Argh! My poor fishies! Stupid mail

[FishGirl115]

Ugh! It's been a solid week since my package with baby guppies and shrimp shipped. I'm distraught. I really hope they're okay, but I'm quite sure they won't be. It's been a week and the package is still in the same state they started out in

 

[Fishproblem]

Ugh! It's been a solid week since my package with baby guppies and shrimp shipped. I'm distraught. I really hope they're okay, but I'm quite sure they won't be. It's been a week and the package is still in the same state they started out in

Oh no! That's the worst. Does the tracking say that the package ever reached a distribution center?

 

[FishGirl115]

Oh no! That's the worst. Does the tracking say that the package ever reached a distribution center?

Here's a screen shot of all I know

 

[Fishproblem]

Here's a screen shot of all I know

Oh, man. That looks pretty bleak. USPS has been messing up more often than not since the pandemic started. The good news is that you should definitely be able to get a replacement. That bad news, of course, is that the guppies and shrimp are in limbo

If you haven't reached out to the person who sold them, definitely do that. What kind of shipping was it?

 

[Joshaeus]

No fun Yeah, I've been seeking non-usps shipping methods lately because of the disruption caused by the virus.

 

[StarGirl]

Wow nice.

 

[RayClem]

Where do you live in the USA? Many shippers in the northern US will not ship in late fall and winter months. Live fish should be shipped overnight express.

I would never attempt to ship fish this time of year (Thanksgiving- Christmas) as deliveries are just to unreliable as a result of all the package deliveries. Shipping plants might be OK, but shipping fish is just too risky.

If they do survive the journey, be sure to quarantine them as I suspect they will have some type of disease from the stress of the transit. There will be a buildup of ammonia in the bag, so do not get any of the water into your tank. Acclimate the temperature, but as soon as you open the bag, get them into the quarantine tank. As soon as oxygen gets into the bag, the pH will go up and the ammonium ion will turn to ammonia, killing the fish if you do not act quick enough. This is not the right situation for drip acclimation.

 

[FishGirl115]

Oh, man. That looks pretty bleak. USPS has been messing up more often than not since the pandemic started. The good news is that you should definitely be able to get a replacement. That bad news, of course, is that the guppies and shrimp are in limbo

If you haven't reached out to the person who sold them, definitely do that. What kind of shipping was it?

It is priority. I have been in contact with seller. I actually got them from BSTF here. She has already said she'll give me a refund, although I know it is not her fault at all.

Where do you live in the USA? Many shippers in the northern US will not ship in late fall and winter months. Live fish should be shipped overnight express.

I would never attempt to ship fish this time of year (Thanksgiving- Christmas) as deliveries are just to unreliable as a result of all the package deliveries. Shipping plants might be OK, but shipping fish is just too risky.

If they do survive the journey, be sure to quarantine them as I suspect they will have some type of disease from the stress of the transit. There will be a buildup of ammonia in the bag, so do not get any of the water into your tank. Acclimate the temperature, but as soon as you open the bag, get them into the quarantine tank. As soon as oxygen gets into the bag, the pH will go up and the ammonium ion will turn to ammonia, killing the fish if you do not act quick enough. This is not the right situation for drip acclimation.

Thank you. This is very helpful. I live in Michigan

 

[RayClem]

Mail delivery has been very unreliable recently. I live in the Chicago area and our daughter lives in the Denver area. She was recently celebrating her 20th wedding anniversary, so my wife mailed their anniversary card ten days early. It showed up two weeks later, a few days after their anniversary.

I order some repair parts for an aquarium filter from a company located about 100 miles from me. According to the tracking record, it took four days for the first class package to travel 20 miles to the main sorting center in Milwaukee. Once it got there, it went from Milwaukee to Chicago to my home in one day.

Although Priority Mail is normally more reliable than First Class mail, I still would never ship a time sensitive product like fish, especially this time of year. Although expensive, the best way to ship is FedEx Overnight. This time of year with temperatures near freezing in the northern USA, anything over one day is likely to be harmful to the livestock.

 

[ProudPapa]

Don't give up hope yet. I shipped a fairly large pearl gourami a few months ago on a Tuesday and it didn't arrive until the following Monday, and it was fine.

Also, don't be too discouraged by the fact that the tracking seems to have stopped. I've had that happen a time or two, and then the package would just show up. Maybe the bar codes occasionally get damaged so they can't update the tracking info?

 

[FishGirl115]

Don't give up hope yet. I shipped a fairly large pearl gourami a few months ago on a Tuesday and it didn't arrive until the following Monday, and it was fine.

Also, don't be too discouraged by the fact that the tracking seems to have stopped. I've had that happen a time or two, and then the package would just show up. Maybe the bar codes occasionally get damaged so they can't update the tracking info?

Oh it's updated now. It just sat for that long.
It's out for delivery now. It'll arrive today. I'll update on how they are once they get here.

 

[Joshaeus]

Hope they arrive alive and well for you.

 

[86 ssinit]

Yes the post office has been terrible. Sent I guy in Florida plants over the summer. Leaving NY they took a trip to California first before getting to him 2 weeks later. Most shipping from me takes 3 days. I do think a lot of the problems are COVID related.

 

[UnknownUser]

Following for update of the fish. I hope they arrive okay!

 

[BigManAquatics]

Don't give up hope yet. I shipped a fairly large pearl gourami a few months ago on a Tuesday and it didn't arrive until the following Monday, and it was fine.

Also, don't be too discouraged by the fact that the tracking seems to have stopped. I've had that happen a time or two, and then the package would just show up. Maybe the bar codes occasionally get damaged so they can't update the tracking info?

I have this happen a lot. The teacking just disappears or i get a notice of "late delivery" then i have it in my mailbox that same day. Granted, none of it is living stuff....

 

[FishGirl115]

Yes the post office has been terrible. Sent I guy in Florida plants over the summer. Leaving NY they took a trip to California first before getting to him 2 weeks later. Most shipping from me takes 3 days. I do think a lot of the problems are COVID related.

Yeah. It's weird though, all of my other packages I've gotten over covid (live plants, snails, and bettas) came early.

HOORAY!!!!! All 10 baby guppies are swimming around. I don't believe there were any dead shrimp either, but it was hard to tell. It's a miracle!

 

[AcornTheBetta]

HOORAY!!!!! All 10 baby guppies are swimming around. I don't believe there were any dead shrimp either, but it was hard to tell. It's a miracle!

The invincible fish!

 

[StarGirl]

So happy. Baby fishie pics!

 

[phnx314]

Yay!!! happy for you

 

[mattgirl]

I love reading about happy endings. I have had a few packages showing as held up somewhere but actually still moving. Tracking is saying delayed even after being delivered. I am so happy that was the case here.

 

[phnx314]

I love reading about happy endings. I have had a few packages showing as held up somewhere but actually still moving. Tracking is saying delayed even after being delivered. I am so happy that was the case here.

I have a heater that says running late on the amazon order (after like two months). It’s currently in my 29g. lol

 

[Kribensis27]

I’m so glad! I’ve seen you post about your baby guppies in the mail for the past week in other threads, and have been hoping they’re ok the whole time.

 

[Fishproblem]

HOORAY!!!!! All 10 baby guppies are swimming around. I don't believe there were any dead shrimp either, but it was hard to tell. It's a miracle!

Heck yeah! I've been holding my breath! So glad for you (and them!) that they're still kickin'!

In case anybody doesn't realize, don't feel bad advocating for yourselves about missing packages - priority mail comes with up to $50 of insurance (and more insurance can be purchased cheaply), so even independent sellers can recoup their money when they send replacements.

 

[FishGirl115]

Baby pics!

One baby already has a pattern on his tail! Guessing it's a male based off of the early color/pattern

 

[Finatic005]

Ugh! It's been a solid week since my package with baby guppies and shrimp shipped. I'm distraught. I really hope they're okay, but I'm quite sure they won't be. It's been a week and the package is still in the same state they started out in

This is so frustrating!!! I am very sorry... I had a very close call with guppies and endlers in the mail at the very beginning of covid. They got stuck at a mail center that was thankfully close enough to home so that we could go and pick them up a day later! Learned my lesson about ordering live animals during this pandemic But that's sososo great that they are ok!

 

[NoahLikesFish]

I hope they do ok

 

[faydout]

I just factor the cost of overnight shipping into the price of the fish at this point. USPS has demonstrated that they can't handle it.

 

[FishGirl115]

Thanks everyone. They're all doing great.

 

[RayClem]

My wife mailed a Thanksgiving card to a friend who lives about five miles away. She mailed it on Friday, Nov. 20. It arrived a week later on Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.

USPS has gotten so bad that we have started paying most of our bills online. The old joke about "the check's in the mail" has become all too true. If you do not mail a check the day the bill arrives, it might not show up before the due date.

 

[StarGirl]

My wife mailed a Thanksgiving card to a friend who lives about five miles away. She mailed it on Friday, Nov. 20. It arrived a week later on Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.

USPS has gotten so bad that we have started paying most of our bills online. The old joke about "the check's in the mail" has become all too true. If you do not mail a check the day the bill arrives, it might not show up before the due date.

We had something coming from Grand Rapids to Wyoming (a suburb) from Ebay. Sent DHL It went to Ohio to the hub, Back to GR, Up to Traverse City back to GR to a Unknown Zip back to GR to us in Wyo. It took 5 days to come and all they would have had to do is put it in the mail we would have had it the next day.....lol Wonder why Fed X took over????

 

[AvalancheDave]

I had a UPS package that was out for delivery last Saturday, 11/21. It was never delivered and rescheduled for Monday. It didn't arrive Monday either and there was no tracking information whatsoever so I filed a claim.

On Friday, it suddenly gets rescheduled for delivery on Saturday, 11/28. I follow it on the live map as it gets closer and closer then it suddenly changes to, "Sorry we missed you..." and "Address correction required." The UPS tracking information has the correct address so I'm confused. If I miss it again I'd get it Monday at the earliest, 9 days late but would probably have to call UPS to fix the address problem.

I hopped on my mountain bike and rode around until I find the UPS truck. Someone had written, "Does not live here" on the address label so the UPS guy didn't even ring the doorbell. There was no tracking information to indicate it had been misdelivered earlier or delivered at all. And writing, "Does not live here" on the address label when the address is correct is strange. The whole situation is strange.

I also have two Amazon orders lost and not yet found.

 

[Killies]

Holy Moly after reading this thread I’m scared for the fate of my Betta Unimaculata pair coming in the mail. They were pretty expensive so I’m really worried. Hopefully they’ll come through. I ordered from them before and the fish came in happy and healthy. Maybe it’ll be the same this time.

 

[NotSoAggressiveAquatics]

Here's a screen shot of all I know

Not the dreaded Phoenix distribution center I know all to well that UPS in Phoenix sucks

Yeah. It's weird though, all of my other packages I've gotten over covid (live plants, snails, and bettas) came early.

HOORAY!!!!! All 10 baby guppies are swimming around. I don't believe there were any dead shrimp either, but it was hard to tell. It's a miracle!

YAY! I’m glad they all made it. They made it a week and here I am so worried my fish will run out of oxygen on my 10 minute drive home lol

 

[DanielFish]

Wow, That Sucks I order my fishes at my local fish store during the covid-19.

 

[AcornTheBetta]

Any update on the fish?

 

[Nessaf]

This actually gives me some hope. I ordered some shrimp, tracking said it was shipped yesterday and said out for delivery today. It’s almost 8:30pm, still says out for delivery but I doubt it’ll show tonight. I’m worried about them, can’t imagine waiting for a week! So glad that they made it in alive.

 

[RayClem]

This actually gives me some hope. I ordered some shrimp, tracking said it was shipped yesterday and said out for delivery today. It’s almost 8:30pm, still says out for delivery but I doubt it’ll show tonight. I’m worried about them, can’t imagine waiting for a week! So glad that they made it in alive.

The bioload and oxygen consumption of shrimp should be less than fish, so you should be OK, even if it goes another day. However, shipping live animals between the Christmas and New Year's holidays is risky. Personally, I would have waited until early January before ordering, but I hope yours show up safely.

We had snow and sleet last night here in the Chicago area so a lot of deliveries are going to be late. My daughter lives in Littleton, CO where temperatures are well above freezing. I do not know where in Colorado you live, but I hope your weather is similar.

 

[Nessaf]

I’m in the springs, so higher elevation and a bit colder. Hopefully the box was protected overnight.

 

[AvalancheDave]

I was able to get FedEx to deliver my packages sooner after being delayed one day and then being delayed again the next day by complaining on their Facebook page.

 

[Nessaf]

I was able to get FedEx to deliver my packages sooner after being delayed one day and then being delayed again the next day by complaining on their Facebook page.

Thank you!
They just arrived and they are all alive! Yay!