Thank you for sharing this info.
I find this very useful indeed. I'm contemplating to bring some back from Thailand...will see how it goes.
Thanks bro!
Hi all, just want to share my experiences on bringing back shrimps from Taiwan, in case anyone wants to do the same next time. This trip is my first time bringing shrimps back so I hope my post will be useful to other first-timers too!
Where to buy
In Taiwan, you can't find shrimps in any local LFS. Most, if not all of the good shrimps are by home breeders and sold on the forum coolshrimp. Basically, you register an account, go to one of 2 sections (one for CRS and its variation, the other for non-CRS), and scroll through the posts. Most sellers will not put up their prices and you have to reply on the thread to ask for the prices. You'll need to type in traditional Chinese. Also when buying shrimps, try to buy the smallest shrimps you can get as they are the most likely to survive.
Payment
There are 3 modes of payments:
1) ATM transfer. This is the most common form of payment and it's basically what they use for domestic transactions. Since we are not locals, we won't have an account to do this. So you'll have to ask your tour guide to help you, or ask your hotel to do it on your behalf (my hotel couldn't do it for you but if your hotel has more stars, maybe it can).
2) Cash on delivery. Basically, you pay the postman when he delivers the package, and he will pass the cash to the seller. Usually, you'll have to pay an additional fee, and not all sellers do this, especially if you're a foreigner, as there is a higher chance that the package does not make it to you, and he has to lan lan have it sent back to him. However, this is the convenient as the hotel lobby can hand the postman the money on your behalf and hold the package for you until you're back from your touring and shopping.
3)Paypal. Some sellers use this because the buyers pay the transaction fee, exchange rate loss, and they get the cash before they sent out the package. My preferred method because it's the most straightforward.
Shipping from seller to hotel/you
Normally shipping only takes 1 day, no matter where you or your seller is located as most sellers use courier services. Most packages will reach the hotel before noon too so if you're taking a later flight, you can ask to receive the packages on the day you're flying off, just like i did. This maximizes the shrimps rate of survival.
How to pack your shrimps for best survive
My case is a classic example to share with everyone. I bought 50 fire reds and 30 blue pearl from my 1st seller. He doesn't provide kordon breathing bags and the bags containing the shrimps is about 70% air, 30% water. I bought 40 PRL in 2 bags, both kordon breathing bags, with a tiny bit of air. He also provided me with 2 additional kordon bags which i used put 15 blue pearls in each. All bags have a piece of filter inside for the shrimps to grab hold of. I put the kordon bags in one box, stuffs with clothes so that they can't move, same for the other oxygen-filled bags. I then places the boxes in my suitcase, surrounded by clothes and other boxes to minimize movement in the suitcase.
When I reached home, all my CRS and blue pearls (kordon bags) are alive and none have died since I transferred them to my tank. I found about 20 fire red dead before i even put them in the tank and 2 to 3 fire reds have been dying daily one week after I put them in.
Morale of the story:
ALWAYS use kordon breathing bags with NO AIR inside. The kordon bags ensure that there is still oxygen and CO2 transfer, and the lack of air inside means that the water won't splash around. The bags won't burst due to changes in air pressure too.
ALWAYS make sure that there is something inside for the shrimps to hold on to. A piece of white filter is the best, and most sellers will provide that anyway.
I like my packing arrangement where I placed the bags in a box first before placing the box in a suitcase. You can use clothes or bubble wrap to minimize shaking and knocks and most importantly, make sure the box and bags don't have the space to move around too much.
Customs on Taiwan and Singapore side
You don't have to worry about the customs on the Taiwan side as they only prohibit the export of endangered animals. On the Singapore side you are only allowed to bring in 30 pieces. I was travelling with my family (4 of us) so I bought 120 pieces. To be safe, do declare them, because if you don't and are selected on random for an x-ray inspection, you might have some explaining to do.
Sorry for the long posts but I hope it will be of help to ppl who want to bring back shrimps from overseas and are afraid of shrimps death. Due to my experience, I am now confident of bringing any types of shrimps back from Taiwan so long as proper precautions are taken.
Last edited by stormhawk; 6th Jul 2013 at 13:06. Reason: requested edit
Thank you for sharing this info.
I find this very useful indeed. I'm contemplating to bring some back from Thailand...will see how it goes.
Thanks bro!
While it is nice to share your experiences, I'm not so sure you should be declaring to the world that you brought in the shrimps without declaration. Even if you didn't bring over the limits, that is still technically not right.
Thanks for sharing....very informative
Check out my Blog on planted tank, good for newbies ( i am lazy to retype all the info i know, so please click and read below link... i hope you don't fall asleep while reading)
Link to my Blog
I am not PERFECT but I am LIMITED EDITION !!! BIG Tank comes with BIG Responsibility...as they makan a lot of $$....lol
BRO !!! Thank alot for the ultra blue pearl .... It is so blue that it looks like OEBT .... making my blue pearl looks like white pearl shrimp .. hahaha .. appreciated .. maybe u can post some pictures of your collection =)
No problem. Be sure to share where you get your shrimps in Thailand too!
You're right, I should have left out that part. Not sure how to edit the post though.
I don't want to post pics because my light is reddish, so the blue pearl looks black, and my water is slightly yellowish due to the humic released by my driftwood haha.
Edited for you xuan87. Very informative post. I did the same but in my case, was with fish I brought back from Hong Kong. I had to declare to the airline staff however, but they were not too smart with taxonomic terms.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
Great post. I'm heading to Taiwan in August. I'm really bad with chinese. I will go and research more on how I can get it done.
I heard that there's a place that sells shrimps in lfs.
I heard that there is a long street in Taipei that is full of LFS but I didn't bother going because I was already getting a great selection from the forum.
Some of those who sell on forum do have their own LFS (some even have specials where you have to catch the shrimps yourself) but they are located all over Taiwan, and more often than not, they are far away from your hotel or your itinerary. Fortunately, shipping is done through courier, hence extremely fast and reliable, and the cost is cheap (typically 150NTD, which is less than 10SGD). Just remember that not all sellers use kordon bags so you have to ask them specifically.
I had mine packed in normal bags, stuffed into a Coleman Tumbler. The bottle is hard enough to withstand knocks and has the added advantage of keeping the temperature fairly constant. It is also water tight for additional safety.
I gladly declared my shrimps when I got back. The authorities were fascinated by the shrimps. They didn't even bother to count them.
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Setup: ADA Cube Garden 45-P, Starlitz Clear 45, Eheim Aquacompact 40
Layout/Hardscape: ADA Amazonia Powder Soil, Borneowild Rutsuuddo Wood (SS Root Type)
Fauna: Apisto Trifasciata, Sundadanio Axelrodi (Blue), Yamato Shrimp
Ok. Looks like I need to declare them and get kordon breather bags which I have no idea how it will look like.
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I would assume you meant how long can the shrimps last inside kordon bags. Well it all depends on the amount of water and number of shrimps.
Since there'll always be air exchange, the only killer would be ammonia. 3 days should be no issue assuming the bags are not over crowded.
Thanks for sharing
I am just an ordinary shrimp lover
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