Shipping coral in checked bagging
 

Wondering if coral will freeze if you ship them in $25 dollar checking Baggage. If so, will heat packs prevent freezing?

Maybe and maybe.

I know someone here has often collected corals on vacation. Perhaps they will chime in.

You might want to change the title to Checked Baggage so it's more clear.

Its best to discuss your plans with the exact airlines you plan on traveling on..
In general I believe all cargo holds are held above freezing (barely)..But they typically have additional areas that are kept warmer and the option for more temperature control beyond that (animals are shipped quite often)..

I'm not sure what the $25 dollar option is nor which airline is offering that..

Well I called up Delta airlines and they allow coral shipped in checked bagging for $25, but I've heard that airlines can have cold cargo holds. So I was thinking a heat pad would do the trick.

So yes.. heat packs are routinely used to ship corals in the winter/cold months..
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/short
and many other articles and videos even by googling "shipping corals in winter"

Just a bag of water and a heat pack probably not. Put it in a box and insulate the whole box too. Or just keep it in your carry on. I do believe that is allowed since it is a live animal they'll allow the water through.

Well the airline said they only allow 3.4 oz. Of water. That's not enough water to ship coral in. :( The person I talked to said there more lenient about checked baggage.

Any shipments I have gotten are always in an insulated/foam cooler with 2 heat packs and various other "dunnage" (blow in insulation,etc..)

Can't you check as much liquid as you want? I've checked 1.75s of booze several times.

Dont risk carry on. Some airlines wont allow more water just because its containing a living thing. Foam box through check in, or ship it fedex overnight or priority is the way to go. I shipped fish while i was in Hawaii, it wasn’t as bad as it seems.


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Yeah you can check, but you just can't carry it on.

You can carry on frags.
Use a BAO personal transport. Very popular with the MACNA attendees.

http://buildinganobsession.com/produ...frag-transport

But Delta airlines says you can't carry on more than 3.4 oz. of water.

So they won't allow the Personal Sized Frag Transport with carry on.

Pringles cans


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I dunno. I haven't heard of anyone having any problems with any airline.

Delta doesn't control what water you can bring on board. TSA would. Delta doesn't run the security at the airport. Your issue is going to be getting it through security if you try to carry it on.

Well there you have it.

About 300 BAO Personal Transports that flew home after Macna and vendors have been flying using the full sized transports since 2013. The main thing is to know the rules and and under stand that not all TSA agents will or they might not know what coral is. Just be patient and courteous with them. Also make sure your container is TSA compliant. Baggies are not considered TSA complaint so you run a risk of being turned away.

Wait, wait... Are you saying, under the rules I can bring live coral on the plane in carry on?
Should I show them that page if they say it's not allowed?

Also why does it say live coral are not allowed in checked bags??

All cargo holds are the same environment as the passenger cabin. They are heated/cooled just like the passenger cabin......is where all the animals are transported so the integrity of the environment is maintained. This applies to all commercial airlines now days. :spin1:

I bought frags 2 years ago from Florida while visiting family. I carried them on the plane, the tested the water and that was it

Yes. And yes, bring a paper printout as backup.
But head that advice above about being patient and courteous. Nothing more important than that in this situation.

I brought back some coral from Oregon when I was working up there. had the LFS triple bag it. had a lot of extra water in the bags. Then I put it in the middle of my suitcase, surrounded by my clothes to insulate it. Checked in the bag with no mention that corals/water were in it. Got home with it several hours later and all was good. Floated the bag for a bit to equalize the temps then placed them in the tank. No issues.

I think what you meant to say is, "i got lucky and they didn't check". :spin1: