My last order from reef cleaners arrived hot. The ice pack and all the bags of water were hot to the touch. I took the box from the hands of the mailperson as I was watching out the window. USPS is a *terrible* way to ship live animals, especially in the summer, especially in the south. The mail trucks do not have a/c and mailpeople die from the heat regularly (which is a separate but also terrible issue). The inside of the mail trucks easily hit 120-140 degrees. I had both crabs and a chiton die. It was kind of a miracle that all of the snails did not die and my gracilara is fine.
I have had 2 shippers use USPS for coral after that shipment and I had the boxes held at my local post office for pick-up. Both were fine with the ice packs still cool (not frozen, but cool). The USPS website is trash and the normal way to hold packages hasn't worked since May (as of the end of July). I called my local office and they were nice enough to hold the boxes for me. I would love to try reef cleaners again (the options available are great and the reply from my issue was quick and professional), but I will definitely have the package held. I really think they should change their shipping method.
