cold shipment received .. how to proceed?

eskymick

Active member
I just received a shipment of some aquacultured colonies .. arrving moments ago from FedEx. As luck would have it, a deep freeze has once again settled in on mid-America ... resulting in a water temp in the box at 58 degrees (despite being packed with heat packs).

The colonies look ok, but I'm not sure what would be the best approach to acclimate them to my system (79 degrees).

Any expert advice ? Please.
 
Go slooooow.
Lay them in the sump to warm up till they are about the tempeature of the tank and then you can continue with the rest of the normal acclimation process.
Good luck!
 
That's what I had to do is float them in the bag for about 30 minutes then just added them directly to the tank. That was about a month ago and they are doing great so far nice coloring and little growth spurts not much encrusting as of yet though.
 
you might also try putting them in a bucket and use a drip line 20 degrees is a lot. Just run some airline tubing and tie it in a knot to get the drip
 
honestly i would stick them right into the water. they can handle the cold->hot shift much better than the other way around.
 
Yup, agreed just float the bags in the sump or tank until temp rises to match your tank then do your usual dip procedure and place in the tank. I would start low or off to the sides and move up over the next few weeks, as I do with most corals. If they were healthy to begin with and your tank is running well they should do fine.
 
I would not add them directly to the display, always QT or you will end up with nasties. I agree with floating the bag in the sump :)
 
Ok ... I floated them for nearly an hour .. gave them the appropriate baths and placed them in the tank. They look awesome. When the lights came up, they immediately reached out with good polyp extension and great color.

Thanks all for your help.
 
An interesting note to this shipment .....

At first I was very impressed with FedEx Priority Overnight service.
I was able to track the shipment, and it was delivered to my house at shortly after 9:00am.

However ..... it's a good thing I happened to look out the window and saw the FedEx truck coming up the street. I watched the driver get the package from behind her and then watched as she sprinted up the driveway to my door. I though .. WOW .. running to the door!!

I put on my jacket to meet the driver at the door. But, no knock .. no doorbell ring. I looked out the window only to see the driver sprinting back to the truck. I opened my front door and there was the package sitting on my front porch .... plainly marked "PERISHABLE". The outside temp in Green Bay at mid-morning was 6F .. .with a windchill of -13F.

It's a good thing I saw the truck coming !!
 
That has been my experience with Fed Ex in my area for a while. I will be sitting in the living room waiting for the knock...nothing and I will look out and see the package sititng on my doorstep. It use to be that they would not deliver without a note taped up to the door if you were not home or answering their knock. They must have changed their policies on all this.
 
When at all possible

I like to ship through the US Postoffice. When you drop off the package you have a simular tracking number so you know exactly where your package is at. Then if you also pay the added few dollars they need to get a signature to verify delivery. That means they will knock, if there is noone to answer the knock they do leave a note and usualy try agqain later.

The other option if your shipping from person to person is direct air. This is where you drop it off at the airport and the party on the other end picks it up right after the plane arrives. I have shipped not only fish but also birds this way without a problem regardless of the outside tamperatures.

Dennis
 
That's the main reason why I like UPS. FedEx and Airbourne always just leave the package. When I asked why, both said that if the driver thinks its a good neighborhood, they'll just leave it.

I'm going back to the ghetto:lol:
 
Fedex policy HAS changed per the fedex rep I talked to 3 weeks ago.... They leave the package without knock or ring. Period.

I dont like it.

I used to get alot of cigars from overseas and although not as perishable as livestock obviously, they still can not be exposed to the heat (cold is less of an issue). I just lucked up a few times and heard the truck.
 
Hmm.. I noticed that they leave packages at the doorstep now, but I always get a knock or ring. When I open the door, the fedex guy is usually sprinting to his truck.
 
Well I to received a fedex package today...However I was not as lucky as you. The item did not arrive until 5:00 and only because I called fedex and told them it was livestock. The bags were very cold when I open the box, there may as well have been no heat packs in the box. I lost a pavona and with great sadness a ORA roscoe's blue acropora. The roscoe was 95% white with only the slightest blue on the tips 2 hours later it is completely white and dead. No more ordering when the temps are so cold here in PA.

I wish you luck with your corals and hope they survive.
 
... and to follow up on the original thread subject ....

The colonies have been in the tank for 6 hours and they look great. They make me want to throw the maricultured colonies I have out. There truley is something to be said about getting aquacultured corals instead of wild or maricultured.

I'm just a little nervous that the "bubble" may burst in the next few days. If they were unhappy in their new surroundings would they be showing it by now? As it is, they have great color and polyp extension. I wsa expecting a long "break-in" period for them.
 
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