Places that ship fish airport to airport (air canada)

[corpusse]

I've just moved to Northern Ontario. I actually brought my fish and corals with me and they all survived the day long trek. However due to the fact I could not move directly into my house I setup some temporary tanks in my parents bathroom who also live up here. I've since lost most of my corals and quite a few of my fish. Once I move in I will want to restock my tanks at least with some common fish and then decide what I want to do reef wise.

Unfortunately one of the downsides of living out here is no more weekly trips to the many reef shops in the gta. At least online stores in Canada are improving however I notice most places ship courier which doesn't really help me. Many airport to airport places use westjet which also doesn't help me. The closest airport to me is Sault Ste. Marie which is only serviced by air canada.

I am aware of j&l and actually have a clownfish I ordered from them almost 10 years ago but the flight time from Vancouver to Sault Ste. Marie plus the over an hour drive to my house is basically the same time as be going back to the gta to do some fish shopping. That being said I do plan on going back to southern Ontario a few times a year and will take that opportunity to get livestock sometimes. I'd still like to explore the online options and perhaps there are places I'm not aware of.

I will be stocking a 180, a 90 and a 112. I'm unsure of long term plans other then they will be themed tanks i.e. Soft coral only or sps only ect. One tank will have my haddoni amenone which has survived everything great so far so that tank will not have any expensive fish just in case.. My Achilles just slaughtered my copperband and it's starting to look like even stocking one tank with the fish I have left will be tough.

[Myka]

Don't worry about shipping fish via Air Canada from Vancouver (or anywhere else in Canada). As long as the fish are properly packaged they can make this trip with not much more stress than if you ship via Air Canada from GTA. I would be wary of shipping in the dead of winter from anywhere though since there are often many aircraft delays due to weather. That all said, as far as I know, Westjet is much more "pet friendly" than Air Canada, and I think that is why you don't see many LFS using Air Canada.

[Dearth]

As Myka stated as long as the fish are properly packaged they will make the trip with no issue other than the standard stress related travel issues that are unavoidable.

As to shipping I try to avoid shipping livestock any time after October due to potential weather delays then restart in March.

As far as Carriers are concerned most pet stores I understand try to ship via Westjet as again as Myka stated they are considered to be much more pet friendly than Air Canada but then again you are limited to what flies to your local or regional airport so check to be sure they do daily deliveries

[TimT]

I've shipped fish to Sudbury and Thunder Bay from Vancouver for at least 15 years during all times of the year. If the vendor knows how to select healthy fish and how to properly pack they will do fine. I've shipped fish to Winnipeg when the temp was -50 with windchill. You just need to know what your doing.

[TimT]

Originally Posted by Dearth

As far as Carriers are concerned most pet stores I understand try to ship via Westjet as again as Myka stated they are considered to be much more pet friendly than Air Canada but then again you are limited to what flies to your local or regional airport so check to be sure they do daily deliveries

I have found the opposite to be true with Westjet. Shipments are routinely lost or miss connections. 2 out of the past 5 shipments to Moncton have been lost in Toronto but found the next day. Air Canada is much more reliable but they used to be more expensive.

One time my wife and I were flying Westjet and we brought our miniature poodle along. My wife watched them load him in Calgary. When we arrived in Abbotsford they never offloaded him and had closed the cargo doors to the plane for the night. Leaving our dog inside the plane for the night in January. My wife tried to get someone to tell them our dog was still in the plane and the cargo handlers had left. She had no luck finding anyone so she opened the terminal security door to the ramp to get someones attention. Security quickly came and she explained what happened. They then sent a cargo handler to fetch our dog. It ended well but only because my wife doesn't tolerate incompetence with animals.