How long can a box of discus last ?

[madaboutfish]

Hi all,

I ordered a box of Discus from SLS this afternoon and had it freighted to Perth. Just got back from the Airport and Air Express Australia says that the quarantine inspector is not around (tried calling the quarantine inspector on standby as recommended by Air Express Australia but the inspector hung up on me) therefore they cannot release the fishes. They said that I will have to go down at 7 am to try and get hold of the quarantine inspector. Does anyone know how long will the oxygen last and can the foam box keep the cold out for that long? This is the first time I have ordered from the east and it has been a nightmare!

[Dee]

Hi MadAboutFish,

:shock: In the past, when I have had fish shipped to me from interstate ( I live in Melb) I have never had to have a quarantine inspector "clear the fish. I have used both Australia Air Express and Virgin Blue Freight and each time just pick the fish up from the front desk. There should be NO reason to have them "cleared", unless perth is different ???

Are you able to call AAE now, it's 1am and tell them there should be no reason to wait until 7am, you should be able to sign for them and thats it !
If not, hopefully the fish will be ok if it's not too cold in Perth. Best of luck mate, there seems to be a mix up on AAE's behalf, I could be wrong ... as for oxygen there's no problem there, fish shipped from OS are fine after 18-24 hours in transit ... it's the temp that's a concern. HTH

I hope it all pans out for you and the fish ... best of luck ! Let us know how you go.

Cheers,

Dee :D

[Dee]

Sorry forgot to ask :oops:

How many fish did you order ? The more the better as far as keeping them warm for the night ... it "should" be OK, good luck mate !

Cheers,

Dee :)

[madaboutfish]

Hi Discus D,

I spent a good 30 mins talking to the AAE guys and I find that the staff just can't be bothered to help. I am aware that they may just be doing their job but they could at least be more helpful. Now all I can do is hope for the best

Thanks for the info

Regards

Nick

[Dee]

Hi,

That is very frustrating :x :x :x
Good luck, get down to AAE at 7am ... hopefully all will be ok.

Cheers,

Dee :)

[oscar]

Discus D,

WA is particularly anal about quarantine issues. It's one of the only domestic airports that still run the sniffer dogs around to make sure you're not carrying fruit when you arrive in the state.


Madaboutfish,

A timely post i find. I also purchased a box of fish from SLS. The consignment was given to AAE with plenty of time to make it to me (Central QLD) the same day, but they frigged around, and then some plane changes happened due to maintenance blah blah blah. in the end of the the day, i also placed a number of phone call to try and sort this out but @#$% all help from AAE. This went right to the point where i had to cancell a day one of my clients' projects in order to pick them up from the A/P the next morning. When i went to pick them up i indicated that i would like to inspect the contents of the consignment prior to signing the con note in acceptance. The guy simply said "Do so if you want but there is nothing we're going to do if there is a problem with them"....THANKS.

All in all pretty dissapointed tih AAE's performance, but then again what are the options?

[oscar]

Forgot to mention...the fish are stunning.

[Proteus]

Madaboutfish,

So long as the box is kept inside (warmer) you should not have any problems.

The bags inside have plenty of oxygen, so that is not a concern, remember when these fish get imported from Asia they are quite often in a box for up to and over 24hrs, yours at most (based on them being cleared at 7am) will have been in there for no more than 18hrs.

As for W.A. QT requirements, lets just say they are a PITA, it wouldnt have mattered if it was AAE or Virgin Freight, if the inspector isnt there, nothing can be done.

Whilst annoying, I am sure the fish will be fine, just ensure you acclimatise them a little slower...

[endless]

I also bought a box (10 fish altogether) from SLS and found the people at AAE to be not overly helpful. They struck me as having the attitude of "i'm gonna simply doing my job and nothing more". I did however manage to get my fish fairly quickly. From the time the box left SLS to the time the fish were put into my tank would have been in total 5hrs. I must say though that the fish seem pretty stressed on arrival. The weather didnt help either cause as everyone would probably know its pretty cold in melbourne this time of the year. Also because i had 10 fish (6 large 1 medium and 3 small) it may have been a little too much for just one box.

[Littlefish]

Gee, that's appalling customer service. Are all the transport firms that disinterested?

They may not be able to do anything about the QT, but they should at least pretend to care about your valuable fish!

Fred

[jim from sydney]

All those comments are unbelievable....why we have people is these jobs with those feelings beats me...maybe we should contact the RSPCA?????
Jim

[duck]

Discus D,

WA is particularly anal about quarantine issues. It's one of the only domestic airports that still run the sniffer dogs around to make sure you're not carrying fruit when you arrive in the state.

And why shouldn't they?
I got a box of discus sent over it ended up on a late flight so it got around 10 pm just waited till the morning and all was fine.

[Ben]

Forgot to mention...the fish are stunning.

Hi Oscar,
I hope your got your new family safe and sound in thier new home.

Keep us posted mate,

cheers,
Ben

[Davo]

Unfortuantly the quarantine staff have to follow the rules and regulations and as Duck implied they cannot afford to cut corners due to diseases etc.

Dave.

[oscar]

Duck,

I never implied that WA QT shouldn't be as it is. i was responding t a qery that madaboutfish had made re: WA QT procedures etc. being a different to other states.

[oscar]

Oops. Last post should be re: query the Discus D made, not madaboutfish.

[kalebjarrod]

UnfortunateLy bad service happens

but nothing will ever change unless you make note of what has happened and let them know about the problem

it probably won't change anything in the short term

but longterm nicely worded constructive letters help managers reduce this from happening

just my two cents :wink:

[jim from sydney]

Hi all,

I ordered a box of Discus from SLS this afternoon and had it freighted to Perth. Just got back from the Airport and Air Express Australia says that the quarantine inspector is not around (tried calling the quarantine inspector on standby as recommended by Air Express Australia but the inspector hung up on me) therefore they cannot release the fishes. They said that I will have to go down at 7 am to try and get hold of the quarantine inspector. Does anyone know how long will the oxygen last and can the foam box keep the cold out for that long? This is the first time I have ordered from the east and it has been a nightmare!

I was at SLS today and they said that your problem was solved.....how did the fish survive??????Jim

[madaboutfish]

Hi to all,

I had ordered 22 small discus and when I received them the next morning they were in quite a bad condition as the water was 20 degrees, water was really dirty and some had been scratched as they were packed in 2s or 4s in order to fit all in a box. However they are all doing fine with the exception of 3 fishes that have not been eating.

Thanks for all those replies.

Nick

[Proteus]

Bear in mind, they should have been cleared 10 hours earlier if it wasnt for AQIS being difficult.

[jim from sydney]

Hi to all,

I had ordered 22 small discus and when I received them the next morning they were in quite a bad condition as the water was 20 degrees, water was really dirty and some had been scratched as they were packed in 2s or 4s in order to fit all in a box. However they are all doing fine with the exception of 3 fishes that have not been eating.

Thanks for all those replies.

Nick

Nick....i hope they will go ok.....you earned it after all the problems you had....Jim