Need your opinion on packing & shipping

[Dr. Reef]

Hi everyone
So we been packing and shipping fish for last 5 years. According to our records we have 9% doa.
According to emails and feedbacks, most generally clients are happy with our packing/boxing and shipping.
But there are a handful that think or claim we are not very good at it.
We bag our fish in reasonable amount of water and pure Oxygen. Water does contain medicines that help fish hibernate and also ammonia suppressor. We heat seal all our bags using a conveyor belt sealing machine. We use 4 mil thick bags and double bag most fish. Industrial standard is 2mil bag but ours is twice as thick to begin with. Then fish bags go into styrofoam coolers that are designed to hold temperature for good 16 to 24 hrs depending on how harsh they are subjected to elements. We use heat packs or cold packs accordingly. Then we layer packing newspaper on top and close the lid and tape the box.
Box has very big and prominent signs of LIVE FISH all around and on top.
So we do what we learned from wholesalers on how to pack and ship but like I said a handful of feedbacks are not favorable.
We would like to get your opinion to see where the disconnect is and how we can improve our shipping.
Please let us know what you think we can do better.
Thank you

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i think you do a great job! but im sorry about the 9%. i hope for your sake that number drops!

 

[Doctorgori]

I have some cred here as I’ve shipped a lot of fish and Ive worked/handled packages and freight for UPS, USPS and a major Office supply co. I’ve also received a few of your packages with fish.

1st off don’t believe for a second that freight handlers even read warning labels in packages, if they do, I’ve seen no evidence

I don’t see a problem with your product per se. In general and industry wide is shipping fish in salinity’s under 35ppt … makes sense on one hand; passes acclimation/adjustment issue on to the consumer OTOH

 

[Manpeckz]

I received two of these recently, I think they are packaged quite well.

Some of my coral shipments from other places have come with the heat pack attached to the lid, I believe these ones were just against the newspaper that separated them from the fish.

I think the green labels for the live animals certainly help. Most people delivering are simply at work though, so its hard to say if they take anymore care than the next package. I think some really do.

Possibly inverting the corners to keep fish that are nervous or small from getting wedged or trapped, but you spoke of that in a different thread.

Im in the 91%. No DOA. Replacements came packaged just the same as my original order.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Thank you for your feedback. As you mentioned, the rounded corners will be addressed soon. We have stock for the rest of the year then we move to square bottom bags so that it eleminates the issue of fish getting caught in the corners.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

@Dr. Reef, sent you a message. (email)

 

[SpyC]

I only account for 2 orders, but I have 25% doa in the first order and closer to 75% doa in the second. The common issue for the doa fish were poorly bagged fish. The bags either sprung leaks because they were not double bagged or fish became stuck in an u protected corner of the bag. I also had a fairly large clown in about 4oz of water. It was barely able to swim upright in the bag. I already mentioned this in another thread and you seemed open to working on this.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Where possible airport to airport shipments are safer and faster just like the wholesalers use. Perhaps clubs could make up orders that would fill full fish boxes for their members. Not going to beat 9% probably due to the vast array of individuals who may not be able to acclimate fish properly.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

By the way in UPS the package must be able to withstand a two story drop in the sorting facility. I had to design accordingly for the wet/dry filters we made for 20 years or more. Not something they like to admit but their are plenty of individuals in the system that revealed this to us during development and test shipping.

A two story drop is not something that is a benefit to livestock.

 

[SpyC]

Where possible airport to airport shipments are safer and faster just like the wholesalers use. Perhaps clubs could make up orders that would fill full fish boxes for their members. Not going to beat 9% probably due to the vast array of individuals who may not be able to acclimate fish properly.

DOA is unrelated to improper acclimation. Why would you acclimate a fish that arrived dead?

 

[ti_lavender]

I’d be curious how the 9% compares in the industry. I’ve had a few DOA from various vendors. But I’m also in the PNW and most of the DOAs have originated from Florida or the East coast.

 

[Dr. Reef]

I’d be curious how the 9% compares in the industry. I’ve had a few DOA from various vendors. But I’m also in the PNW and most of the DOAs have originated from Florida or the East coast.

Wholesalers like to keep it 3% but then again they ship directly from their airport to clients. In our case from LAX California to Tul Oklahoma, they ship at 10-11 am via southwest and we receive them by 6pm or so, hardly any time in transit. If there was a direct flight between LAX to TUL then they would be here in 3 hrs. but unfortunately there isnt.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

DOA is unrelated to improper acclimation. Why would you acclimate a fish that arrived dead?

well your not wrong....

 

[littlefoxx]

My first order comes from you this week. I will for sure let you know what I think of the shipping

 

[karsa]

I’ve gotten multiple orders from you and never had any issues with packaging. Main issue I’ve had is sensitive fish (sand burring wrasse) coming in bad shape. Not sure if a change to the bags or some sand in there would be practical or even helpful but that’s the only area I’d look for improvement.

 

[ScottieB]

I couldn’t offer an improvement, both my shipments came in perfect. They arrived exactly as you described. Boxes clearly labeled as “live fish” with styrofoam boxes inside and fish double bagged. Please just keep doing what you’re doing and let’s see if that percentage comes down.