Panda Cory Live Shipping

[SherLar]

   I really like Corys. We have 5 different species now, in schools ranging from 5 to 12 individuals. I've recently become enamored with Panda Corys, but though I have 5 fish/aquarium shops and numerous chain pet stores in my area, not one of them ever carries Pandas. I've been considering ordering them, but am unsure as to how well they'll survive the shipping. Has anyone ordered them or similar fish before? If so, can they make the shipment ok, and is there anything special I need to do to transition them safely to a quarantine tank  after arrival?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Where in the US are you?

 

[SherLar]

Near Omaha, NE

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I ask because there are some different sources at a few different locations around the country.  That Fish Place (now, That Pet Place) in Lancaster, PA.  WetSpotTropical in Oregon, LiveAquaria in Wisconsin.
 
I'll let you know that some of the Petsmarts near me have started to have Panda Cories.  Might not be a bad idea to ask someone there if they could order them in for you.
 
You could also look at aquabid.  Some great deals... and if you find a seller near you, you can arrange a face to face meeting.  I got my orange lasers from a guy in the Baltimore Area - I live just south of Philadelphia.  I took the two hour drive to pick them up and drove them home.  I've also headed out to Lancaster to That Pet Place (about two hours one way) to pick up pandas in the past.  
 
 
Getting fish shipped isn't a huge deal.  Most places offer a 'arrive alive' guarantee.  Read the directions for how to provide proof for that as well.   The set-up is pretty easy.  Check to make sure they are alive.  Unless they are showing obvious stress beyond 'normal transportation stress' just float them to bring them up to temp.  That's step one.  From there, there are a few different views.  View 1 - once acclimated to the temp, drop them into the QT and let them settle in.  View 2 - drip acclimation.  
 
I've done both.  I currently drop in the tank after the temp match.  

 

[Akasha72]

can you not ask if the lfs can get some in? Does it not work that way in America? Over here if you ask an lfs for a certain type of fish they'll go to their supplier and order them in, even if it's just a special order for you and you alone.
 
I've done this a few times now with my lovely lfs. I ordered 10 purple harlequins last week. 20 arrived on Tuesday and they reserved 10 for me. I've just got home from picking them up

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It depends on the LFS and the willingness of the customer to ask. 

 

[RCA]

I once had some Corys included in a shipment. Although the other fish were fine, the Cories were bagged together and their water was sooooooo toxic, I lost one very quickly and the others did not fair well. I would say that if you ever get fish in this state, I have read it is better to get them into the better water ASAP vs acclimatisation. What do others think? TBH I prefer to order fish in via the LFS, although when you think about it the fish travel to them as well, although hopefully in a more appropriate state!?!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I once had some Corys included in a shipment. Although the other fish were fine, the Cories were bagged together and their water was sooooooo toxic, I lost one very quickly and the others did not fair well. I would say that if you ever get fish in this state, I have read it is better to get them into the better water ASAP vs acclimatisation. What do others think? TBH I prefer to order fish in via the LFS, although when you think about it the fish travel to them as well, although hopefully in a more appropriate state!?!

 
Yup... That's exactly right.  They would still need a temp match, but this is exactly the type of situation I was referring to as 'obvious stress above normal transportation stress'.
 
 
Cories actually can release a toxin when stressed (a defense mechanism), and doing this during transportation will potentially kill themselves and any other fish in their transportation bag.  Generally, in situations like this, cories are shipped in smaller numbers within a bag to help minimize loss if one fish gets overly stressed.  

 

[Byron]

One has to be very careful where you obtain corys that are being shipped, as JD has just noted.  It is not unusual for stores to receive entire bags full of dead corys.
 
Local stores or suppliers are my personal favourite, because you can see the fish, and if they have been in the store for a few weeks, many of the initial problems with corys will have passed.  I will absolutely never buy corys that have just arrived in a store, as they are much more likely to die in your home aquarium during the first few days; give them at least one week, preferably two, in the store so they can deal with the dead fish, not you.
 
The US stores JD mentioned have good reputations [I've not used them as I live in Canada and cross-border shipping has its own difficulties], and I would add another supplier.  There used to be a place called Corys-R-Us and they had a website, and I read good things about them; I believe they were in Florida, but for some reason I can't find the site so they may be gone.
 
Petsmart was mentioned, but I will never buy fish from them, after a terrible experience that introduced some bacterial issue even with the fish in quarantine.  These chains may be better in some areas, but I would not risk it.  They obtain their fish from the same source, obviously, so infected fish will be rampant across the country.
 
Byron.