the shipping business has gotten so complicated...

[Magnum Man]

I have ( this week ) several shipments coming, that I'm following on line... all of these are coincidentally Fed Ex... they vary from car parts, to my wife's new e-bike, to fish, and that new to me anubias, as well as my Amazon order... I'm sure with the holiday gift giving season at crunch time, they are at peak performance, but then mother nature throws a weather wrench into the works, and it's not just your local weather, you have to consider the weather at every hub the shipper has... we had a quirky ice storm, that blew through, the other night, and caught the department of transportation off guard .. invisible ice on unprepared roads resulted in many very bad truck crashes, on the freeway... so the road was closed for half a day... I'm sure there were hundreds of holiday travelers, in this busy season, that were not happy... fortunately none of my packages were on the accordioned semi trailer, but I had 3 packages coming from 3 different locations, ( these from Amazon ) and all were held up by that particular road closing... I had a new set of wheels ( traveling in a 4 package order ) for our old convertible... 3 showed up yesterday... the driver didn't seem worried, saying "I'll see you tomorrow"... fingers crossed...

I'm not complaining, just watching my package's shipping progress, and noticing some of their destination hubs, that may seem unexpected... no fish coming this week, but, my last order had a snag at a hub along the way, and was delayed one day... my anubias is supposed to be here the day after Christmas ... I paid extra for the insulated packaging, and expedited shipping hoping it doesn't arrive frozen... but "we" are experiencing warmer than normal temperatures, but that doesn't mean clear sailing between California and here... happy holidays...

 

[Magnum Man]

ahh... delivery revision on my plants, 1st thing this morning... they were delayed for some reason in Memphis, and bumped to Monday delivery now...

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

ahh... delivery revision on my plants, 1st thing this morning... they were delayed for some reason in Memphis, and bumped to Monday delivery now...

I'm hoping these warmer than normal temperatures are going to help you.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I started shipping fish in 2003. I have not shipped a box in a while as I downsized it all. But for 21 years I have had a rule. I stop shipping after the week before Thanksgiving and do not resume until at leas t Mid-January. While weather is a partial consideration the real reason is the holiday season and the big bump in the number of packages moving around the country.

The shippers do not care what is in the boxes they are moving only that they moved. So if there is one box that must be bumped off the plane, it co;d be a box of fish or a box rocks, it doesn't matter to them which one they choose. After Christmas there are a lot of returns so I want to avoid that clog point as well.

The rest of the year is not too bad except for Valentine's Day. Flowers take priority over mostly all else for the few days around that
"holiday'."

What it boiled down to was the boxes I sent out were pretty pricey. If the shipped causes delays and the fish are DOA, the loss is mine to eat. So my solution is I do not ship as above. This applies to plants as well as to fish. Items guaranteed to be DOA I will still year round.

 

[Innesfan]

I have had a rule. I stop shipping after the week before Thanksgiving and do not resume until at leas t Mid-January. While weather is a partial consideration the real reason is the holiday season and the big bump in the number of packages moving around the country.

This holiday season, two gifts I purchased on line, both from reputable high-end vendors, have been 'lost in transit.' Both companies processed instant refunds and sent apologies, though it sent me scrambling for replacement gifts.

 

[GaryE]

When my friends were importing fish, they would try to fill the tanks at the start of December, and then stand pat until after Christmas. The number of DOAs in the 2 weeks before xmas were overwhelming. Pallets left on airport tarmacs, massive delays, pallets shunted off expected flights...

We got one shipment where all the fish on the inside of one pallet were fine, but the outward facing boxes had bags frozen solid. What happened there, to have such extremes???

It was better not to find out.

 

[gwand]

The fish I’m interested in seem to come into inventory this time of year. But I stay clear.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

When fish come from environments where there is a distinct rainy/dry season this effects the water levels. The are lower in the dry season and much higher during the rainy. But during the rainy season rivers overflow their banks and turn dry land in submerged jungles,/ In shallower land environments that are flooded, a lot of the bigger predators are not present. This increases the odds that fish born then and in those waters have a better chance of surviving.

Even in places where rivers etc. do not overflow, those places are also more conducive to spawning. Food is usually more plentiful, the water is usually cleaner as well. But it is also deeper and faster flowing which makes collecting mire difficult or even impossible in some locations
for divers to collect fish.

Expect summer months (Dec-Mar) to be the wettest across most of Brazil, though the timing and intensity shift depending on whether you're in the Amazon, Pantanal, South, or Northeast.

Tis mean the easiest time for catchig fish is in November. This is the peak of the dry season o=in many places which makes collecting a lot easier. This is why a lot of the fish from Brazil come in during the winter in many areas. However, in the Pantanal and similar places there will be a be a lot of spawning and these locations become a prime source for collecting while the rivers will be the reverse in these areas.

 

[gimme30]

As a current USPS employee I'm not allowed to take pictures, but the amount of packages processed this time of year is far more than you'd think. Our little rural office (roughly 30 routes) gets 3 semi's full in the AM, and 2 in the PM. We have people that don't touch mail at all and only deliver packages, working 12-16 hours to make sure your freaking spatula or saran wrap gets delivered.
To those of you who don't order things this time of year....bless you!
I hate everyone else.

 

[GaryE]

As a current USPS employee I'm not allowed to take pictures, but the amount of packages processed this time of year is far more than you'd think. Our little rural office (roughly 30 routes) gets 3 semi's full in the AM, and 2 in the PM. We have people that don't touch mail at all and only deliver packages, working 12-16 hours to make sure your freaking spatula or saran wrap gets delivered.
To those of you who don't order things this time of year....bless you!
I hate everyone else.

This wins my vote as non fish post of 2025!

 

[gwand]

99% of my mail is junk mail. Don’t open, just toss in waste bin. I would be delighted to opt out of receiving junk mail and lighten my mail carrier’s load. Unfortunately you can’t opt out.

 

[Back in the fold]

As a current USPS employee I'm not allowed to take pictures, but the amount of packages processed this time of year is far more than you'd think. Our little rural office (roughly 30 routes) gets 3 semi's full in the AM, and 2 in the PM. We have people that don't touch mail at all and only deliver packages, working 12-16 hours to make sure your freaking spatula or saran wrap gets delivered.
To those of you who don't order things this time of year....bless you!
I hate everyone else.

Bless you my Son ! You said what needed to be said . I used to work cargo for UPS at the airport and the package volume at this time of year is unbelievable and overwhelming . You’d never believe it unless you’d seen it for yourself . It comes in heavy every single day without let up . So , again I say , if a live fish makes it through that gauntlet consider yourself very lucky .
@gwand Some printer is still working printing your junk mail and a guy is working delivering it . That’s a good thing .

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Let's tell it like it is. The men and women working fir the USPS work hard and down excellent job. But the higher up the ladder you go the more idiots. The top of the chain are the idiots in congress and of course the idiots in the white hose. These folks have actually tried to ruin the USPS and, in spite this, the workers keep doing their very best. I do not blame them for mess.

Most government employees have both a pension and medical covered. Everywhere in the government these are unfunded and or underfundeed future obligations. However the idiots at the top have been pressing for the full funding today of those obligations for USPS workers. The government uses the fact that they are not as an excuse to destroy the system.

If you are an Ameircan who votes, then it is actually you are responsible for this mess. You basically voted for it.

Consider how little time the average American voter spends investigating all the issues and voting history of their representatives before they vote. It would surprise me if that were much more than 10 minutes and likely is less.

@gimme30
Thank you and your coworkers for what you do.

 

[GaryE]

My favourite online fish seller announced an interesting (pricewise) boxing day deal today. I thought about it for a second, and then slapped myself up the side of the head. Even if it weren't freezing out, the humans working in the mail and courrier systems have to be exhausted. April, hang on til April...

 

[gwand]

Aquatic Clarity finally has wc Chili rasbora. I want 15 for my nano tank. But alas it would be foolish to order the fish now. Of course by April the Chili will be all gone.