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For those who have done it before, what do you consider to be the best way to ship live fish? I may be sending some out soon, so I of course want to know the best method.

Here's what I've got so far from reading...
Take the fish, and put them in a big 'ol bag with 1/4 water and 3/4 air. Double bag, and surround with dry newspapers. Put that in a styrofoam container (which already has its own cardboard box), then ship. Is that right for your average, one inch fish (a group of)? The bags are a little over a foot in diameter, so I should think that would provide plenty of air.

Also, which company is the most reliable for shipping fish, and what kind of service (overnight, priority, etc.) is recommended?

Thanks thanks.

Last edited by sirbooks at 30-May-2005 20:00

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

the way i do it is add the fish to a good sized bag(like right size for the fish). (@ my pro wholesale he has a gas mix that he adds to the bag) or you can just use and air pump. tape the conners of the bag. add another bag. rap newspaper around the bag. add packing bubbles in a styro box. add heat pack if ness. add the bags. fill with more packing bubbles. tape the top.

Sounds like you've got everything down. Depending on where you plan to ship heat/cold packs may be necessary.

I have received shipped fish a number of different ways, and the best way seems to be to definitely go with the styrofoam container, and you should check with whatever parcel service you plan to use about shipping live fish. At least one of the fish suppliers I've ordered from stamped their box with "live fish" all over it. I'm not sure it actually makes a difference. And always ship overnight/next day delivery. Most fish suppliers will not garuntee fish that are shipped any other way.
Some people use these little sleep tabs in the shipping water to sedate the fish. It supposedly keeps them less stressed in transit, but I've found that they take longer to acclimate and I sometimes have fish die over their first night in the tank.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

i work for ups... the writing live fish does not make a difference... its going on the truck whatever way we can fit it in..

the best way with any company to make sure your package gets special treatment is to send overnight

because air, and second day am get special spots on each truck

So pure O2 isn't needed? That's good, we have actually run out.

Most companies will do pick-up, right?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."