Overrun with seahorses

[cowfishpro]

Hello!

Today is my first day here. I currently have a 300 gallon aquarium with 5 adult Erectus seahorses. I have had these seahorses for more than a year, but I am facing an interesting challenge, so I was curious what others do.

One of my males is extremely prolific. I have raised a number of fry in the seahorse nursery and transitioned them to the 300g. The 300 now contains dozens and dozens, maybe into the hundreds of seahorse fry and juveniles of different ages and sizes.

I know that even a 300g aquarium will not host so many seahorses in the long run. I have a good amount, probably around a dozen, large enough to sell off. I'm interested in suggestions for selling without having to ship or travel. I reached out to some LFSs in my area, but the best I have accomplished is them taking my information to refer their customers to.

I work a very busy, full-time job, and I just can't ship or attend shows right now. I would have to do local pick-up. So I really appreciate suggestions. I also appreciate thoughts on how much to ask. The older juveniles are fully captive bred, born and raised in my home aquariums, and eating both Hikari Bio-Pure and PE frozen mysis.

Thanks for taking the time to read and potentially offer suggestions.

 

[TX_REEF]

if your LFS won't take them, you'll have to ship or travel. that's just reality!

USPS is open 24 hours a day, you could use the self-service lobby to ship at a time that suits you.

 

[cowfishpro]

if your LFS won't take them, you'll have to ship or travel. that's just reality!

USPS is open 24 hours a day, you could use the self-service lobby to ship at a time that suits you.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m not sure how the automated shipping method, as the 24 hour service implies, would work. I don’t know the reality of the USPS being able to successfully ship Seahorses overnight as they require. Especially without handing the package off to a live person. The nearest USPS and FedEx hubs to me are 45 minutes away which is partly what makes the idea of shipping so tough.

 

[TX_REEF]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m not sure how the automated shipping method, as the 24 hour service implies, would work. I don’t know the reality of the USPS being able to successfully ship Seahorses overnight as they require. Especially without handing the package off to a live person. The nearest USPS and FedEx hubs to me are 45 minutes away which is partly what makes the idea of shipping so tough.

When you have a bit of time to spare, check out your local USPS. There should be a self-service kiosk in the lobby which is open 24/7. It is quite easy to create a label there are the kiosk, so your only challenge really is packing which you can do in advance in the comfort of your home. You could go to USPS with your packed seahorses either at night or ideally first thing in the morning before work so they can process it when they open. You could even generate the USPS priority overnight label online!

 

[Reefing102]

I don’t know about USPS but both FedEx and UPS should offer pick up options (though it’s a paid service).

Also where are you located? You shouldn’t need to drop off at a hub, just a UPS or FedEx Store should work. If you have the label pre-printed, some 3rd parties would probably accept it too (though it’s probably riskier)

 

[MoeStachio]

Hello!

Today is my first day here. I currently have a 300 gallon aquarium with 5 adult Erectus seahorses. I have had these seahorses for more than a year, but I am facing an interesting challenge, so I was curious what others do.

One of my males is extremely prolific. I have raised a number of fry in the seahorse nursery and transitioned them to the 300g. The 300 now contains dozens and dozens, maybe into the hundreds of seahorse fry and juveniles of different ages and sizes.

I know that even a 300g aquarium will not host so many seahorses in the long run. I have a good amount, probably around a dozen, large enough to sell off. I'm interested in suggestions for selling without having to ship or travel. I reached out to some LFSs in my area, but the best I have accomplished is them taking my information to refer their customers to.

I work a very busy, full-time job, and I just can't ship or attend shows right now. I would have to do local pick-up. So I really appreciate suggestions. I also appreciate thoughts on how much to ask. The older juveniles are fully captive bred, born and raised in my home aquariums, and eating both Hikari Bio-Pure and PE frozen mysis.

Thanks for taking the time to read and potentially offer suggestions.

I see you're in Elgin?

Canada or America?

There are ways to ship them quickly but location matters.

This may mean something like setting aside a time to mass ship them all at once, with of course advanced notice to the buyers.

I've heard Seahorses are hard to get up here in Canada, so there may be a market for them

You could also reach out to several stores in larger areas, and see if they're interested.

Of course they'll need time to set up a tank for them, but then you can schedule a day to offload the babies.

Hope this helps

 

[bikerbutter]

Hello!

Today is my first day here. I currently have a 300 gallon aquarium with 5 adult Erectus seahorses. I have had these seahorses for more than a year, but I am facing an interesting challenge, so I was curious what others do.

One of my males is extremely prolific. I have raised a number of fry in the seahorse nursery and transitioned them to the 300g. The 300 now contains dozens and dozens, maybe into the hundreds of seahorse fry and juveniles of different ages and sizes.

I know that even a 300g aquarium will not host so many seahorses in the long run. I have a good amount, probably around a dozen, large enough to sell off. I'm interested in suggestions for selling without having to ship or travel. I reached out to some LFSs in my area, but the best I have accomplished is them taking my information to refer their customers to.

I work a very busy, full-time job, and I just can't ship or attend shows right now. I would have to do local pick-up. So I really appreciate suggestions. I also appreciate thoughts on how much to ask. The older juveniles are fully captive bred, born and raised in my home aquariums, and eating both Hikari Bio-Pure and PE frozen mysis.

Thanks for taking the time to read and potentially offer suggestions.

He

Hello!

Today is my first day here. I currently have a 300 gallon aquarium with 5 adult Erectus seahorses. I have had these seahorses for more than a year, but I am facing an interesting challenge, so I was curious what others do.

One of my males is extremely prolific. I have raised a number of fry in the seahorse nursery and transitioned them to the 300g. The 300 now contains dozens and dozens, maybe into the hundreds of seahorse fry and juveniles of different ages and sizes.

I know that even a 300g aquarium will not host so many seahorses in the long run. I have a good amount, probably around a dozen, large enough to sell off. I'm interested in suggestions for selling without having to ship or travel. I reached out to some LFSs in my area, but the best I have accomplished is them taking my information to refer their customers to.

I work a very busy, full-time job, and I just can't ship or attend shows right now. I would have to do local pick-up. So I really appreciate suggestions. I also appreciate thoughts on how much to ask. The older juveniles are fully captive bred, born and raised in my home aquariums, and eating both Hikari Bio-Pure and PE frozen mysis.

Thanks for taking the time to read and potentially offer suggestions.

Hello!! Welcome to the Reef2Reef family!!

 

[Jamie814]

You could even generate the USPS priority overnight label online!

USPS is a very bad choice for shipping live animals.

Express mail is their fastest option, and it is rarely 1 day, generally 2 days for delivery.

UPS or FedEx 1 day are really the only way to go with live animals and coral.

 

[bikerbutter]

USPS is a very bad choice for shipping live animals.

Express mail is their fastest option, and it is rarely 1 day, generally 2 days for delivery.

UPS or FedEx 1 day are really the only way to go with live animals and coral.

Definitely next day air for all aquatic life.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Maybe not give up on the LFS idea-- just do a much wider search (even a few hour's drive-time) to an LFS that for essentially a 'wholesale' price from you would set up a tank at their place where they could keep/griw-out/sell what you supply them.

 

[TX_REEF]

USPS is a very bad choice for shipping live animals.

Express mail is their fastest option, and it is rarely 1 day, generally 2 days for delivery.

UPS or FedEx 1 day are really the only way to go with live animals and coral.

reefcleaners uses USPS, and I've never had an issue with them shipping overnight. Maybe it's location specific?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Reef Beauties uses overnight UPS, styrofoam boxes inside of outer cardboard boxes. My fish have arrived well, California to Florida.

 

[cowfishpro]

When you have a bit of time to spare, check out your local USPS. There should be a self-service kiosk in the lobby which is open 24/7. It is quite easy to create a label there are the kiosk, so your only challenge really is packing which you can do in advance in the comfort of your home. You could go to USPS with your packed seahorses either at night or ideally first thing in the morning before work so they can process it when they open. You could even generate the USPS priority overnight label online!

Thank you for the explanation. Though not an expert, I am familiar with USPS options. That said, I have concerns that USPS would not deliver within the one day/overnight on time. Even their website says the service is guaranteed for one to two days in most locations, and up to 3 days in rural areas. I appreciate the suggestion, and am curious to know if you have tried USPS overnight to ship live fish in the past. I would like to hear about your experiences.

 

[cowfishpro]

I don’t know about USPS but both FedEx and UPS should offer pick up options (though it’s a paid service).

Also where are you located? You shouldn’t need to drop off at a hub, just a UPS or FedEx Store should work. If you have the label pre-printed, some 3rd parties would probably accept it too (though it’s probably riskier)

Thanks, Shane. I actually explored shipping through UPS overnight 2 years ago to ship live fish to a friend. I am in the US and wanted to ship across the country. I found out the hard way that you cannot drop off live animals at any drop off center. It must be dropped off at a hub, usually near an airport. Otherwise, pay for pick up. Again, this goes back to my original concern. Having the time to buy boxes and styrofoam, then pack and drive 45 minutes to a hub.

 

[cowfishpro]

He

Hello!! Welcome to the Reef2Reef family!!

Awe, thanks, Biker. I appreciate it.

 

[cowfishpro]

I see you're in Elgin?

Canada or America?

There are ways to ship them quickly but location matters.

This may mean something like setting aside a time to mass ship them all at once, with of course advanced notice to the buyers.

I've heard Seahorses are hard to get up here in Canada, so there may be a market for them

You could also reach out to several stores in larger areas, and see if they're interested.

Of course they'll need time to set up a tank for them, but then you can schedule a day to offload the babies.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply MoeStachio. I'm in the U.S. I may have to explore the other stores idea, but I had a strange experience with one chain I went to. I have my doubts of this person's knowledge, but this staffer told me that large chains can't sell seahorses because they require a license. I asked her to tell me more about this, but she didn't know more. If there is any truth to that in the U.S., that greatly limits my options. I appreciate the suggestions to expand my search, though.

 

[cowfishpro]

USPS is a very bad choice for shipping live animals.

Express mail is their fastest option, and it is rarely 1 day, generally 2 days for delivery.

UPS or FedEx 1 day are really the only way to go with live animals and coral.

Thanks for the confirmation on this, Biker. That was my fear.

 

[TX_REEF]

Thank you for the explanation. Though not an expert, I am familiar with USPS options. That said, I have concerns that USPS would not deliver within the one day/overnight on time. Even their website says the service is guaranteed for one to two days in most locations, and up to 3 days in rural areas. I appreciate the suggestion, and am curious to know if you have tried USPS overnight to ship live fish in the past. I would like to hear about your experiences.

I have ordered from reefcleaners.org on numerous occasions, and they ship via USPS overnight. I have had nearly zero DOA. But again, I am located near a major metro, so it may be location-dependent.

 

[cowfishpro]

Reef Beauties uses overnight UPS, styrofoam boxes inside of outer cardboard boxes. My fish have arrived well, California to Florida.

Yes, UPS overnight seems to be pretty reliable.

 

[MoeStachio]

Yeah there's a tonne of rules around them. Some can be bypassed because they're captive bred tho- sadly I don't think you'll get em across the border to us up here without a bunch of hassle

Best of luck with the LFS hunt! I do think that's your best option

Just find a city with a few stores and see if any or all of them are interested.