skattabrain
New member
when they are intentionally shippped... how are people shipping mantis shrimp?
do you just use plastic bags as normal?
do you just use plastic bags as normal?
how are mantis shrimp shipped?
- Thread starter skattabrain
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skattabrain
New member
interesting... makes sense.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Commercially, most stomatopods are shipped simply in plastic bags ( double or triple bagged) and the more knowledgable operations use a visual barrier such as newspaper of the more expensive partially black shipping bags. From LA to the rest of the country Jack at Fish Supply is one of the most carefull using oxygen, four or five bags, visual barriers, etc. On the oher hand, I have had suppliers (I won't name names.) through a dozen gonodactylids in one large bag like they were damsels. You can imaging how many made it.
For small species, I do prefer to transport individuals inside perforated plastic bottles that are just a bit larger than the stomatopod.. It allows me to get more animals into a container, eliminates punctures, and gives the stomatopod something to hang onto reducing stress. The down side is that if one animal dies, it usually takes out the entire bag.
I also like to use "Cubitainers".. They are tough, rarely are punctured and can be re-used for years. A one quart size works well for a gonodactylid up to about 2.5 inches and the one gallon size is good for larger animals - as long as they will fit through the narrow opening.
For larger animals like really big O. scyllarus, Hemisquilla or Lysiosquillina, I make shipping bottles by cutting the top off of a 1.5 liter "spring water" bottle. pucnch several holes in it, and sew the top back on with small cable ties You can be confident that the water bottle is clean and I have never had an animal break out. We then put the bottle into about a liter of water and bag with lots of air space. I recommend at least 3 or 4 times as much (volume) of air as their is water. You can cut this down if you have oxygen.
Roy
For small species, I do prefer to transport individuals inside perforated plastic bottles that are just a bit larger than the stomatopod.. It allows me to get more animals into a container, eliminates punctures, and gives the stomatopod something to hang onto reducing stress. The down side is that if one animal dies, it usually takes out the entire bag.
I also like to use "Cubitainers".. They are tough, rarely are punctured and can be re-used for years. A one quart size works well for a gonodactylid up to about 2.5 inches and the one gallon size is good for larger animals - as long as they will fit through the narrow opening.
For larger animals like really big O. scyllarus, Hemisquilla or Lysiosquillina, I make shipping bottles by cutting the top off of a 1.5 liter "spring water" bottle. pucnch several holes in it, and sew the top back on with small cable ties You can be confident that the water bottle is clean and I have never had an animal break out. We then put the bottle into about a liter of water and bag with lots of air space. I recommend at least 3 or 4 times as much (volume) of air as their is water. You can cut this down if you have oxygen.
Roy
