Shipping xenia

[gregt]

I've got a plethera of red sea xenia. It's really nice stuff, but I'd like to pass my blessing on to others. Now, I've only tried to ship xenia once and it didn't work out, but I want to come up with a method to do it.

So what's my point? Do I even have one? Why do I keep going on and on? I'm not sure, but keep reading.

First, I'd like to hear about attempts others have made at this whether it failed or succeded, and also any ideas anyone might have on the subject.

Second, I'd like some volunteers to try out some things I've been wanting to try. I'll provide the packing and the Xenia if you pay for the shipping.

Just email me at xenia@saltyzoo.com

[Megan]

I think Garf (http://www.garf.org) has some info on how they ship their Xenia. You might have to dig a bit, but I'm pretty sure it's there.

Megan

[fishinchick]

You are right. Xenia doesnt ship good at all. Thats why you dont see it very often in any LFS's unless they bought it from a local that had extra. Usually you take it to frag trades.
If you can find a way to ship this stuff, that would be VERY cool and I would love to find out. I have searched and I have yet to see any conclusion on safely shipping the stuff. I dont get it. Xenia grows like a weed in the tank and is fairly hardy but it will not survive the perils of shipping. Go figure.

[cath]

I'm here to tell you that the first Xenia that I got, was a purchase from Premium Aquatics. As I recall, it had a special heated pack in the box, of course I had overnight delivery. It arrived happy as a clam and was very happy in my tank. The different variety that Rick gave me is happy.

BUT, I am not happy because I caused the demise of the Xenia that I got from Jason when I tried, unsuccessfully, to frag it. Mapster did offer to send me some, but now I'm a little shy about taking in any more for the time being.

I am interested to see how your shipping experiment works out.

[Mrs Smith]

I knew I'd read about shipping Xenia somewhere...

TRA Vol. 1, p 356 discusses Xenia shipping, and the various methods. I have never shipped Xenia, but it's worth a shot. It discussed both a "dry" method, as well as the float-upside-down-on-styrofoam method. (I friend of mine uses packing peanuts.)

Have you already buried the local LFSs in Xenia? A couple months after a large frag swap out here, most of the LFSs here now have an ongoing cheap source. But it does sell, it propagates easily, and helps finance the addiction from the "grower's" perspective.

Good luck,
Danielle

[gregt]

Yeah, I trade a lot to the LFS, but I'd rather deal directly with hobbiests.

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by gregt
First, I'd like to hear about attempts others have made at this (shipping xenia) and whether it failed or succeded, and also any ideas anyone might have on the subject.

Greg, on shipping xenia, I have found that 2 methods work well, one, is to shipp them much the same way you ship mushrooms: attached to rock, wrapped in newspaper, and wrapped and sealed in a plactic bag with poenty of air and just a little water. I have had about 80% success with this method, depending on the ambient shipping temp. I have also shipped unattached specimens in arund 300 to 500 ml of water and 2 liters of air in a sealed bag. both of these methods have worked well. I have also used the "float" method for attached specimens where the specimen has rubberbanded to a piece of styrofoam and floated in about 1 liter of water and 1 to 2 liters of air in a sealed bag, but the success rate for me has been around 40 to 50%

Hope this helps

[hamburglar]

I have had no trouble shipping FedEx overnight in mild temperatures. My xenia seems to like those breathable bags better for some reason. Also, I would recommend a modest amount of water and not allowing the frag to sit against the bag.

I have let xenia just sit in bags to see how long it lives. I usually get about 24-36 hours in a regular bag and 48-72 in a breathable bag. I could be wrong about the bags, it's just been my personal experience that the breathable ones work a little better.

Disclaimer - I do not endorse FedEx as the best method of shipment. I find that they Typically cannot find my house or the destinations of my packages. They are also very hard to deal with when they leave your credit card number plastered on a box and then ship it to the wrong address. I only use them because UPS is not located in my town and I drop off my live packages at the last minute to limit “bag” time.