Mailing Fish?

[sunni]

How do you ship tropical fish safely? I really like the livebearers but I am afaid of running out of room! I know I could probably sell them but I need info on how to ship without harm. I am particularly intrigued with the breather bags... also are bag buddies necessary? How about the packaging... heat or cool pack necessary in the summer?

Thanks for any info!

 

[fishfreek]

What are bag buddies?

This is how most mailorder places ship their fish.

First they double or even triple bag the fish. They also use compressed oxygen gas and add some of this to the bag. The bag is then sealed and placed in a styrofoam box with lid. THe bags are placed in such a manor that they do not shift around alot.

This styrofoam box is then placed in a cardboard box. The package is then shipped overnight vis Fed ex. UPS does not ship live fish as thats their policy. If the temps are not overly high or overly cool you wont need hot/cool packs but if your taking about shipping these things in the dead of summer heat then yes I would think a cool pack would help and if you plan on shipping in weather below 50 I would definatly put a heat pack in.

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

fishfreek, just wondering who you have ordered from and are happy with their service? Just looking for advice since I've never ordered fish but am thinking I will soon. Thanks.

 

[fishfreek]

Well what type of fish are you looking at getting.

All the fish I have mailordered have been saltwater but I do know that www.liveaquaria.com ships freshwater fish aswell. I do not know of any other freshwater mailorder place for fish but I am sure they exist.

Ask over in the General Retailers forum for experence with having fish shipped and what sites ship freshwater species.

 

[ghettorigged]

I agree 100% with fishfreek's packaging info. That is how most places ship their fish even in large quantities.

I am not exactly sure why UPS told you they do not ship live fish as Petco gets their entire live fish orders via UPS. Also, many fish have been sent through to homes from dealers shipping live fish. I think the policy is that you must have an account set up with UPS in order to ship live fish.

 

[fishfreek]

I just know what I read on another fourm where a person tried to ship some corals to someone via UPS. I will have to contact that person to make sure I had the story correct.

I know all my shippments come fedex

 

[ghettorigged]

All of my aquaria orders also come FedEx.
I just happen to be a manager at UPS.

 

[fishfreek]

I sent a message to reeflady whom happens to be the member of that other website I mentioned.

This is what she wrote back about the experence I referenced

I was only shipping coral frags, not fish (not sure if there is a difference). The problem with my package was that it had an \"OMD\" label on it - which designated it as hazardous material - not able to be shipped by air (ground only).

So as you can see I had the story mixed up.

Given your status with UPS I would default to your knowledge as to if you shipped live fish or not.

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

I've been browsing www.aquariumfish.net lately. It has a large selection of freshwater fish, but I know nothing about how to buy fish online and to have them shipped, so I thought I'd explore my options.

 

[bettacove]

I ship all my fish with Canada Post and UPS. So far so good.

ashley

 

[i3k]

ConanTheLibraian, you should check out www.aquariumfish.net they sell freshwater fish and have a LARGE selection with descriptions, pictures and instructions on how to properly care for each fish. I bought most of my fish from that website and they always arrived ALIVE and in fair condition. One thing about buying fish online though...is that the shipping will cost you over $20 :|