# Stupid Question: Is it possible to ship few shrimp in a water bottle?



## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

Hey,

Just wondering if it is possible to ship 3-4 shrimp in a small Poland Spring bottle with some java moss. The bottle would be filled halfway so there would be air and the top would be capped off so the water would not escape. I have bags but I have very limited space in the box since I will be shipping ALOT of plants and I want to make this as perfect as I possibly can. The trip would be via Priority Mail to a bordering state so it's not a long trip either.

What do you guys/girls think?

Almost forgot, these would be Cherry shrimp.

Thanks


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

I don't see a problem...if you are starting to sell shrimp get some breather bags in aquabid


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

milalic said:


> I don't see a problem...if you are starting to sell shrimp get some breather bags in aquabid


Thanks...

I have those too but the bottle is the perfect size to fit in this small cranny of the box.


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## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

I dont know much about it, but maybe you shouldnt for this reason:

Mineral water bottles are meant for one time use only for packing drinking water and old ones can cause poisoining. PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles have diethylhydroxylamine, which can cause cancer. After opening them, don't use them more than a few days, a week at most. Also, keep them away from heat. Repeated washing and rinsing can cause the plastic to breakdown and the carcinogenes can leach into the water that you are drinking. 

Of course that could all be myth. Call the mythbusters.

jB


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

As a method of transport I think the bottle would be excellet as long as there is moss or something for the shrimp to hold/orient to so as to avoid vertigo. I don't know if the PET thing is real or not so no comment there(although it woudl surely discourve people from resuing bottle for home water thus increasing the sales).

Biggest drawback that I see to this is coaxing the fiesty, fast moving, jumper shrimp into the ~3/4" diameter opening of a water bottle. Seems like that would be harder than putting a cat in a carrier. Maybe you could coax the shrimp into the bottle with a trail of algae filaments?


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## acbaldwin (Nov 3, 2005)

Thanks, jB, thanks a whole freakin' lot.
Now I'm going to be worrying about cancer every time I pick up the water bottle. What's that, you say? Get a new water bottle? No way, I'm cheap!!
I'll just man up and take the cancer, thanks!


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

Yeh, thanks. I do drink my daily 8 glasses of water a day but it usually constitutes to 8 bottles.


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## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

HAHAHA Yup....but as dennis says.....sure sounds like a ploy to buy more water.

jB


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## T_om (Dec 23, 2004)

The water bottle will work fine. Only fill it 1/3rd full. Leave plenty of air space. Use moss as the shrimp really need something to cling to in transit.

Tom


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## CanadianCray (Oct 16, 2004)

I have done this many times for shipping crays.


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

Thanks guys....I guess I'll go ahead with it and let you know how it went.


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

I think I just proved that the theory of "adult shrimp do not ship as well as babies" to shame. On Saturday, I took a small 12oz bottle of Poland Spring and filled it one third way up. I threw in 2 adult males and one adult female in the bottle along with a tiny amount of Java Moss. Once I put the cap on the bottle, I basically put it in the smallest USPS box without insulation and rushed to the post office before the record snowfall was to happen. Anyway, package went out on Saturday and got to it's final destination on Tuesday. Yep, it's been in transit for close to 4 days with no heatpacks, newspapers or anything of that sort. The crazy part is that they went from New Jersey to Pennsylvania where the weather is very cold at the time. Did I mention that on Sunday we received a record 27 inches of snow and the weather was in the 20s?


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## acbaldwin (Nov 3, 2005)

Soooo.... I assume they survived?



...Or are you just some sick freak who likes sending shrimp to their icy graves?


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

acbaldwin said:


> Soooo.... I assume they survived?
> 
> ...Or are you just some sick freak who likes sending shrimp to their icy graves?


Yep, they lived. Not sure how, but they did. The only reason I did that was that I had no time to repack (it did not fit initially into the original box) plus it was starting to snow. If they died I would have replaced them with no problems, I would have even doubled the amount of shrimp for his troubles.


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## CanadianCray (Oct 16, 2004)

Ice is no problem. I have got a few shipments of crays from Germany & there was Ice in the bottles when I got them. Crays didn't care a bit.


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## PiranhaStein (Feb 10, 2006)

CanadianCray said:


> Ice is no problem. I have got a few shipments of crays from Germany & there was Ice in the bottles when I got them. Crays didn't care a bit.


That makes me feel a lot better about getting shipments from germany. That is very strong of them to survive freezing temps.


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## CanadianCray (Oct 16, 2004)

You have to figure. Most of the species that are being purchased from Germany are North American. Even in the southern states it can get pretty cold sometimes. Not to mention many others naturally have to deal with freezing temps.

Just remember to bring them up to temp slow or bad things happen.


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## bpm2000 (Jul 5, 2005)

people ship mantis shrimp in water bottles often in the saltwater forums.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

So, the suspense is killing me: what did you have to say to the shrimp to get them to crawl into that tiny opening? Bribery? Promise of a nice vacation in Tahiti?


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

hoppycalif said:


> So, the suspense is killing me: what did you have to say to the shrimp to get them to crawl into that tiny opening? Bribery? Promise of a nice vacation in Tahiti?




I took a tiny disposable cup that is used in rinsing your teeth when you brush them. When I caught the little guys in the net I just put the cup in there as well and they swam inside. After that I just poured them into the bottle since I was able to squeeze the little cup into a perfect pouring spout.


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## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

.....or a small funnel would do the trick.

jB


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