Shipping Costs

[Ryan]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to have some fish shipped her from a private party and was wondering if anyone here has ever shipped fish from Ontario. I looked it up and the closest airport to the town is Toronto.

Unsure of box dimensions but there is going to be 20 1"-1.5" shipped from Toronto to Lethbridge. If I cannot get Lethbridge then Calgary.

I have shipped reptiles before but never that far and costs were around $100.

So like above the question is can anyone give me a ball park price? Hopefully some vendors can pipe in here.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

I use West Jet for the majority of my shipments.

You will need to establish an account with them in order to ship. This is usually done by calling the West Jet booking centre and providing them with some personal details.

The shipment would then have to be tendered prepaid on a credit card and the cost is usually around $75-$80 depending on the size and weight of the box.

Make sure you get the person to use a styrofoam insulated box, and usually if he goes to a LFS that sells saltwater fish, he can purchase the styro boxes that the international marine fish suppliers use.

Make sure that it is packed heavily with newspaper and not foam peanuts as the bags can get joustled using the latter.

At this time of year, I would recommend using heat packs. The flight time from Pearson International to Calgary will vary depending on connection or not so it is best to use the longes heat packs available. Always try for "Non-stops" and never ship a day or two before the weekend. Murphy's Law is alway lurking around when it comes to shipping livestock. Prepare to pack the shipment for the worst outcome because you just never now if the flight is cancelled or delayed or rerouted.

Typically, the corals can remain safe in a properly packed box for over 3 days. Temperature is the most dangerous enemy at this stage. So use the longest Heat Packs availalbe. I incorporate 40 hours ones.

Maybe you can purchase one or two from an LFS as the one's in Canadian Tire and Walmart are only good for 8 hours. Not long enough to sustain constant heat for that long of a flight.

Tape the Heat Pack to the top lid of the styro. Make sure it is secure so that it doesn't fall in between the bags of corals and end up overheating one and not the others. The box needs to be taped up but not air tight as the Heat Pack do require some 02 to properly work.

Also, using bottled oxygen to bag is beneficial as well but not mandatory as coral do not consume that much 02. Fish is another story and 02 is a must when shipping fish.

Make sure that you DO NOT tie off the bags tightly. Leave room for air expansion as the bags will inflate and deflate according to air pressure. Most cargo cabins in airplanes are not pressure balanced.

The cargo would need to be tendered 2 hours prior to flight departure and West Jet WILL inspect the cargo as you would be considered "unknown shipper" and they are mandated to check your cargo for illegal/dangerous goods.

You will be given an Air Way Bill which is your tracking number and it is required to pick up the cargo at the West Jet receiving facility.

HTH.

:P

[Interior_Reef]

+1 for Pauls Advice

You can use Air Canada Cargo, however, if you do, i reccomend putting a GPS Locator in the box, as my last experience with Air Canada, left me 3 days before getting my shipment, as they forgot to load it on the flight from YVR, then missed the next 2, then sent it to Toronto, then back to vancouver, then they got it right. Nothin like a box of DOA :@

go with westjet, they seem to care also!

[mr.wilson]

What kind of fish are you shipping? What kind of party :) The shipping cost may make a local supplier more competitive.

[Ryan]

Thanks guys I am still looking into this and was going to call air canada today but will also include west jet. I am not the one shipping fish I am getting them shipped here to me.

Mr.Wilson its not worthwhile for me to shop local with the price I am getting them for.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Good luck with AC. Make sure that you clarify with AC that the shipment is live tropical fish. Their policy for livestock is arrival within 3 days before they will even consider offering you compensation should a shipment go bad and only then they will compensate the freight and not the contents.

I have had bad experiences using AC and have lost thousands of dollars in one particular order.

I don't deal with them unless I have to.

:P

[Aquatic Addictions]

your best bet is westjet. As long as they are informed it is live and make sure you have it on a non stop flight with heat packs and a good styro you should be very happy.

[Myka]

I will also suggest West Jet. Another idea is to send the box to Edmonton instead of Calgary if that is feasible for you. You will be able to get a direct flight (no transfers means less chance of losing it!!), and the flight may be slightly cheaper. At least the airport is on the south end of Edmonton, and not difficult to get to from Calgary.

[mr.wilson]

I will also suggest West Jet. Another idea is to send the box to Edmonton instead of Calgary if that is feasible for you. You will be able to get a direct flight (no transfers means less chance of losing it!!), and the flight may be slightly cheaper. At least the airport is on the south end of Edmonton, and not difficult to get to from Calgary.

I agreed. Direct flights are much more reliable. I used to pick up all of my US shipments in Buffalo even though my warehouse was 5 minutes from Toronto International airport. It was cheaper and faster with fewer losses.

Shipping fish within Canada isn't cost effective. I can get a box from Asia or Africa for the less money than shipping across Canada. There are all kinds of extraneous charges they add on, so one box can cost $100 in some cases. Air Canada is a nightmare. You have to keep in contact with them throughout the shipment or they will screw it up somehow. Get it on an early flight because cargo gets bumped for passenger luggage even if it's perishable. Cargo rates are higher than passenger rates, but they figure it's better to deal with a $5000 cargo claim than one angry traveler's overnight bag.

They have a "warm room", but it sits on the tarmac for hours some times. Boxes fall off of luggage carts and get stepped on and thrown around. I had one shipment from overseas where I caught one of the AC employees opening the boxes. He told me "he wanted to show his friend how they ship fish".

Do some research on how to unpack the fish. It isn't a simple matter of floating or dripping. You need to lower the Ph in the tank, adjust temp and use ammonia neutralizing chemicals. You also need to do all this in the dark or the fish go into shock. I assume the shipper is using oxygen and shipping chemicals (clean water, meds & ammonia neutralizer).

You have to get the fish out of the shipping water quickly. Ammonia is less toxic at a low Ph and the shipping water will be about 6.8 when you get them due to Co2 from the fish. The fish are also in a state of rest where their metabolism is slow so they are not breathing quickly. Once you move the bags around, expose them to light, and open the bags (expelling Co2 and introducing o2), the Ph goes up and the ammonia turns toxic as the fish start breathing it through their gills rapidly. The temperature will likely be 70 F in the shipping bags, so have some ice on hand to add to your tank water to lower it accordingly. Floating the bags is the worst thing you can do, especially if you open them.

[Ryan]

I will also suggest West Jet. Another idea is to send the box to Edmonton instead of Calgary if that is feasible for you. You will be able to get a direct flight (no transfers means less chance of losing it!!), and the flight may be slightly cheaper. At least the airport is on the south end of Edmonton, and not difficult to get to from Calgary.

Calgary is the major airport in Alberta. No international flights fly directly to Edmonton they all stop at Calgary 1st. Calgary is 2.5hrs from me so although the drive is possible I really dont want to make it if I dont have to, Edmonton is 5 hours North.

[Ryan]

I agreed. Direct flights are much more reliable. I used to pick up all of my US shipments in Buffalo even though my warehouse was 5 minutes from Toronto International airport. It was cheaper and faster with fewer losses.

Shipping fish within Canada isn't cost effective. I can get a box from Asia or Africa for the less money than shipping across Canada. There are all kinds of extraneous charges they add on, so one box can cost $100 in some cases. Air Canada is a nightmare. You have to keep in contact with them throughout the shipment or they will screw it up somehow. Get it on an early flight because cargo gets bumped for passenger luggage even if it's perishable. Cargo rates are higher than passenger rates, but they figure it's better to deal with a $5000 cargo claim than one angry traveler's overnight bag.

They have a "warm room", but it sits on the tarmac for hours some times. Boxes fall off of luggage carts and get stepped on and thrown around. I had one shipment from overseas where I caught one of the AC employees opening the boxes. He told me "he wanted to show his friend how they ship fish".

Do some research on how to unpack the fish. It isn't a simple matter of floating or dripping. You need to lower the Ph in the tank, adjust temp and use ammonia neutralizing chemicals. You also need to do all this in the dark or the fish go into shock. I assume the shipper is using oxygen and shipping chemicals (clean water, meds & ammonia neutralizer).

You have to get the fish out of the shipping water quickly. Ammonia is less toxic at a low Ph and the shipping water will be about 6.8 when you get them due to Co2 from the fish. The fish are also in a state of rest where their metabolism is slow so they are not breathing quickly. Once you move the bags around, expose them to light, and open the bags (expelling Co2 and introducing o2), the Ph goes up and the ammonia turns toxic as the fish start breathing it through their gills rapidly. The temperature will likely be 70 F in the shipping bags, so have some ice on hand to add to your tank water to lower it accordingly. Floating the bags is the worst thing you can do, especially if you open them.

Thanks but I know how to acclimate fish. I have had good success with slowly drip acclimating them over a 4 or 6 hr period and these were fish directly from Bali.