Stop ordering livestock during crazy weather

+1

Could not agree more!

i agree 1 million times!!!!

I live north and it gets plenty cold, sub zero weather... I order on line all through the winter months. I never lost a thing due to bad weather. SWF will not send an order if a winter advisory is out on severe cold.

I make sure I am right at the door to get my order as soon as it arrives. The little heat packs are still warm when I get it. SWF would be out of business if they only made money in warm weather months.

Well, if you are referring to one of my posts from a couple weeks ago about my livestock arriving dead you need some info. First, I order from a company that is 8 hrs or less from my home. Second, livestock usually arrives alive in a very timely manner, within 12-15 hours. Third, with this last order it was fed ex's fault completely. They held my package 3 1/2 hrs from my home for 12 additional hours w/o explanation. I had every right to blame them. So, before you bash someones posts, you need all the facts....

Just being a devils advocate here...but my LFS is LOCAL to me, so for a fish to get there...it has to go through the same weather as it would in order to get to me. To get the fish sent to my door, rather than my LFS's door...I am eliminating at least one acclimation, which I think is better for my livestock (especially when you never really know how long a fish has been at the LFS...could be a day, could be a week, who knows...do you want to acclimate a fish that has just been acclimated a couple days before?) Also...the LFS that I use most often now (my favorite closed due to low sales... as he was SW only...not much in the way of food or equipment) has no guarantee on their saltwater livestock (which most online retailers do).

While I completely understand your concerns...basically, in order for your concerns to be alleviated, all LFS's in cold climates would, more or less, have to either close down for the winter (when they do the most business) or have HUGE orders at the end of the Summer and/or Fall to "tide them over" until the Spring. (again...I understand what you are saying...but don't see a way around it)

Well, that is why I responded to your thread. I just wanted to give all the info that I did not in my own. And to say that I am not an irresponsible hobbyist because I order in the winter. Thats why I order close to home in the winter, and the seller uses lots of heat packs. And trust me, it made me sick to see that my package was being held up and knowing it would lead to the death of my coral. Let's just say, be glad you were not the fed ex representative that answered the phone every hour on the hour that I called to find out why and give them hell! My local pet store is WORTHLESS when it comes to coral. Their tank is full of cyano and all coral looks half dead! I have no choice but to order elsewhere, atleast I found a close place.

You know back in the day...I am talking quite a few years back. Saltwater tanks were only a rich man’s hobby, the critters; if they lived a month was unusual. The knowledge of live rock/sand and skimmers didn't exist. Power heads were unknown. In fact saltwater critters were doomed and they were busting up the natural reef to get the stuff doomed to die.

The hobby has improved by leaps and bounds. We now know how to keep a reef tank alive for years and we are growing the coral instead of killing the reef (it sill happens but not as bad) and always going with wild caught fish.

So a few DOA from the mail in winter is nothing to get all out of sorts about. Things are improving at a fantastic rate. Those little heat packs are just one way shipping in the winter has improved.

While it is always sad when anything dies, ordering in the winter is really not the cause. Actually too much heat, like in the summer time is just as deadly, and harder to regulate, since it is easier to heat something up than cool it down in shipping.

SWF.com will not send an order, if it is too hot or too cold.

I am a newbie on here and in the hobby... but not in life experience. I with my job as a NYC firefighter deal with people at every stage in their life from the best theyve been to the worst theyve been. As well as I am a veteran. I never post on any forum I've ever belonged to until I had a while to stew it over on exactly how to get my point across the most respectful way. This hobby by far is the most "gentlemenly" thing I've been involved in in years, but even at work when people blame us for things that were out of our control we dont ever get upset to the point that we hammer then about what they say. We keep in mind the person just lost big- whether it be just their property or family members in that same fire and will vent and place blame.

Those words are just what they believe. If someone lost livestock in a delivery that took an extra 12 hours than it usually does and that same order was the first one that went like that well- I think I'd be blaming the shipping company as well, and would have every right to. The only order I ever did online was my mated pair of true perculas. Came from Cali to NY. Was 30 degrees here but they arrived perfectly fine- the place I ordered from packaged them extremely well, but if UPS had missed the delivery and they spent the night on the truck they would have froze. At that point since I was waiting at the door on the delivery day ALL DAY with notes for them to knock loudly because of what was in the box, I would have blamed them too. But all went well and theyre doing great and I wasnt about to wait an extra 3 months to get a pair of clowns. Sorry to blab my stupid thoughts but just wanted to chime in.

My thoughts exactly....I do know however,that my LFS owner goes to the airport to pick up his shipments.I guess that would help eliminate irresponsible FedEx/UPS driversI have never once tried mail-order,I enjoing seeing the fish first and also giving my LFS the buisness

My big thing in ordering in the winter time isn't that it's 30 degrees but 10 - 20 below zero on a given day. I don't care how good of a heater the fed ex truck has the storage area of the truck is going to be cold and no matter how well the package is insulated it's questionable getting things alive -- hence why I don't.

Fish stores (most all from what I've seen) get their shipments directly without riding the truck part/most of the day.

That's life in North Dakota though. Used to keep most of the rift raft out.

And a fish riding around in a UPS truck in the middle of summer is a ride in the park? Fish will tolerate extremes of cold better than extremes of heat in such an environment.

You get winter storms and you get summer storms.

Very good point cranberry.Right now as we speak ,people in my area are ICE fishing.Not sure of any oceans or lakes that get up 100+,with fishies swimming around,i guess it would kinda be a jacuzzi swim

I live in South GA and placed an order to be here last Saturday. Well we had a freaky snowstorm hit and my order was delayed and the water was cold but fortunatley everything survived. I would not have placed the order if I had been up with the upcoming storm. Normally I don't have to worry about weather like that.

Personally, it is not your money nor my money, people will do what they want regardless, so let them do it. People will always buy online and all the complaining in the world won't bring a dead fish back nor will it deter some from buying. I think no matter the weather, shipping is always a 50/50 on how specimens will arrive. Take a chance and hope for the best.

I can't think of any excuses for hobbyists not checking the weather before placing a livestock order. There is no place that we don't know what kind of storms, cold, etc. is going to happen several days out, so all you have to do is be a bit conscientious and check out the weather before placing an order.

Also, plan to have someone home to receive your order, or arrange for a direct pickup at the shippers.

I agree.

I'm one of the lucky few, my buddy works at fed ex. if I have a shipment coming in of anything live its by fed ex or not at all. because he will come in my house and open the box and float my stuff for me. now is that customer service or what?