Tips on mailing shrimp

[Chiquarius]

Hello shrimp keepers,

I live in the United States. Lately, the United States Postal Service has been struggling under some immense pressure.

I have been mailing very well packed juvenile shrimp throughout the winter insulated with 72-hour Unipacks. Only in one or two rare instances were the shrimp dead. Since the pandemic/quarantine began, I’ve had nearly half of my shipments turn up dead. Once 45* F plus weather struck I stopped shipping with unipacks as I feared the shrimp deaths I was having were due to them being ‘cooked’. However, they kept turning up mushy again, perhaps either exposed to heat or frost. I always ship with plants in boxes weighing around 12-16 oz.

Of course keeping shrimp alive is not my largest concern in life now, but I am losing lots of money, risking my ebay ratings, and hassling/siphoning funds from USPS with constant insurance claims. I was curious if anyone had any helpful tips.

i think I may start by shipping with more water and air in bags to mitigate temperature swings of more chaotic transport a bit better. Perhaps I should package everything in styrofoam, however that will probably be cost prohibitive and environmentally i hate styrofoam.

Any other tips for more extreme survival?

 

[sdlTBfanUK]

It probably isn't a good idea to send shrimps at the moment, I know everywhere here in UK has stopped for now as it takes time for everything to return to normal, and here as with USA postal systems are struggling. I plan to buy some bloody mary but won't be doing that until we are back to normal, well normal delivery anyway! We usually get next day delivery here as we are a small country but with a huge country like USA it is much more difficult anyway, even when there aren't the same disruptions!

Simon

[jayc]

I've always shipped with Styrofoam boxes and breather bags and it has never been a problem.

I seal the lid of the box with tape so it does not leak water.

So even if the breather bag breaks, the water remains in the box.

 

Always aim to ship on a Monday, so deliveries are not stuck at depots over a weekend.

I never ship in the dead of summer either. All the other seasons in Australia are mild enough for next day delivery options, just summer can be a bit risky. 

[Chiquarius]

Hello. 
Thanks for the video.

I honestly didn’t know about breather bags. I’ve been using regular poly aquarium bags. I usually throw in a plant cutting so they can grip it and exchange air/nutrients (at least in theory).

I generally ship Mondays or Tuesdays. 
 

I didn’t know about the Purigen. 
 

I just ordered some breather bags and think I’ll use my styrofoam packing material for the more valuable shrimp.

 

Thanks all.

[Jay_Walker]

It is a bummer to use Styrofoam, but it really does make a difference. Lowe's has some decent, fairly cheap options. I found a 3 pack of 14"x48" Styrofoam sheets for around $10 that I cut to size, and get about 10 shipments out of it. I use the 7"x7"x6" priority mail boxes that you can order for free from USPS. I have yet to have a shipment arrive DOA *knock on drift wood* ? I also use breather bags (doubled up) and always put a swatch of screen or mesh into the bag for the shrimp to ride the wave. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Jay_Walker