Has anyone seen this before???

[humaguy]

I have been buying fish online since the early 90's and never encountered this before..

I got a fish yesterday in the mail...from nyaquatics...

So, the box comes...there is a lot of white tape with bright red lettering that says..."Opened and resealed for US Fish and Wildlife inspection."

Has anyone encountered this before?

Felt good on the one hand...bad, thinking that it could create excess stress on the fish...especially if the box and bag are not handled appropriately...

Thoughts?

 

[ackee]

Was it sent USPS, Fedex, or UPS? My guess is USPS, but anything sent by air might be flagged. I'm curious about what they were looking for. Perhaps species prohibited in interstate commerce. I've never seen F&W inspections in connection with domestic consumer purchases. I sometimes bring fish into the US from other countries, and the Feds usually open and inspect the shipping box with a fine tooth comb. They actually drilled holes in my shipping cooler 18 months ago, undoubtedly hoping to find drugs. Despite being disappointed, they did not disturb the bagged 4 inch Spotted Drum swimming in his 6 liters of SW, and resealed the cooler box properly.

There is a photo of the fish and the drilled cooler on my Public Profile page. They didn't leave any notes or notices, only several drilled holes in the cooler's air insulation spaces. I did have all the F&W import declaration forms attached to the cooler, which was enclosed in a larger suitcase. The Drum, now 9 inches long, is doing fine.

 

[humaguy]

It was fed Ex...the whole thing is bizarre to me...
This was a Dussy tang too...a fish that does not need extra "excitement" while en route!!

 

[MrTuskfish]

No matter who delivered it, it was a U.S. Fish & Wildlife decision to inspect. I'd bet this has something to do with the invasive species problem. I doubt they did any harm, that amount of stress is minimal. But if Federal employees handle fish the way they do some kids and little old ladies at airports, who knows.

 

[Recty]

I wonder how invasive the patdown was they gave it?

 

[MrTuskfish]

I wonder how invasive the patdown was they gave it?

Yeah, the defenseless fish can't even yell, "Don't touch my junk"!

 

[ReefingIt]

So you got the Aussie Dussy tang from NYAquatic. Sweet looking fish. Can you share some pics of it in your tank?

 

[flameangel88]

It was fed Ex...the whole thing is bizarre to me...
This was a Dussy tang too...a fish that does not need extra "excitement" while en route!!

This happened to me once when the fish came straight from the diver in Hawaii on Continental Air Cargo.

 

[flameangel88]

I wonder how invasive the patdown was they gave it?

Haha strip down for sure plus the scanner.

 

[humaguy]

Some funny replies...spoke with Michael at NYA...the box was reused and checked at an earlier date...he just does such a great job packing, it was virtually impossible for me to tell...but, I did have some suspicions...
The dussy is beautiful...I did not get the big 10 incher he had...I got a 5 incher...
Michael at NYA has some of the best livestock on the internet...easily parallel with dd...
If you have not tried him, I highly recommend...
Plus, if you don't see it on his site, ask him, he has terrific connections...
TK

 

[geaux xman]

seems like he has a much better selection of large angels than LA/DD. LA wouldnt even have a Blueline and he would ahve 5-10 of them. Same with scribbled, adult emperors, chrysurus, etc. if he had someone to take professional-like pics for a his WYSIWYG section, he would take away a lot of sales from LA/DD.

shipping kills me though. its about $100 or so for fed-ex overnight for a couple of fish..