Question about shipping fish

[okapizebra]

Okay, this may sound silly, but is it okay by USPS to be shipping live fish/water? I will potentially be shipping some fish/plants within a few months and I wanted to know what's the deal with this. I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. Do I need to specially mark the box? Tell the postal people? Or can I simply package my fish properly (double bagged, insulation, styrafoam, etc) stick it in a priority box, drop it off at the post office and be good to go?

 

[tonedogz]

I would ship them Fedex overnight. I wouldn't take a chance with the post office

 

[okapizebra]

I think there are a lot of people who use USPS.

 

[tonedogz]

I'm pretty sure most companies who wholesale or retail fish use Fedex and most likely because their reliable but you can use who you like.

 

[okapizebra]

Well I am certainly not a company lol. I am just asking for those who do ship using USPS, how do they do it? I know many people do.

 

[bud29]

Okay, this may sound silly, but is it okay by USPS to be shipping live fish/water? I will potentially be shipping some fish/plants within a few months and I wanted to know what's the deal with this. I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. Do I need to specially mark the box? Tell the postal people? Or can I simply package my fish properly (double bagged, insulation, styrafoam, etc) stick it in a priority box, drop it off at the post office and be good to go?

Yes it is OK by USPS. I have done it many times, shipping fish, inverts, and plants alike. I have put a "fragile - this side up" sticker on all the boxes.

I'm pretty sure most companies who wholesale or retail fish use Fedex and most likely because their reliable but you can use who you like.

I have dealt with many popular breeders and they have shipped USPS. While USPS can sometimes be less reliable, it is normally not too bad, and it is much cheaper. Even with insane discounts, FedEx 2nd day air was $10 more than priority. Especially when shipping inverts and plants who can easily tolerate 4 days in the mail, paying the extra $10 is rather pointless.

 

[okapizebra]

Okay, sounds good. Thank you very much!