lahartman180
New member
I am interested in finding a diver that sells fish. I am looking personally for stocking my 300 gallon. Please let me know if you can help me with this.
Divers
- Thread starter lahartman180
- Start date
Costs are prohibitive
Costs are prohibitive
Looks like you live in IL, which is fairly far away from the ocean.
I doubt you are wanting to keep species found along the nearest coast. If you are, you can probably find some queens and damsel fish. Maybe a tassel fish. Many of the aquarium suitable fish are not very numerous in numbers along most of the US coast. That means you may go to a site and find nothing to collect. The diver will probably need a license to collect the species you are interested in, depending on local laws. If he is in the FL keys, many of the best species dive sites are heritage locations and collection is protected by federal law.
But, say he does take you up on the offer, you'll need to pay for his boat charter and his collecting fee.
Then comes the transport to IL. Packaging and oxygen are somewhat costly but not out of this world. What really bites the wallet is the shipping fee. Since your diver will probably not be a *large* shipper, there will be no discount shipping fees. Unless he has had his packaging tested by fedex, he cannot ship fish via Fedex. UPS will ship fish overnight, but they will not be warrantied. Not to mention that water is heavy. So, what you end up with is a 27lb package that costs approx $180 a box to ship.
Or you can pay him to drive the animals to your location.
If you don't like the local fish (by east coast standards), you'll probably want different types of tropical fish suitable for the aquarium. I'd go so far as to say that you will find that these fish are often found on different hemispheres of the globe. Or at very least, different sides.
If you are going international for collection, then repeat all of the above, but include international shipping fees, international customs, and what ever other license is required to ship live animals out of a particular country.
I believe a better choice would be liveaquaria.com or marinedepot.com. Even if you are a zoo, these are companies that can acquire, maintain, and ship live fish.
I know your post is seeking a diver, but I believe these are valid reasons as to why you probably won't find one. And also a reasonable solution.
Costs are prohibitive
Looks like you live in IL, which is fairly far away from the ocean.
I doubt you are wanting to keep species found along the nearest coast. If you are, you can probably find some queens and damsel fish. Maybe a tassel fish. Many of the aquarium suitable fish are not very numerous in numbers along most of the US coast. That means you may go to a site and find nothing to collect. The diver will probably need a license to collect the species you are interested in, depending on local laws. If he is in the FL keys, many of the best species dive sites are heritage locations and collection is protected by federal law.
But, say he does take you up on the offer, you'll need to pay for his boat charter and his collecting fee.
Then comes the transport to IL. Packaging and oxygen are somewhat costly but not out of this world. What really bites the wallet is the shipping fee. Since your diver will probably not be a *large* shipper, there will be no discount shipping fees. Unless he has had his packaging tested by fedex, he cannot ship fish via Fedex. UPS will ship fish overnight, but they will not be warrantied. Not to mention that water is heavy. So, what you end up with is a 27lb package that costs approx $180 a box to ship.
Or you can pay him to drive the animals to your location.
If you don't like the local fish (by east coast standards), you'll probably want different types of tropical fish suitable for the aquarium. I'd go so far as to say that you will find that these fish are often found on different hemispheres of the globe. Or at very least, different sides.
If you are going international for collection, then repeat all of the above, but include international shipping fees, international customs, and what ever other license is required to ship live animals out of a particular country.
I believe a better choice would be liveaquaria.com or marinedepot.com. Even if you are a zoo, these are companies that can acquire, maintain, and ship live fish.
I know your post is seeking a diver, but I believe these are valid reasons as to why you probably won't find one. And also a reasonable solution.
coral diver
Old & Wise
It will cost you more and not everyone can do international shipping, and its not wise to do local caught fishes due to they are cold water animals, my best suggestion try the on-line inside the USA next day shipping, much safer and less expensive well depending on your choice.
philter4
New member
I used to collect for a living, and there were some good suggestions, but not necessarily accurate. First getting a shipment internationally is not that hard, and costs for CITES paperwork is free. There is a inspection fee and the paperwork for fish and wild life has been $55.00 for a long time (it may be a little more now) but it is per shipment not per animal. The problem with bringing your own animal internationally is they usually wont ship small shipments and you have to bring it into one of the ports of entry like Los Angeles or San Francisco on the west coast and Miami or New York on the east coast, then you have to get someone to take it to a domestic carrier. As far as time to get the permits, we could walk it through Miami and if there is no line at the offices it takes all of 3 minutes.
There are easier ways for an individual to get tropicals, contact some of the local collectors if you want natives. By natives I'm talking about Hawaii and Caribbean animals, not west coast which are temperate or cold. What species are you looking for? I have friends with collecting licenses in both states that my ship to you directly as long as it is worth there time for the amount you want to order. The cost for shipping is dependant on the amount you order, the min for cargo on southwest airlines is $76.00 for up to 100 lbs, then it is per pound over that. That means if you order 2 fish it will be $76 so you might as well fill the box. From Hi it is similar prices, maybe a little more, but cargo isn't that expensive. The drawback in you have to go to the airport to pick them up. Neither HI or FL will ship corals as they are off limits, but other animals are collected and sold regularly.
The above posts are correct, using a LFS or an online vendor is usually cheaper and easier, but not the only way to aquire specimens.
There are easier ways for an individual to get tropicals, contact some of the local collectors if you want natives. By natives I'm talking about Hawaii and Caribbean animals, not west coast which are temperate or cold. What species are you looking for? I have friends with collecting licenses in both states that my ship to you directly as long as it is worth there time for the amount you want to order. The cost for shipping is dependant on the amount you order, the min for cargo on southwest airlines is $76.00 for up to 100 lbs, then it is per pound over that. That means if you order 2 fish it will be $76 so you might as well fill the box. From Hi it is similar prices, maybe a little more, but cargo isn't that expensive. The drawback in you have to go to the airport to pick them up. Neither HI or FL will ship corals as they are off limits, but other animals are collected and sold regularly.
The above posts are correct, using a LFS or an online vendor is usually cheaper and easier, but not the only way to aquire specimens.
liverock
RC Sponsor
A little more info..
CITIES is not free, cost up to $300.00 to apply for, and takes months to get.
Things have changed a lot since you used to ship.
International shipments require a fish and wildlife permit, cost $150.00, plus fish and wildlife inspection fee, you will pay for miles and hourly fees also, usually another $150-$200
And you will need two permits from FW, a designated port exemption, and a LE permit, both cost $100.
And you will have to use a "Designated" airport for fish and wildlife for imports and exports.
I shipped hundreds of international shipments in the last 30 years, but since 9-11, things and fees changed so much, I no longer ship internationally.
sea ya
Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:
philter4
New member
The company that ships has to have those permits, and they do not cost per shipment it is per year, so they don't charge the recipeint per shipment, it is usually included in the cost of doing business. CITES is only required for animals that are appendix II or III and there are very few fish (mostly freshwater such as arapima and other ostioglossids) that are even on the list. Corals all are considered appendix II, but as the reciever it is the responsability of the shipper to obtain the permits, not you. As a reciever you do not have to pay anything accept for the inspection fees, which as of 2004 was still $55.00. As for the designated airports those are SF and LA on the west coast and Miami and NY on the east coast, then you have to get someone to fwd them to you, they have several freight fwders who do that as everyday business, we used to do it ourselves but if we needed one it was a percentage of the shpmnt costs (about 2.5%) so it wasn't that expensive. If you choose one of them they will pick up the shipment, get it inspected and then transfer it to a domestic airline. Far a small shipment I don't know what they will charge, but I don't think it would be unreasonable in the big picture.
There is also the possible option of collecting your own fish where it is legal to do so, and bringing back a few nice fish, as smaller juveniles, in check through luggage set up as a small cooler chest.
You are allowed to bring back to the US from other countries a few fish (generally less than 10) for your own personal use. There is a small declaration form you can get from Fish and Wildlife if you ask nicely, listing species and origin.They generally warn you about not taking corals, sea horses, or snails, the last because of introduced pest issues. The form is filled out before you enter the US, and the Customs people can require a follow up from Fish and Wildlife. They never have bothered me, with a few juvenile angels, grammas, Spotted Drums, etc. They just wave me through . Bringing fish from Florida is much easir, provided you follow the easy to understand regulations.
I've done this dozens of times over the years. It used to be much easier before 9/11, when I'd bring them in carry on luggage, but life in general was easier a few years ago. Back then, in those freer and more reasonable times, the operant rule was if someting was not specifically forbidden, you could do it. Now, unless specifically permitted, you can't do anything, and all sorts of people wander about with badges basically doing nothing really useful.
You are specifically permitted to bring in a few fishes for your own non-commercial personal use, as long as they are not on some forbidden list, and were legally aquired. You have to do some research, and, of course, be adept in the water.
Other than that, rely on commercial people, who know the territory. If your willing to pay, you can get what you want.
You are allowed to bring back to the US from other countries a few fish (generally less than 10) for your own personal use. There is a small declaration form you can get from Fish and Wildlife if you ask nicely, listing species and origin.They generally warn you about not taking corals, sea horses, or snails, the last because of introduced pest issues. The form is filled out before you enter the US, and the Customs people can require a follow up from Fish and Wildlife. They never have bothered me, with a few juvenile angels, grammas, Spotted Drums, etc. They just wave me through . Bringing fish from Florida is much easir, provided you follow the easy to understand regulations.
I've done this dozens of times over the years. It used to be much easier before 9/11, when I'd bring them in carry on luggage, but life in general was easier a few years ago. Back then, in those freer and more reasonable times, the operant rule was if someting was not specifically forbidden, you could do it. Now, unless specifically permitted, you can't do anything, and all sorts of people wander about with badges basically doing nothing really useful.
You are specifically permitted to bring in a few fishes for your own non-commercial personal use, as long as they are not on some forbidden list, and were legally aquired. You have to do some research, and, of course, be adept in the water.
Other than that, rely on commercial people, who know the territory. If your willing to pay, you can get what you want.
