dry shipment feasible?

[M Woodhill]

I've read some articles discussing the benefits of shipping anemone dry and cold. The discussion is based on a hypothesis that a wet rather than a soaked anemone will have better oxygen diffusion

I don't know if this method really works and if it does, why no major online suppliers do this?

Dude, please chime in and share your opinions. I can purchase a cheap 20 buck sebae--a close relative to mag--to give it a shot

I'm now so addicted to mag--this little devil creature has so many personalities--and would like to see an improved survival rate of shipping

 

[bues0022]

During shipping, there would likely be much agitation of the liquid, however there also may be some periods of time where it is sitting still. I can see the benefits of low water volume, if the bag is filled with oxygen rather than air. A clownfish breeder I know uses much much more O2 than water, in order to put more oxygen in the bag.

It would be interesting to know why a low water volume would work, and what the optimal parameters for this method would be. I wonder if major retailers are not doing this because of risk. Despite this being a potentially better method, there is little benefit to them - typically the customer pays for shipping anyway, so they are not as insentivised as the consumer to save as much money. Also, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is used far more than it should be. I think it's great to think critically about a topic, and propose potentially more optimal solutions, provided the appropriate risk analysis has been performed (even informally).

You could always try it by purchasing a cheap sebae (as you mentioned) or even cheaper condy at your LFS and then sending it to yourself. Let us know how it works out!

Antibiotics were "far out" ideas just a couple years ago. Maybe in a few more people will think it's crazy to ship a nem with a ton of water.....

 

[Postal]

Shipping anemones "dry" used to be fairly common but seems to have fallen out of favor for some reason. Use of dry shipping reduces the chance that the anemone will foul the water in the bag and thus poison itself during transit. The LFS that I use still sends anemones and snails home in dry bags with great results since both types of animals are so sensitive to ammonia poisoning.

 

[M Woodhill]

Shipping anemones "dry" used to be fairly common but seems to have fallen out of favor for some reason. Use of dry shipping reduces the chance that the anemone will foul the water in the bag and thus poison itself during transit. The LFS that I use still sends anemones and snails home in dry bags with great results since both types of animals are so sensitive to ammonia poisoning.

I kinda agree. I'm happy I was among the few pioneers treating sick anemone with antibiotics and now I'd like to try to revive the method ditched for many a reason

I'd like to take crispa sebae as sample, given the scientific names they share partially in common: heteractis crispa/heteractis magnifica

presumably they are closely relevant

 

[nemmy]

Are you going to ship it to yourself or just package it up like you were shipping and let it sit 12-16hrs?

 

[OrionN]

If I remember right, there is a purging process that must be done prior to shipping dry. Also dry shipping, there will be little temperature buffer. The anemone get hot quicker and cold quicker than a full bag of water.
Imagine a full anemone regurgitated some of the food during shipping. Not good.

 

[M Woodhill]

Are you going to ship it to yourself or just package it up like you were shipping and let it sit 12-16hrs?

I'll pack it up and put it in a box as if it were shipped

 

[davocean]

I'll pack it up and put it in a box as if it were shipped

You'd still need to allow for the temp changes it faces along the way which could be quite dramatic.
And don't forget to toss that thing around the porch for a while if you are really comparing a shipped nem!
I'm sure the water must buffer some of that bouncing around.
Anemone's do hold a lot of water and often left dry on a reef for long periods, but I'm not sure how the temp fluctuations would affect it.

 

[nemmy]

I volunteer for being on the receiving end of a healthy when shipped anemone and will document its arrival lol

 

[phender]

If you are going to try this may I make a suggestion. Do what reptile and amphibian shippers do, use Phase 22 packets(made by Cryopak) instead of using cold/heat packs to control the temp in the container.

 

[mcfa2403]

Shipping anemones "dry" used to be fairly common but seems to have fallen out of favor for some reason. Use of dry shipping reduces the chance that the anemone will foul the water in the bag and thus poison itself during transit. The LFS that I use still sends anemones and snails home in dry bags with great results since both types of animals are so sensitive to ammonia poisoning.

In talking to wholesalers this was my understanding of dry shipping too, since anemones can hold water in their tissue they are less likely to expel waste if they are out of water. The anemone will still have the waste in its tissue but at least it is in a controlled location.

 

[D-Nak]

The problem with dry shipping is that as others mentioned, it may hold onto waste. It's a problem because the waste could begin decompose within the nem, possibly causing the infection process we see in many nems.

For overnight shipping, I think dry shipping might be fine.

However, for extended periods of time, such as going from the exporter to wholesaler, I personally think shipping a nem with a lot of extra water -- like DD does it -- is still the best method. Not only does it provide temperature buffer, but it also gives the nem the ability to purge in the bag, which I think its better than holding it in. The problem is that the added water weight makes this more expensive, which is probably why exporters don't want to use this method.