How Long Can Corals Be Out of a Tank when Shipped?

[shaginwagon13]

I was wondering if I order a shipment of corals or fish, how long can they be out of a tank until they start to fade? I was on www.liveaquaria.com and you can buy a lot of nice corals for alotttttt cheaper then you can in Canada. I have a place in Indianapolis and Buffalo I can get stuff shipped to, the drive from Buffalo to Toronto is around 2 hours and the drive from Indianapolis to Toronto is around 8. If I get corals shipped to either Buffalo or Indianapolis would they be alright on the ride home?

Thanks in advance!

[username in use]

probably wouldnt kill them if you got them right when they were dropped off. You could also bring a 50g cooler that is heated and aerated to put them in for the ride home to make them a little more comfortable.

[shaginwagon13]

probably wouldnt kill them if you got them right when they were dropped off. You could also bring a 50g cooler that is heated and aerated to put them in for the ride home to make them a little more comfortable.

lol I agree but I wanna try and be as discrete as possible when I try to get them across the border without getting them taken away... a 50g cooler might be a little hard to explain if I get inspected at the border since I'm going to order 10-12 corals at a time to make it worth the trip. Is there anything (heat/ice packs, water, etc) I could do when I first receive the packages to better their chances and minimize stress?

[Raggamuffin]

why don't you just make the trip to Rhinelander and get them straight from the source?

[username in use]

Keep the car temp at mid 70's and you should be good. 36hrs isn't terrible for a shipped coral if packed well which LiveAquaria does.

[shaginwagon13]

why don't you just make the trip to Rhinelander and get them straight from the source?

lol I would if they were closer. Rhinelander is 8 hours from toronto, even if I pick them up I still have an 8 hour trip back home and I don't feel like driving 16 hours in a day

[Raggamuffin]

Make a weekend of it, divers den has a facility tour going on this month forget the date though. E-mail the customer service and ask, the tour lasts 3 hours and you get everything in divers den at 10% off to boot :D

[shaginwagon13]

Keep the car temp at mid 70's and you should be good. 36hrs isn't terrible for a shipped coral if packed well which LiveAquaria does.

awesome, thanks for the info

[Raggamuffin]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=468

[shaginwagon13]

To be honest I would if my 280 was established and good to go and I could start adding corals, I'm in the set-up and planning phase and my tank gets here in 3 weeks so I have a long way to go until SPS can go in.... I'll have to wait and hope for their next open house but 10% off is decent, Maybe they'll give a deal if I buy in bulk and pay cash :)

[username in use]

Maybe they'll give a deal if I buy in bulk and pay cash :)

Im sure they'd go upwards of 10%

[Green_Reefer]

You don't want to get caught trying to bring corals across the border un-declared..... Well at least if you want to keep your car and like giving your lawyer a lot of cash.

A cooler or cardboard box is a definite eye-catcher for border guards as well and will more than likely be searched. Coral importation is strictly regulated within Canada, once you manage to get an import permit, it costs ~$450.00 each time you import corals, whether it is one coral or a number of boxes.

This is why corals are so much more expensive in Canada. Getting aquarium fish across the border is easy, not so with corals. This is part of the reason no American companies will ship into Canada, unless you are a business with a large order.

[shaginwagon13]

You don't want to get caught trying to bring corals across the border un-declared..... Well at least if you want to keep your car and like giving your lawyer a lot of cash.

A cooler or cardboard box is a definite eye-catcher for border guards as well and will more than likely be searched. Coral importation is strictly regulated within Canada, once you manage to get an import permit, it costs ~$450.00 each time you import corals, whether it is one coral or a number of boxes.

This is why corals are so much more expensive in Canada. Getting aquarium fish across the border is easy, not so with corals. This is part of the reason no American companies will ship into Canada, unless you are a business with a large order.

From what I have been reading, you are perfectly safe in importing soft corals, its the SPS corals that you need a permit for. And from what Ive been reading most border guards don't know the difference between an SPS and a Soft corals.... couldnt I just declare them all as soft? I was in the hobby for over a year until I learned the difference between SPS and soft corals, unless a border guard is into reef stuff I doubt they will know.

[username in use]

And from what Ive been reading most border guards don't know the difference between an SPS and a Soft coral.

Might not want to take the chance that you get the one guard who keeps a tank.

[shaginwagon13]

Might not want to take the chance that you get the one guard who keeps a tank.

Ya really... and on my luck they all are into Reefs and are members of this site when I try to cross haha.

Could I not just claim them all as Soft corals?

[username in use]

When it comes to transporting wildlife across boarders, its always better to play by the rules. While you may get fined or something, confiscated corals will almost surely die, and that is the real loss.

Get 10-15 friends together and split the cost of an import liscence for one you, i.e. you. Then buy a large enough order between all of you that the fee to take them across the boarder is spread out between you and thereby cheap and go and get them.

[Green_Reefer]

I'd give the border services a call and ask them anonymously about it. You are putting a lot more on the line than the amount you will save on corals by doing it. If it was a single coral mixed in with fish and dry goods, you could say you were an un-informed hobbyist. You are bringing in 10-12 corals at a time.... Trying to either hide them or pass them off as all LPS will just make things worst if someone actually does some work at the border and discovers you are lying.

Even if you get caught and get the charges dropped, current/future employers will still be able to see the charge was laid against you for a number of years afterwords. Most companies associate smuggling activities with organized crime BTW.

Either way, it is your life and livelyhood that you are putting on the line. Unfortunately though, you are just another hobbyist putting a black mark on the hobby by actively breaking the law to save a few bucks for your own personal enjoyment and gain.

Thanks and best of luck.

[shaginwagon13]

I'd give the border services a call and ask them anonymously about it. You are putting a lot more on the line than the amount you will save on corals by doing it. If it was a single coral mixed in with fish and dry goods, you could say you were an un-informed hobbyist. You are bringing in 10-12 corals at a time.... Trying to either hide them or pass them off as all LPS will just make things worst if someone actually does some work at the border and discovers you are lying.

Even if you get caught and get the charges dropped, current/future employers will still be able to see the charge was laid against you for a number of years afterwords. Most companies associate smuggling activities with organized crime BTW.

Either way, it is your life and livelyhood that you are putting on the line. Unfortunately though, you are just another hobbyist putting a black mark on the hobby by actively breaking the law to save a few bucks for your own personal enjoyment and gain.

Thanks and best of luck.

Woa no need to take it personally, I never said I was going to or not going to I was just asking since I couldn't find the answer online I was already looking to see how to go about getting the $450 import permit (which I still have not been able to find how to apply for).

I appreciate the advice though, I know its serious if you get caught, I was playing more devils-advocate to be honest.

[Green_Reefer]

Nothing personal, just pointing out the reality of what your post is suggesting.

http://www.ec.gc.ca/cites

Everything you need to know about importing is in the link above. You may have to hold a business licence with importation rights to get the permits, not 100% sure on this one though. Next you need a broker to do your classifications if you can't do it yourself, might not be an issue since you are planning on transporting them yourself.

Now you just have to find a coral vendor willing to go through the heartache of getting the proper permits to ship to Canada. This costs $160 per order and will typically be added to your bill. Next the vendor needs a certificate of origin for each item, which they would receive with each item they imported into the US.

Most tank raised corals and fish do not have certificates of origin as they are not grown in their native countries and no importing was involved. You will not be able to import anything without a certificate of origin.


Best of luck. If you manage to beat your way through all the red tape and save a few bucks let us know.

[Jeff000]

Just mail them to yourself. Then you have deniability, "sorry officer I didn't order that, they must have got the wrong address" but in reality they aren't worried about a hobbiest buying a frag or 50 from another hobbiest, as CITES is about preserving the ecosystem and you are not getting anything wild. Buying from a store and bringing them up may be different since they could be wild colonies then.