Dry shipping anemone

Tom nhia · Apr 1, 2022

Hey
So I've been hearing about this dry shipping method but don't see anything about it.

So my question is how do you dry ship anemones?

Koh23 · Apr 1, 2022

Depends, do you want to ship them alive or dead......

SPS2020 · Apr 1, 2022

"So my question is how do you dry ship anemones?"

Is this similar to "what do you call a dog with no legs"?
Doesn't matter, he isn't going to come anyway!

I have seen a few articles that suggest overseas ship them "dry":

Shipping Anemones

I saw this topic on the site and realize that it was an old topic. However, for those interested; I imported marine aquarium fish and invertebrates for about 15 years. I was shipped a lot of anemones from around the world. Yes, generally anemones were shipped dry. In fact, at the exporting facili...

www.nano-reef.com

Tom nhia · Apr 1, 2022

SPS2020 said:
"So my question is how do you dry ship anemones?"

Is this similar to "what do you call a dog with no legs"?
Doesn't matter, he isn't going to come anyway!

I have seen a few articles that suggest overseas ship them "dry":

Shipping Anemones

I saw this topic on the site and realize that it was an old topic. However, for those interested; I imported marine aquarium fish and invertebrates for about 15 years. I was shipped a lot of anemones from around the world. Yes, generally anemones were shipped dry. In fact, at the exporting facili...

www.nano-reef.com

Thank you for the link and an actual response

GoReefin · Apr 1, 2022

Link post from above for the lazy

"I saw this topic on the site and realize that it was an old topic. However, for those interested; I imported marine aquarium fish and invertebrates for about 15 years. I was shipped a lot of anemones from around the world. Yes, generally anemones were shipped dry. In fact, at the exporting facility, they were generally placed on a screen to remove excess water by shrinking. In many cases, they are shipped wrapped in wet paper towels or dry. This is how anemones were shipped from Sri Lanka, Philippines, Africa and probably many other areas. Why were they shipped like that? Anemones are not that smart. If a lot of water is left in the bags, they still think they are in the ocean. Therefore, if they have eaten in the shipping facility or even prior to arriving in the shipping facility, they can foul the bags. I did the same thing when shipping them without incident. Why are they shipped with water now. I'm afraid that we the hobbyists are to blame. We freak out when an anemone comes in without water and we claim too many dead anemones whether they are dead or not. That is probably why they are shipped with water. Personally, I don't believe that they should."

My comment

seems like an interesting concept. As long as they are damp or wrapped in wet papertowels I don't see why they wouldnt be alright to ship. The only concern would be temperature during shipping. They'd be more prone to drastic swings as less volume of water would allow for temp to swing more.

((FORDTECH)) · Apr 1, 2022

Could you imagine how nasty it would smell to receive an anemone in a bag with no water that’s been sitting there for 24 hours

Tom nhia · Apr 1, 2022

GoReefin said:
Link post from above for the lazy

"I saw this topic on the site and realize that it was an old topic. However, for those interested; I imported marine aquarium fish and invertebrates for about 15 years. I was shipped a lot of anemones from around the world. Yes, generally anemones were shipped dry. In fact, at the exporting facility, they were generally placed on a screen to remove excess water by shrinking. In many cases, they are shipped wrapped in wet paper towels or dry. This is how anemones were shipped from Sri Lanka, Philippines, Africa and probably many other areas. Why were they shipped like that? Anemones are not that smart. If a lot of water is left in the bags, they still think they are in the ocean. Therefore, if they have eaten in the shipping facility or even prior to arriving in the shipping facility, they can foul the bags. I did the same thing when shipping them without incident. Why are they shipped with water now. I'm afraid that we the hobbyists are to blame. We freak out when an anemone comes in without water and we claim too many dead anemones whether they are dead or not. That is probably why they are shipped with water. Personally, I don't believe that they should."

My comment

seems like an interesting concept. As long as they are damp or wrapped in wet papertowels I don't see why they wouldnt be alright to ship. The only concern would be temperature during shipping. They'd be more prone to drastic swings as less volume of water would allow for temp to swing more.

True, the temperature swing isn't something I thought about. I think one way to help with the temperature swing is to use more insulation. In my experience, cellulose insulation is incredibly good and cheap. I've had a couple fish get delayed for 2-3 days extra and the 24 hour heat pack was cold to the touch but cellulose insulation was still fairly warm. Also to note, the package was lined with your typical 3/4-1/2 inch styrofoam

Tom nhia · Apr 1, 2022

((FORDTECH)) said:
Could you imagine how nasty it would smell to receive an anemone in a bag with no water that’s been sitting there for 24 hours

Yeah it would definitely smell if it dies. But also less guess work to know if it made it or not

On another note, the lack of water is said to help eliminate the dreaded bacterial infection, hence why Im looking to learn more about this "dry" shipping method

Auquanut · Apr 1, 2022

This is fascinating. I've seen areas where certain corals and anemones spend hours out of the water in direct sunlight at low tide and thrive. Kinda wondering if this might be a more effective way of shipping some corals as well.

Things that make you say Hunh.

Tom nhia · Apr 1, 2022

Auquanut said:
This is fascinating. I've seen areas where certain corals and anemones spend hours out of the water in direct sunlight at low tide and thrive. Kinda wondering if this might be a more effective way of shipping some corals as well.

Things that make you say Hunh.

Exactly. I think this is definitely a possible way to ship inverts from inter-tidal zones. We already do that with snails and hermits, so there might be some corals and anemones that can tolerate it or even ship better