Very Important Question

[Trabby]

It is a possibility that we will be traveling from Lethbridge to Calgary this weekend. While there, one would be smart to stop into oceans or golds to see whats what The question comes in however with the fact that we have to stop to see family in Nanton on the way home, how long would zoanthids, and a shrimp( or god only know what else I may find ) be okay in the bag for before ariving to my home tank? The travel time STORE-HOME would be about 2 1/2 hours + add dinner and quick visit. What precautions can one take or shall I scrap the idea?

P.s. shrimp and corals are obviously invited to dinner as well

[marie]

Everything I get for my tanks is at least 6hrs in transit. Just tell the store that you're a fair distance from home and have them package it accordingly

[Borderjumper]

Take a styrofoam box or an ice chest with you and pack them with a couple of heatpacks in the box.
Have the store bag them with lots of water and they should be just fine.

[sphelps]

I've used standard coolers in the past, sometimes in transit for as long as 8 hours. Have them pack up a few extra bags of water to help stabilize the temperature and a heat pack if available.

Corals and fish are shipped half way around the world all the time. They are often in transit for 2 days, sometimes longer. Styrofoam boxes and heat packs, nothing special.

[Delphinus]

They seem to survive 24-48 hours in bags when imported.. The stores will pack the bags with oxygen so temperature is the main concern. If you cannot guarantee constant temperature then maybe don't (the shrimp mainly is the concern here, the zoanthids will be fine in a bag for days .. I've mailed them in a thermos before and they arrived at their destination OK). But as long as the bags are say with you, indoors ... my guess is it will be just fine.

[Trabby]

I guess these creatures are all in transit at some point and probably in less than perfect conditions. I just want to ensure the best for these critters. We are new to the hobby and cannot belive that it has taken this long (we were scared of complications) knock on wood . We have numerous freshwater tanks in our house but they really cannot compare at the same level to a saltwater tank. I can understand why so many of you have large tanks. It is quite simply AMAZING to watch what goes on in the span of a day. I have to also say thanks to everyone on canreef, GREAT site. The fountain of reef life information.