issues with shipping to Canada

[BettaFishMommy]

hi all, hope i posted in the right section. have an issue i would like addressed.

i've been on the hunt for plants for my 55 gallon and a good handful of members here on AC have/had exactly the plants i want. problem is, nobody is willing to ship up to Canada and the stores here frankly suck for selection and quality.

is there anybody here that would be willing to ship up to Edmonton, Canada? As long as the charges aren't too ridiculous i am willing to pay a few extra bucks for quality plants that arrive safely.

i do know there are some issues with the border and shipping of live goods, and i'm not sure what the restrictions are on aquatic plants, but if fish can be shipped in from Thailand then i don't think there would be that much issue with a few sword plants, etc. if anyone has info regarding this it would be much appreciated!

[Carla G]

You need to call Canadian Customs and find out exactly what the regulations are concerning shipping aquatic plants, any inspections or quarantine required etc. Then when you get something shipped you can tell whoever is doing the shipping what you have found out and pay them the extra postage or courier charges.

[msjinkzd]

This issue is that the method that is comparable to priority would cost you nearly $20. Even with using teh 3-7 day shipping method, its possible and likely it could take much longer if it gets caught up in customs. I have shipped once to Canada, it ended up taking 12 days though we paid for 3 day and the shipping charges were nearly $30. With live things, this risk is great and a gamble.

[new2tanks]

I share the same woes.
I can never get in on any of the good deals on fish and plants here and have to resort to lfs stuff.
*sucks*

[bluekrissyspike]

http://www.theplantguy.org
www.gtaaquaria.com (http://www.gtaaquaria.com)
check out these sites. plant guy has some nice stuff in stock sometimes. i haven't ordered from him yet, but i have spoken to him. seems nice and all
the gta site has some members who will ship to anywhere

[BettaFishMommy]

i would much rather support the members here on AC than any commercial vendor, that is why i started this thread.

[bluekrissyspike]

gtaaquaria is a forum for canadian fish keepers(particularely in toronto)
the plant guy is also a hobbiest, not a commercial vendor.
i wanted to get plants from this site as well but gave up after a year or so of looking for someone willing to ship to canada.
that beng said, what kind of plants are you looking for? if i have them i could keep you in mind when i mine grow out a bit more

[Wycco]

An alternative suggestion would be for me to keep your tanks down here in South Carolina- you can just have all the fish and plants you want shipped down to me.

I can set up a web-cam so you can see them whenever you want!




I'll be expecting a few 150gallon aquariums in the mail within the next week or two. Will you be shipping them UPS, Fedex or through the postal service? Might be cheaper if you empty the water out first.


;)

[Deanthoreu]

I have no idea where in canada you are; but, if per chance you were within a days drive to a border.....i would think that your cheapest bet is....a days drive....

Alternative is....some nice person who lives on a "border town" like niagra falls or sumthin going to the canadian post office and mailing from there"

Course I dunno nuffin bout mailin no packages.....so many borders, so many post offices.......

[BettaFishMommy]

i'm near no border, right smack dab in the middle of Alberta, pretty much. i don't have family or friend near any border :(

bluekrissyspike, i'm looking for many different plants, and i need to choose just a few to keep costs down. i'm looking for sword type plants that don't get as large as an amazon, bacopa or similar 'tough' stem plants, long grassy style plants (like octopus plants kinda), and more of this:

[bluekrissyspike]

okay. i have lots of bocopa and another similar stem plant that has pointy flat leaves rather than circles. it's also a different colour. i also have some of what i think is the plant in the pic but it needs to grow for a few months before i can divide it up. i also have an ozelot sword i am hoping to propegate asap, but it is still relatively small and i don't know how long that will take. i do have some amazon sword plantlettes. if you can't find anything by the time they grow enough to make portions for you i could send you some. i also have some Limnophila sessiflora that is growing fast, some Hygrophila corymbosa "angustifolia, and another stem plant that i don't have a name for that must be some kinda weed cause it grows really fast...lol. i might be able to swing a couple peices of stargrass or a plantlette or two of dward sag by the end of summer too. so if that sounds good to you pm me so i will not forget your name and i will let you know when it's ready and try to figure something out. i got most of these plants from the gta forum so if you don't want to wait for mine to grow, check there.

[bluekrissyspike]

i also have some red and brown crypts and watersprite. (:

[BettaFishMommy]

bluekrissyspike, i very much appreciate the offer, thank you! i have crypts galore, lol, so not looking for any more of those. as for the few you mentioned with their latin names, i will have to look those up to see if i would want to add them. i'll be honest, i don't know much about plants (but am learning! lol), yet i do know what sort of look i want for the tank and i'm not big into anything feathery or really wispy or mossy. as well, the bigger and more sturdy the root structure, the better.

[fish dork]

Why not try albertaaquatica.com? It's the sister site to the BC forum, bcaquaria.com. I'm new and crusing around, so bear with me, I'll make proper intro's soon.

[BettaFishMommy]

thanks for the tip fish dork, and welcome to AC. i am a very active member of alberta aquatica and have gotten some plants from members on there. but unfortunately not that many members have plants i want for sale or trade right now.

dontcha hate it when you're itching to get your hands in your tank and you gotta put it on hold? lol.

[chefjamesscott]

hello

as a fellow canadian you could try this place here is their email

orders@aquariumplants.com

they are located in south dakota and have very killer plants

[BettaFishMommy]

i would very much prefer to support members of the fishy forums i belong to, but i will take a look. thanks.

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

move to the usa LOL

[bluekrissyspike]

lol...aside from the lack of selection in most areas, the misquito swarms and frigid winter weather canada is much nicer than the states. besides, you can't get poutine in the us and no canadian can live without that!!j/k

[bluekrissyspike]

bluekrissyspike, i very much appreciate the offer, thank you! i have crypts galore, lol, so not looking for any more of those. as for the few you mentioned with their latin names, i will have to look those up to see if i would want to add them. i'll be honest, i don't know much about plants (but am learning! lol), yet i do know what sort of look i want for the tank and i'm not big into anything feathery or really wispy or mossy. as well, the bigger and more sturdy the root structure, the better.

alrighty.

[coach_z]

i have an idea for you, instead of supporting our and other forums by making purchases from forum members. Why dont you make the dive and get all the plants you want from some commercial source, and then help out all of the forums by selling to canadian forum members. Supply and demand might allow you to inflate your prices a bit too ;)

-chris

[BettaFishMommy]

coach_z, you ever tried making a profit on plants raised in just a couple very low tech small tanks on a small budget in a one bedroom apartment? lol. ok, don't mean to laugh at your suggestion, but i don't think that is an option for me at this time. i have a very low tech tank and right now i am only looking for plants that will suit my needs. i don't have the funds or the resources (space, tanks, lighting, co2, etc) to start up a business venture like that, although i wish i could! thanks for the suggestion though.

[fish dork]

lol...aside from the lack of selection in most areas, the misquito swarms and frigid winter weather canada is much nicer than the states. besides, you can't get poutine in the us and no canadian can live without that!!j/k

No doubt, eh!

[new2tanks]

BlueKrissySpike, thanks so much for your suggestions on the Canadian forums. I was always longing for a site that was local (to me) and could allow me to buy good quality fish and plants (well mostly) from hobbyists rather than the lfs but could only stop at reading the AC ads here... the suggestions were very useful!

i too also agree with Bettamommy's sentiment about supporting Ac and its sellers and wish i could...maybe if i had my own jet !

[bluekrissyspike]

no problem, new2tanks, glad i could be of help! (: