them to a reef club meeting and trade them..
-Will

 

[davidpt40]

I am a college student and I work for UPS (they pay for college,I'm a bio major btw). I have unloaded both aircraft and trucks. The truck trailers are usually within 5 degrees of outside air temperature. Aircraft containers- 'cans', vary in temperature. The biggest factor I believe is how long the can must sit outside before it is processed, brought into the building, and unloaded. I would estimate that a can is exposed to the elements (heat and cold) for about 30 minutes, which is enough time to fluctuate the temperature significantly. Then of course you have to figure in how much time it takes for the package to reach your house after it is loaded on the delivery truck, they have heating but it is not very adequate.

 

[Scleractinian]

Legality of FLA propagule collection?

Legality of FLA propagule collection?

Does anyone know where to look on FLorida DEP's web site to find out if FLA might be a better source than the eBay guy? I would imagine that someone from FLA (say from around Cape Canaveral)) might be able to double or triple the eBayer's price, ship faster (and warmer--or less cold for less time), and still find willing buyers here. My main question is Florida's mangrove protection laws... Some help here Florida people?


BTW... the lows here have averaged about 2.6F degrees over the last 2 weeks, w/ windchills averaging 10+ below zero... brrrr...

 

[kevino]

try this site for laws:

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/in...Statute&Search_String=&URL=CH0403/Sec9324.HTM

I really have no desire to start selling these. I would much rather have you come here and enjoy our beautiful coast and on your way home, grab some for yourselves.

I never did ask what the group was going to use them for - nitrate reduction? I have heard several discussions about their in-effectiveness when compared to a macro algae, such as chaetomorpha (spaghetti). But I added some just for Bio-diversity.

 

[Will]

Hey Kevin,
I was actually in Cape Canaveral right after Christmas and I did enjoy your beautiful coast!! I was at the port though, so I didn't see any mangroves anywhere.
-Will

 

[Philip]

Re: Legality of FLA propagule collection?

Re: Legality of FLA propagule collection?

BTW... the lows here have averaged about 2.6F degrees over the last 2 weeks, w/ windchills averaging 10+ below zero... brrrr...

it hasn't been above 0 here for awhile. -15 or so last night, it was down to something like -29 last thursday night, dunno what the windchills have been

 

[traveller7]

I have placed two orders from Brian, ebay user ID: 721 and all arrived alive both times. Once in Aug and once this Christmas.

As others stated, at $17 shipped, you can try a few times and still be ahead of the game.

Good luck and the ones my "friends" did not steal are doing great

traveller7

 

[kevino]

fourhand2
They line the barge canal (if you took the port all the way in, though the locks. It is part of the Indian River Lagoon. The Beaches just on the South side of the Jetty of Port Canaveral are loaded with Mangrove seed pods, since they get washed out through the port when they open the locks to let the boats in and out of the river.
Glad you enjoyed it. I love it here.