Quote:
Originally Posted by hillbillyreefer
Just wondering how far away some of us boonies people live from their nearest saltwater dealer? What are some of the tricks you use to transport stock successfully? How many pails of salt do you pick up while in town, etc, etc?
According to the GPS my local store is 225km. We never leave home without a lunch cooler in the summer or a fish shipping cooler in the winter. 8hr heat packs are in the cooler along with the digital thermometer. Enough food is purchased for several months at a time. When there is a good sale on somewhere lots of salt is purchased, haven't bought any in almost 2 years. Additive supplies such as Calc/Alk, and micronutrients are checked prior to leaving and purchased as needed.
Let's hear some of your long distance horror stories!!
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I'm afraid that if you are going 225km, then you're going to Red Deer...and you're spending even MORE money than if you chose to go to Edmonton or Calgary. Now, I've been out of the game for a few years, but when I was just told that the price on a juvenile lionfish was
"a couple of hundred dollars, and only because I could get more but I am not greedy", not much seems to have changed - except that customers are uninformed about just how cheap things are in Calgary or Edmonton.
As for travelling....you only need to remember how many hours these animals have travelled to get from the ocean to the stores....properly packed, a few hours drive to Consort should be nothing for them. I've successfully shopped for livestock, had it packed properly (to which you seem to be quite knowledgeable, no worries there), and then shopped around at a few places for some hours before returning home. No problems. None at all. Only time there ever were was when I was a beginner and didn't understand anything (like letting a LFS employee blow air into a bag from their lungs before sealing it).
Networking with people is a good thing to do as well...the Alberta Aquatica site has a free travel section where you can post if you need something transported. Find a nice piece of livestock in Calgary or Edmonton? See if you can arrange for someone to bring it to Red Deer when you're coming through....saves you some travelling and opens up more possibilities.
Good luck, and let us know in the area if we can help out in any way. Prices can be checked and PM'd your way.