DIY Shipping Fish

I have had a bunch of people PM or ask me lately , What is the best way to ship fish? I love that question b/c that means more people are trying to reach out to one another and trade fish , ect. AMAZING! That's part of why I created USA Fishbox....was bored with local people

1st off this is all opinion. IMO the BEST way is Southwest Air Cargo. It's easy to get an account ...just have to be patience. Here is the link to get started with SW Cargo.
http://www.swacargo.com/swacargo/accountManagement-ApplyForAccount.shtml

If you do not have that option IMO the other best way is Fedex Air or ground depending on shipping location.

Some tools you will need to ship.

box (styrofoam is the best to keep the temp level around the same)
Bags (I prefer Kordone breather bags but not a must)
Heat packs (depending on time of year)
rubber bands ( for bags)
And sometimes I use newspaper or poppy paper for some extra padding.

SO THIS IS HOW I DO IT....Just so everyone knows. If Im not beggin Jojo or somone to Air cargo for me...

I Know that the Fedex man comes to the store and gets the cargo around 5PM. So I will wait until about 3-4PM to bag stuff up and head down there...that way fish are in the bag as least mount as time as possable. I get my tools that I need (listed above) I use about 1/4 maybe water 3/4 air. Usually a tad more then 1/4 water. I make sure that the fish can swim if the bag goes side ways or up side down. Make sure the bags are not being squuzed or squished. Don't want them to pop or loose air, however you dont want them to be to loose either and banging around. Box everything up and take it down there fill out a forum and ship it out!!! simple

A few things that u must know.

Your styrfoam box must be in a normal box, They will not ship out just the styrafoam box.
DO NOT, DO NOT put males in the same bag...or males and females in the same bag. Bag them seperate.
Double bag if you can!
Me personally I don't want an account with them so I never tell them what Im shipping , If they ask I tell them aquatic Plants. (they wont let u ship live fish w/o an account)

I just threw this up pretty qucik. I am sure I might have missed something so If I did , Please fill me in.

Just a few years ago I thought about shipping some fish and I had no clue how to go about doing it. I learnd from expermenting and practice shipping to friends. Others have practiced by shipping to me and just trying it out.

Like most things in life ...VERY SIMPLE just takes getting use to and doing it a few times.

Hope this helps for those that Have asked.

If you have any questions call me anytime 817 673 0028

bump

Also before you ship it's good not to feed for 2-3 days and a water change the day before or near is a good idea also. Don't want them shipping in shoddy water.

Ship at the beginning of the week in case they get delayed a day they aren't stuck for the weekend.

wildbeanerz wrote:

Ship at the beginning of the week in case they get delayed a day they aren't stuck for the weekend.

I ship on Mondays only. That way I know they aren't going to set someplace over the week ends.

Does anyone use pure o2?

I do :-)

Never have and never have had any problems.

Yes I use 100 percent O2. Not on bettas or corys.

if not pure o2, what do you use? just compressed air?

good topic btw, I haven't tried to ship fish yet

Whenever buying o2 is this just like welding gas or some kind of medical grade?

O2 is 5 times more O2 than air. Weilding gas is all I have ever used

I only ship Otos and shrimp.

I can add to this a little bit. And as mentioned already, this is only how I do it. Thoughts, opinions and methods will vary with others. Haven't lost any critters as yet. I'll share how I do it with you here.

Shipping is done using USPS Priority Mail or Express (at buyers request)

Packing Materials:
- For the most part, I use the 7x7x6 boxes from the USPS. You can order them free from their website and they will deliver them to your house. As well as other products.
- Depending on weather conditions, boxes are for the most part lined with 1/2" foam board on all sides and top and bottom.
- Shredded newspaper is used to fill the box
- (1) paper towel square
- Cool packs and heat packs are optional and weather dependant. Boxes are modified to accomidate these by adding a partition that is approximately 1/2" shorter in height than the side foam pieces.

Day Before:
- I always catch the critters night before and hold them in a large specimen container hanging inside (not outside) of the tank for temp. Saves stress on the critters prior to shipping. Not to mention the time saver aspect as some critters can be difficult to catch on shipping day.

Day of Shipping:
- Always have your packing materials staged and ready to go. Including your shipping label.
- Do a water change in the specimen container replaceing almost all the water with fresh tank water. I like to use water that comes directly from the filter output as it is the freshest. (but that's just me)
- I ship in Kordon Breather Bags (small for shrimp and medium for Otos). Slowly pour the critters into the bag. Be mindfull if shipping shrimp. Sometimes they will be stubborn and wind up being left behind in the specimen container.
- If shipping shrimp, add a snippet of moss for them to cling on to during the ride. It will keep them preoccupied as well. Other plants can be used if no moss is available.
- Carefully pour out any excess water you may have in the bag. Allow enough space to be able to tie a tight knot in the bag. You can also use rubber bands if you want.
- For shrimp, I use (1) drop of Prime in the bag. For Oto's, I use one Bag Buddy tablet.
- Ensure all the air is out of the bag and tie in a tight knot. Be careful to not poke a hole in the bag (watch them finger nails). Dry off the bag if it is wet.

Time to Pack and Ship:
- Place a layer of shredded newspaper in the bottom of the box. A couple of inches should be fine.
- Fold the paper towel into a square and place it over the first layer of newspaper.
- Gently put in the bag of critters on top of the paper towel knot side down. Give it just a gentle push down to "set" it into the newspaper.
- Pack more newspaper in the box. Ensure that the filler material goes all around the bag. It should also be rounded at the top of the box but not overflowing. You don't want to pack it in too tight.
- Place the top foam board on top of the filler (if using a foam liner)
- Tape up box for shipping.
- Apply your shipping label and head out to the Post Office.

As an added note, I like to label my boxes FRAGILE and PERISHABLE. I even made my own lables to adhere to the box.

Hope this helps as well.

Very nice james. Thank you for the addition.

Anyone thinking about shipping for the fist time?

what about black out bags or sleeves? they help keep the fish from getting stressed.
just a thought.

How would that help? Never herd of that.

when they are kept in the dark it helps to keep them from stressing "visual stress".
I acclimate fish to a dark tank as well for the same reasons and it helps with
any aggressions from the other fish that are already in the tank.
I'm surprised you never heard of it.

I am new to shipping and a friend of mine has been doing it for over 30 years and as he is getting out of the hobby I am taking his place in the hobby......I have ionly shipped fish 3 times this far and on first attemt all were DOA they went from Tennessee to California sent them USPS Express...Thinking the guy would be there to get package when it arrived I added a 72 hour heat pack, foam lining in a 12*12*14 box, double bagged fish and also 2 nice pices of Malaysian Driftwood...I gave a LAG if delivered on first attempt within 2 hours but really if they are DOA they should send pics when they arrive...lol but anyhow it showed they had been delivered at 12:08p.m. and didnt receive email til 5:38p.m they had been setting out in the sun for a long time with that heat pack just really starting to hit its peak, but still told him if he wanted to repay shipping that I would send him new fish and honor DOA anyhow and my next 2 packages went good from there.....my question is when is it too hot to ship fish through priority shipping?

CichlidChris wrote:

my question is when is it too hot to ship fish through priority shipping?

I got bit by this as well on a shipment of CRS. Weather was cold and shipped with a heat pack as usual. The weather got warmer than the good ole weatherman said it was going to get and the buyer got a nice order of boiled shrimp.

I don't have a set standard, but as long as it doesn't dip below freezing, the package should be ok. I use insulation board to line the box and shredded to newspaper to aid in insulation. Keeps them comfortable during transit.

I even sent a box of Blue Pearls to Michigan in the winter with a 72hr heat pack. Took a week to arrive and all of them made it just fine surprisingly. A well insulated box goes a long way.

cwhip now that you said it that way I have herd of that and not a bad ida at all.

The black selves does cut down some light but are there mainly to stop punctures of the bag. Its mainly done with saltwater fish. In the late 70s the thought process was to darken the room or tank. That thought process is still done by some. As far as shipping the only way to go is Air Freight.

KMX wrote:

cwhip now that you said it that way I have herd of that and not a bad ida at all.

it's done in freshwater fishing touraments as well.
they use black colored bags because it helps to keep the fish calmer and alive longer.
anytime we can do something simple to help aid in their survival
why not try it?