Those who sell frags online Please Read!

[Jason McK]

Originally Posted by mildcustom2

I hate to turn this into an ethics debate but I believe that people should be allowed to mention vendors names when discusing bad or good experiences as long as it is not derogatory in any way. Canreef is an information sharing bulletin board and has a responsibility to support vendors that practice good reef keeping ethics. If people aren't kept informed as to who practices good ethics then the bad vendors get to stay in business praying on the innocent reefers out there and the good vendors don't get the credit they deserve.

Pop

There goes the can of worms opening

Please don't that is not what this is about.

This thread is about talking to the people who supply us with some of the most unique corals we have seen in Canada Ever. Not to bash or slam them

I think their support is very important, other wise we loose the ability to get anything beyond xenia and button polyps

If this thread is heading into a Bash fest I will ask it to be closed

Jason

[mildcustom2]

Please don't that is not what this is about.

This thread is about talking to the people who supply us with some of the most unique corals we have seen in Canada Ever. Not to bash or slam them

I think their support is very important, other wise we loose the ability to get anything beyond xenia and button polyps

If this thread is heading into a Bash fest I will ask it to be closed

Jason

This isn't about bashing its about making sure that no one else deals with the same person you did and has their money taken from them. I like to hear about good experiences so that I can support that vendor so they continue to support the hobby in a positive way.

Its only bashing if its exagerated or not true.

Thanx

Sean

[Matt]

I second the vote for shippers to experiment with dry shipping. Following Calfo's advice, it seems a safer (though less 'comfortable') alternative. Has anyone here experimented?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/eb/index.php

[Myka]

As far as dry shipping goes...would it be beneficial or detrimental to ship with just enough water to cover the frag? I always ship with lots of water and use styrofoam on anything I can attach to it like Candy Cane, Duncan, Euphyllias, etc. Not gonna work for the Brains though...

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Myka

As far as dry shipping goes...would it be beneficial or detrimental to ship with just enough water to cover the frag? I always ship with lots of water and use styrofoam on anything I can attach to it like Candy Cane, Duncan, Euphyllias, etc. Not gonna work for the Brains though...

Calfo says damp paper towels or kelp-type seaweed... it's counter-intuitive to my mind, but his explanation makes sense, I guess. I've never tried it.

[marie]

Originally Posted by Myka

As far as dry shipping goes...would it be beneficial or detrimental to ship with just enough water to cover the frag? I always ship with lots of water and use styrofoam on anything I can attach to it like Candy Cane, Duncan, Euphyllias, etc. Not gonna work for the Brains though...

I believe the theory is (and I could be wrong) that when a coral is packed in water there is a build of of waste and coral slime which can pollute the water.
So if your going to pack in water, more water is better.
I have sent montiporas (which can slime up really bad) wrapped in papertowel and sealed in bag plastic with no ill effect and that was 20hrs in transit

[Snappy]

I appreciate the suggestion of dry shipping but as a vendor I offer a guarantee so I can only ship with a proven method that I feel comfortable with to make such a guarantee. I don't think many of the more sensitive acros would be in very good shape when reaching their destination with the dry shipping, especially if there is a delay by the shipping company. That said if someone wants to pay for the shipping I will send them a couple of sps frags free as an experiment.

[fencer]

Hey Coral Master
I'd pay for greyhound shipping for some free frags and try dry shipping.
PM me LMO

[Myka]

Originally Posted by Snappy

That said if someone wants to pay for the shipping I will send them a couple of sps frags free as an experiment.

I could try that out. If you want to do Greyhound. Would be interesting as it would be an 18 hour trip for them I think. I'd prefer LPS though I don't think you sell LPS...? If not, digis would be nice.

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by Snappy

I appreciate the suggestion of dry shipping but as a vendor I offer a guarantee so I can only ship with a proven method that I feel comfortable with to make such a guarantee. I don't think many of the more sensitive acros would be in very good shape when reaching their destination with the dry shipping, especially if there is a delay by the shipping company. That said if someone wants to pay for the shipping I will send them a couple of sps frags free as an experiment.

It's a pretty well understood method that never really caught on for some reason. You can wrap in wet paper towel strips of plastic to reduce jostling with an ounce or so of water to maintain humidity. The idea is that when the shipping water starts to foul the problem quickly compounds itself as the nasty water causes more tissue loss. Things encrusted on the plugs that die off can cause problems too, less of an issue if shipped dry.

I move pretty much everything this way but some LPS. I found that some things like euphyllia and xenia didn't take to well to it, they lived but took a while to recover, I raft those. Anemones do really well damp as well. I've tried packing like this at the store a bit but people usually look at me like I'm insane so I stopped.

Greg Sean B and I were thinking of ordering some stuff from you soon. Shoot me a PM and I'll give you some tips, then we can try it.