The author's reef tank.
The
Trials and Tribulations of Mail Ordering Corals and Fish
by
Mark McDowell, Ph.D.
This article is about something
many a hobbyist has done or has thought about doing, taking the chance
at mail ordering corals and/or fish. I have spent thousands of dollars
over the past several years mail ordering corals and fish for my home aquariums.
This all started when I got frustrated that I could not find any of the
nice corals and fish that I see in books at my local aquarium shops. It
got so bad that I would travel up to 100 miles on the weekend looking for
aquarium stores just to try and find a variety of corals and fish. I picked
up one aquarium magazine after another and began compiling a list of mail
order companies that seemed to have the best overall quality and value.
I quickly realized that "one size fits all" when it comes to
mail ordering corals and fish. I learned to ask the actual size of a small,
medium, and large from this point on. This started my trials.
I placed small orders with the top three companies on my list, then my
tribulations began. I realized that I did get a good price on most items,
however, when I added the shipping cost to each item, I was surprised that
I actually paid much more than I would have at my local aquarium. I learned
next that you have to order a certain quantity of corals or fish to save
money.
I will give an overview of each including pictures of a few corals and
fish purchased via mail order.
Mail Ordering Corals
The first thing you want to ask is the actual scientific name of the coral
since many corals have similar common names. Ask the company the size of
the coral (in inches) if possible, don't settle for the words small, medium,
or large. This will avoid confusion when you receive the specimen. Ask
them if they have a live arrival guarantee. I personally will not deal
with a company if they do not have a live arrival guarantee. This is your
protection against unhealthy or damaged shipments. If they do not have
a live delivery guarantee, then ask them why.
If you are ordering hard corals, ask if the skeleton is completely covered
with the coral (no voids). If it is not, there is no guarantee that it
will fill in over time. This could be a dying or unhealthy specimen. If
you are ordering soft corals, then I would recommend that the coral be
attached to a rock. This will be ideal since it if very difficult to try
to attach a coral to a piece of rock by yourself. I know that there are
"magic potions" that claim to do it for you, but it is a lot
harder than you think.
Don't be afraid to ask questions about how the specimen was handled, where
it was shipped from, how long has the company been in business, etc. If
you can't get any strait answers, then I would try the next company. The
next thing to do is to get a agreement for shipping. Don't go by estimated
charges, get the actual shipping rates for your order. The actual cost
of mail order corals is the price of the coral plus shipping. Compare this
to the cost of the coral in you local aquarium stores plus tax and you
will see that the more items you order, the more you can save.
Corals should be placed in a quarantine tank, if possible, before adding
them to your main tank. I say if possible since most people buy corals
and just put them in their tank right away. Corals should be acclimated
just as if they were a fish. I use a drip method and it takes about 30-45
minutes in order to acclimate the coral to my tank conditions. Once the
coral shows no signs of stress from shipping (this can vary from hours
to a few days), then I introduce the coral into my main tank. I usually
have a certain place in my tank picked out for any new arrivals. Once in
the main tank , I check for signs of stress and give it some extra TLC
if necessary. After all of the above is done, then you can say welcome
home to your new coral!!! There are several species of coral to avoid.
Mail Ordering Fish
As with corals, you need to ask the scientific name of the fish. There
is even more common names and general categories for many types of fish.
The most important question to ask is if the fish is eating. If they do
not answer this question , then you know to go elsewhere. Fish that are
not eating in the holding facility, rarely survive for long in the home
aquarium. The fish must be net-caught in order to 
guarantee that it has not been drugged just to get it to our tank to eventually
die. There are a few companies that will not ship a fish unless it is eating
and doing well and these are the companies that I always order from. When
ordering fish, you usually get what you pay for and choice specimens are
very expensive. Always ask for sizes of fish because the gap between small,
medium, and large is even more severe than corals. I have yet to find consistency
with any company when it comes to proper sizing of fish. Size seems to
be relative to what is currently in stock and not in inches when it comes
to fish. Follow the same rules for live arrival guarantee listed above
for corals. Be aware that fish are usually more expensive than corals to
ship because they have to be totally submerged in water.
There are several advantages to mail ordering fish. One major advantage
is that you can get exactly want you want and not have to settle for what
the store orders, while waiting weeks to get a certain fish only to find
out it was sold a few hours ago. Another advantage is that you can cut
out one more level of stress by sending the fish directly to your home
instead of to the aquarium shop where they may not have the staffing or
facilities to properly quarantine the fish. You can provide more TLC than
most of the local aquarium stores can offer.
Fish must be quarantined before being introduced into your aquarium. One
of the major reasons for the high mortality rate of fish is improper acclimation.
When I receive a fish via mail order, I acclimate it using the drip method
in a large container. Once this is done, I place the fish in my quarantine
tank and watch for signs of stress and try to feed the fish in the first
few hours. If the fish accepts my food offering, then I know it has a very
good chance of surviving. A successful feeding may take several days. Once
the fish is eating on a regular basis and swimming normally (usually a
week to ten days), I then wait another week to ten days before introducing
it into my main fish-only or reef tank. This assures me that it has a good
chance of surviving once the other tankmates realize that there is a new
kid in town and all come to greet it. Once this is done, I put out the
welcome home mat for my new fish.
Do's and Don'ts when mail ordering corals and fish
Mail ordering corals
and fish can be a pleasant experience if you do your research, read up
on the compatibility of species, know exactly what to expect, and have
a lot of TLC to give. I have had my trials and tribulations and have expressed
them above. The pictures are shown to let you know that it was all worth
it. Till next time…Peace!!!