How Much Water for Shipping?

Eldredge · Oct 8, 2019

I have received corals from a number of shippers. Some have been in bags with as much as 12oz of water. Others have had as little as 3oz. I know a lot of shippers use 3-4oz specimen cups. I haven't noticed any difference in the condition of the corals related to the volume of water. I would think that the extra volume would help to stabilize temperature a bit, but how much water is really needed to ship coral safely? Thanks for any help.

jsker · Oct 8, 2019

It is all down to shipping weight. The heavier the box the more dollars.

Fish use up much more oxygen the inverts and coral the least.

EMeyer · Oct 9, 2019

Depends on shipping method, though. Personally I think overnight is a waste of money for zoanthids and many soft corals, and prefer to ship them 2-day flat rate . In that case, the more water the better.

I've also noticed that big slimy soft corals like Sinularia, Kenya Tree, and Xenia need to be shipped in larger volumes of water.

Zoanthids you can get away with abut 100 ml.