Bringing Fish Over the Border FROM the US
 

Im wondering if anyone here has any experience doing this? i really want a tailspot blenny and they are really hard to find around here. i can get one in the US and have it shipped to an address in washington state.

what would i need for proof and permits?

is it even doable?

border crossing.
 

Smuggle him across the border in a travel mug! :lol:

Chin recently wrote this is a recent thread of his:

"bringing fish back was no problem at all. NO SPECIAL PERMITS is required for tropical fish and animals that is not listed on CITES. The importation of tropical fish and animals is regulated by Department of Fisheries and Oceans. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/aqu...namental_e.htm"

The exporter(seller) of the livestock must provide the proper documentation not the buyer if CITES is required. You can check to see if your fish is on the CITES list though.

My wife brought back some dragon face pipefish and she had no problem at all. As long as your not reselling them for a profit....all is OK

NICE!

tailspot blenny here i come!

About a year and a half ago I phoned border services and they said just bring them across and dont tell anyone. :)

So I don't think it will be a problem


Matthew

How about bringing live rock? Would that be a problem?

Ahhh...that would be my area of experience. I made three LARGE runs across the border with so much rock that I couldn't see out the back window of the car each time.

Make sure you have a bill of sale. They just want their taxes.

When asked what you have, say "aquarium rock". I do not recommend the word "Live"...I think that translates into "I want a body cavity search".

For importation purposes, they will want to know what kind of rock it is. I went with "limestone". My import documents say "Limestone - crude or roughly trimmed...classification 2515.20.10.10. My rock was a product of the US, so it was duty free.

That was my experience.

I think the concern is that you don't KNOW what is on the rock and someone COULD make a case that there COULD be CITES species on the rock. This is where you might end up if you start attempting to explain why your rock is "live".

No problem at all. Unless it is on a CITES list. I checked with CITIES and dept of fisheries and so long as you are not importing them for business you are fine. Just pay the tax if they require. If its under $100 they will probably just wave you through. I agree with untamed if you are bringing rock. Dont say "live" unless you like explaining over and over again what it is for. Good luck

I emailed Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans a couple weeks back and they said the same thing. No import restrictions on ornamental fish unless the species is listed on CITES.

Maybe bring some reference material just in case they challenge you on what species of fish you have.

What stores are you guys going to on the other side of the border? And do they tend to have stock that we don't have here?

stores.
 

I havent been using any one store in particular. I usually have gone online at some shops like Aquarium Pros. Just Google search saltwater fish for sale and a bunch will pop up. Thats how I have found some. Ebay also has some but some charge way too much for shipping. I just got some lovely peppermint shrimp. 8-$15.00 but it was $25 bucks for shipping. all arrived ok and are doing well. I was very concerned when we had the drop in temperature but there was a heat pack in and they were well insulated.However I probably wont order anything else until temperature warms up. I also have 50lbs of live rock that I am expecting in the next day or so. It was on Ebay for $74.95 and shipping was only $19.00. Great price and I hope its great rock. They[reefcomplete] are new to Ebay and have good feedback. I live close to the border so I run over to Sumas to a place called Ship Happens. It is great as a lot of sellers in the U.S.A. only ship to the states. I have bought a lot of items for my aquarium set up online as I cant seem to find a place up here that wont bankrupt me. I usually only have Sundays off so it is difficult to know which fish stores are open in the Seattle or Bellinham area. Maybe some other members can share some secrets with both of us on that one. I will say that in a lot of the cases I have found that a trip to Burnaby or New Westminster to either J+L or King Ed pets has usually been just fine for a lot of stock items. They actually say "NO" don't buy that it wont work in your tank. I have heard there is another place in Delta but I cant remember the name. If you are just buying regular fish I dont think that if you factor in shipping you will find too many things cheaper in the states. But every now and then if you are patient, well you know. Good hunting...Darryl

one more thing
 

I just checked on Ebay and "reefcomplete" has raised their price on shipping. Still a deecent deal.

Live rock is covered by CITES, you got really lucky. I don't recommend anyone else try this.

what about bringing corals over the border??

any knowledge on that subject?

buy local
 

go local on this one. the local ones offer great selection and great prices. you'll pay a lot more for a lot less in the US.

this is a good question. A few of the fish stores in greater vancouver said they will order in "special fish" for a customer. Though i haven't tried this myself, the thought of this would eliminate any need to drive south (unless u actually live closer to the pick-up zone).

I figure big department store types like Big Als might not be able to pull it off, but some of the smaller fish stores said they could do it (as well as j/l's)

Especially with the US/CA conversion rate i was tempted to get something in the states but i thought it was too bothersome. Livestock wise, pretty much most aquarium fish are not covered in CITES (or at least online :p)..unless you happen to want to keep the humphead wrasse.

Live rock is a cities listed item as well as many corals. And then any coral that is mounted to rock is again protected as part of the live rock. I know many people have tried this but with the fines so high I wouldn't bother.

The other problem with buying from somewhere furhter away is your LFS will suffer and when you go to buy those staple items they are no longer around. We used to have several good fish stores locally but because everyone drove to Toronto to buy their fish & coral, the local stores closed and now everyone has to drive a greater distance even for basic items. Now the lower prices are offset by the fact it takes me most of a day to get there, a tank of gas, meals/food, so the $20 savings I would have gotten was replaced by $150 of extra costs.