Shipping Corys

All posts regarding the care and breeding of these catfishes from South America.
Post Reply
cdarminio
Posts: 16
Joined: 03 Sep 2016, 15:09
Location 1: 'Merica
Location 2: CT

Shipping Corys

Post by cdarminio »

I'm considering by a group of 6 Corys. The seller says they will travel about 8 days before arriving at my house. Assuming temperatures are not extreme, can Corys survive that long in transport? I live in the US and the fish are coming from Poland
User avatar
bekateen
Posts: 8955
Joined: 09 Sep 2014, 17:50
I've donated: $40.00!
My articles: 4
My images: 130
My cats species list: 142 (i:102, k:39)
My aquaria list: 36 (i:13)
My BLogs: 44 (i:149, p:2653)
My Wishlist: 35
Spotted: 177
Location 1: USA, California, Stockton
Location 2: USA, California, Stockton
Contact:

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by bekateen »

Eight days? I'd think that's not a good idea. The fish will almost certainly be dead on arrival. Why not overnight the fish? It is possible:

My LFS (in California) regularly orders fish from Czechoslovakia (take that for what it is) and from Germany, and in both cases the fish arrive faster from those locations than do fish that are ordered from and shipped from Florida to California. That's because the international flights are non-stop overnight from the country of origin to San Francisco (as little as 12 hours in the air), whereas the Florida outfits my LFS buys from typically use routes that stop in Arizona or Los Angeles (shipment can take up to 24 hours in the air, after stop-overs are included). A few months back, my LFS received a shipment from Florida that was in transit for about 2.5 days (this was not intentional - the airline accidentally transferred the box to an incorrect connecting flight, so it got diverted for almost a day before the error was found). Out of 150 corys in the order, only 2 were alive on arrival. I got both on the day they arrived, hoping to save them. One died on the 60-minute ride home, and the other was dead the next morning.

I'm curious - what corys are you trying to get from Poland that you can't get from a closer source?

Regards, Eric
Image
Find me on YouTube and Facebook: http://youtube.com/user/Bekateen1; https://www.facebook.com/Bekateen
Buying caves from https://plecocaves.com? Plecocaves sponsor Bekateen's Fishroom. Use coupon code "bekateen" (no quotes) for 15% off your order.
cdarminio
Posts: 16
Joined: 03 Sep 2016, 15:09
Location 1: 'Merica
Location 2: CT

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by cdarminio »

Orange lasers. I can get them locally, but they're outrageously overpriced ($45 each). From Poland they'd cost about $10 including shipping.

Do you think it makes a difference if the fish are in breather bags?
User avatar
bekateen
Posts: 8955
Joined: 09 Sep 2014, 17:50
I've donated: $40.00!
My articles: 4
My images: 130
My cats species list: 142 (i:102, k:39)
My aquaria list: 36 (i:13)
My BLogs: 44 (i:149, p:2653)
My Wishlist: 35
Spotted: 177
Location 1: USA, California, Stockton
Location 2: USA, California, Stockton
Contact:

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by bekateen »

Be careful what you get under the name "orange laser" cory. If you ask the people who study corys, the first rule of thumb is that common names are meaningless because some sellers "invent" names to make their fish sound more valuable. And in that context, no authority to my knowledge recognizes any cory called an "orange laser." There are naturally-occurring (not hybridized or line-bred/man-made) gold laser () and green laser () corys, and there are orange stripe () and red stripe () corys. But no orange lasers.

That said, WetSpot Tropical Fish in Oregon has wild caught CW010 which they are calling "orange lasers:"
From their website today wrote:Corydoras sp. "Laser Orange" CW010 1.5-2" WILD $13.00 each
As I mentioned above, CW010 are correctly known as gold lasers, but they can develop an orange color and are sometimes wrongly called "orange lasers." To see the color variation, take a look at the CW010 CLOG page here: . Look specifically at image #8 (Link here) to see what I mean about the orange color that can be found in some gold lasers.

Last time I checked, WetSpot charged about $36 per box for shipping to my area. You can certainly contact them and ask how much shipping is from Oregon to wherever you are (based on your profile, Connecticut?). I don't know how many corys they will pack in a box, but my guess is it's more than 6. So although that is not $10 per fish including shipping, you will avoid an eight day journey that will most likely kill your corys and you will be getting wild-caught fish instead of fish that are more-than-likely mass-bred in a fish farm, with unknown levels of genetic inbreeding.

Cheers, Eric
Last edited by bekateen on 25 Jul 2017, 14:14, edited 3 times in total.
Image
Find me on YouTube and Facebook: http://youtube.com/user/Bekateen1; https://www.facebook.com/Bekateen
Buying caves from https://plecocaves.com? Plecocaves sponsor Bekateen's Fishroom. Use coupon code "bekateen" (no quotes) for 15% off your order.
User avatar
bekateen
Posts: 8955
Joined: 09 Sep 2014, 17:50
I've donated: $40.00!
My articles: 4
My images: 130
My cats species list: 142 (i:102, k:39)
My aquaria list: 36 (i:13)
My BLogs: 44 (i:149, p:2653)
My Wishlist: 35
Spotted: 177
Location 1: USA, California, Stockton
Location 2: USA, California, Stockton
Contact:

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by bekateen »

Oh, and no, I don't think breather bags are going to help the fish last 8 days. Some may make it, but the risk of mortality is very high, I'd think.

I'm not stating that from experience with such long shipping times, but just my best educated guess. According to the Kordon website, (Kordon markets breather bags), the fish can live up to "7-10 days," which would theoretically cover the journey you are describing. But I would think that assumes a few things, like that the bags are used properly and the fish experience minimal stress in transit. Also, corys are not your "average" fish for transit. Corys are notorious for "self-poisoning," that is releasing a self defense toxin into the water under stressful conditions and in the process they kill themselves.
Image
Find me on YouTube and Facebook: http://youtube.com/user/Bekateen1; https://www.facebook.com/Bekateen
Buying caves from https://plecocaves.com? Plecocaves sponsor Bekateen's Fishroom. Use coupon code "bekateen" (no quotes) for 15% off your order.
MChambers
Posts: 223
Joined: 18 May 2009, 19:20
My cats species list: 26 (i:12, k:0)
My BLogs: 6 (i:0, p:76)
Spotted: 2
Location 2: Washington DC

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by MChambers »

You ought to be able to get CW010 from a US source for far less than $45 a fish. Maybe $10 a fish?
cdarminio
Posts: 16
Joined: 03 Sep 2016, 15:09
Location 1: 'Merica
Location 2: CT

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by cdarminio »

MChambers wrote: 24 Jul 2017, 23:23 You ought to be able to get CW010 from a US source for far less than $45 a fish. Maybe $10 a fish?
So far no luck with that. The bigger LFS sells them for $45 each (as I previously said). A second, smaller store sells them for $30.
Last edited by cdarminio on 25 Jul 2017, 12:51, edited 1 time in total.
cdarminio
Posts: 16
Joined: 03 Sep 2016, 15:09
Location 1: 'Merica
Location 2: CT

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by cdarminio »

This fish was being sold as "Orange Laser Cory". Is it a CW010?

Does anyone know of any breeders in CT, near 06878? The town I live in is most filled with saltwater hobbyists.
Attachments
IMG_1641.JPG
User avatar
TwoTankAmin
Posts: 1471
Joined: 24 Apr 2008, 23:26
I've donated: $4288.00!
My cats species list: 6 (i:0, k:0)
My BLogs: 2 (i:0, p:48)
Location 1: USA
Location 2: Mt. Kisco, NY
Interests: Fish and Poker

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by TwoTankAmin »

Breather bags are not really the right choice for any species that tends to gulp air at the surface, There is no surface in a breather bag. They should also not be shipped in bags where oxygen has been used inflate them.

The trick to shipping fish which have to be bagged for many days is not only to pack one fish per bag, but also to use more water and air than normal. The biggest issue will actually temperature control.

I know at least one USA site selling orange lasers for $11. The seller used to be a mod. on AquariaCentral. There is only one potential problem. His site certificate expired on June 20 (last month) and he seems not to have renewed it. So when I tried to visit the site my browser warned me it was untrusted. Having bought some stuff from him years back and knowing him from online, I was willing to take the chance the site and went anyhow. he does list the cory at $11 each. he is located in CA. You will have to decide how to proceed regarding the site being safe. Here is the link, hopefully you will see the same warning I did and be able to decide what you want to do.
https://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop ... lling-fish

I cannot vouch for the quality of his fish as I was only buying dry fertilizers from him.
No one has ever become poor by giving.” Anonymous
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”" Daniel Patrick Moynihan
"The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
User avatar
bekateen
Posts: 8955
Joined: 09 Sep 2014, 17:50
I've donated: $40.00!
My articles: 4
My images: 130
My cats species list: 142 (i:102, k:39)
My aquaria list: 36 (i:13)
My BLogs: 44 (i:149, p:2653)
My Wishlist: 35
Spotted: 177
Location 1: USA, California, Stockton
Location 2: USA, California, Stockton
Contact:

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by bekateen »

cdarminio wrote: 25 Jul 2017, 12:49 This fish was being sold as "Orange Laser Cory". Is it a CW010?
Could be. The colors in the photo are very brilliant, which might make it more difficult to confirm. Adult CW010 have the stripe going all the way down the caudal peduncle, to the base of the tail. But there are photos of fish purportedly CW010 that don't have the stripe going that far, as with your photo. I've never kept them, so I don't have first hand experience with how their color pattern develops or changes with age and condition.

Cheers, Eric
Image
Find me on YouTube and Facebook: http://youtube.com/user/Bekateen1; https://www.facebook.com/Bekateen
Buying caves from https://plecocaves.com? Plecocaves sponsor Bekateen's Fishroom. Use coupon code "bekateen" (no quotes) for 15% off your order.
MChambers
Posts: 223
Joined: 18 May 2009, 19:20
My cats species list: 26 (i:12, k:0)
My BLogs: 6 (i:0, p:76)
Spotted: 2
Location 2: Washington DC

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by MChambers »

Looks like CW010.

I agree that you'll pay much more than $10 at a LFS. Online, the Wetspot has them for $13. Have you looked at aquabid?
cdarminio
Posts: 16
Joined: 03 Sep 2016, 15:09
Location 1: 'Merica
Location 2: CT

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by cdarminio »

MChambers wrote: 25 Jul 2017, 20:04 Looks like CW010.

I agree that you'll pay much more than $10 at a LFS. Online, the Wetspot has them for $13. Have you looked at aquabid?
Aquabid is where I saw the guy in Poland selling a group of CW010.

I've asked a friend who manages a LFS to order me a group. He said he'll try so fingers crossed it works out.
MChambers
Posts: 223
Joined: 18 May 2009, 19:20
My cats species list: 26 (i:12, k:0)
My BLogs: 6 (i:0, p:76)
Spotted: 2
Location 2: Washington DC

Re: Shipping Corys

Post by MChambers »

There are quite a few available from club members in Washington DC area. There are 3 or 4 of us breeding them at any particular time. It may be that those who sell on Aquabid are not listing fish in July and August, due to the heat. If you wait until the fall, you may find more available.
Post Reply

Return to “South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)”