Shipping Fish By Mail

[Pegasus]

Transporting Those Fish.

A Few Pointers

Shipping fish can be a daunting and worrying thing at the best of times, but if done correctly, then your fish should arrive at their destination safe and sound.

Many fish are lost in transit due to ..

Incorrect packing... Stress, due to bad packing.. Ammonia poisoning due to too many fish... Bags that are not sealed correctly.. No heat packs.. so fish are cold on arrival... Late pickups... Too many to a bag... Punctured bags through spiney fish.. and sometimes poor courier service.

Know what you are doing.

Various fish will need transporting in various ways, so consider the situation that the fish is going to be in for perhaps the next forty eight hours.

You can NEVER have too much insulation.. so use the correct containers and packing.

Large fish may need to be bagged up singly.. whereas some of the smaller fish can go six to ten in a bag.

Be Prepared:

Do a water change the day before you intend sending the fish.

This will ensure decent water for the trip.. as ammonia levels can build up quickly in the bag during the trip.

It is a good idea not to feed the fish for 24 hours before you send them to prevent waste and further ammonia building up in the bag.

Ensure that no fish waste is added to the bag if possible.

Fish need air and space.

If they are say.... Adult Guppies... then you could "possibly" get eight or ten to a bag (300x450 size) for an overnight trip.

Use good quality fish bags if possible with the rounded corners.

The shipping box.

You would need a suitable styrene box.. plus a heat pack if the trip is a long one.

Most of these "Heat Packs" generate heat when rubbed vigorously.. so avoid doing this until the very last moment before you finally seal the box.

Very Important.

Fill the bag with approx one third water.. then insert an air line from your air pump into the neck of the bag and twist to create a seal.

Allow the bag to inflate... then twist the neck of the bag some more and pull out the airline while keeping the bag fully inflated.

Fold the neck of the bag over firmly and hold in position with two good strong rubber bands...

MINIMUM 100mm (4") allowance for twisting and folding over.

There should be no air leaks.

Crumple up some newspaper and place in the styrene box, then add the bag or bags, packing each so that they can't roll around.

Add the heat pad if needed, but don't lay it directly on the plastic bags.. just pack it so that the heat can circulate.

Coldwater Goldfish etc:

As above, but ommit the heat pack.. plus one or two fish per bag only... depending on size.

Plecos... Spiney Catfish etc:

Use Tupperware containers.. one third water.. two thirds air.. plus heat pack in most cases.

Adult Swords.. Cichlids etc:

One or two per bag.. as above.. depending on size.

Adult Angels:

ONE per bag always... plus heat pack.

Plants Only:

Just pack loosly in wet newspaper and place flat in a poly bag.

Seal to avoid leakage. Post in a bubble pack type envelope.

Another method when packing some of the more fragile type plants... (thanks Cyberfin).. is to place them in a partially inflated plastic bag.

The air will cushion them from being crushed. No water except what is on the plant when removed from tank, as sloshing water can damage. If the bag is sealed properly it will remain relatively humid within.

Mark the box CLEARLY with the name

... plus

LIVE FISH... PLEASE CONTACT ON ARRIVAL..

and phone number if they are being sent to a collection point... like a service station or somewhere.

Contact The Person:

Contact the person as soon as you send the goods.

Inform them which service you have used, and when to expect deliverery.. AND WHERE.. in most cases, as many courier services will not deliver to home addresses.. but will drop parcels at a selected pick up point.

If in doubt... DOUBLE BAG ALWAYS

Some add a couple of drops of "Stess Coat" for the trip.

Some also recommend "Amolock", as it locks up any ammonina into a non toxic form.

Take care here and follow the instructions if you use these products.

Snails and such can be packed in a simple small strong cardboad box with bit of wet plant.. but they won't need a lot of water.. just a cupful perhaps, and the bag can be much smaller... plus the heat pack will not be needed.

Shop Around:

Not a lot of carriers will transport fish these days.. and the cost can vary tremendously.

Look at paying around $18:00 for a local overnight trip.. and triple that for some areas... but this depends on the carrier.

Try NZ Post... they are pretty good.. but not ALL branches will handle live stock.

Hope this helps

Bill (Pegasus)

[Luke*]

Great information thanks Bill. Also under "Be Prepared" it is a good idea not to feed the fish for 24 hours before you send them to prevent waste and further ammonia building up in the bag.

[Pegasus]

Good point Luke.. one I forgot, but very important

Added to above.

Many thanks,

Bill.

[mickey-tropical-fish-mad]

I agree!

[malawi_man]

sent my fish lot of fish by mail yesterday, fish arrived in good condition aparently i guess i will ship alot more fish in the future.

Daniel

NZKA 268

[alanmin4304]

I think I recall that imported fish are packed with one seventh of the volume of the bag as water and the rest as oxygen. That way the fish are usually OK for 36 hours.

[malawi_man]

would i need a heat pack for shipping guppies??

[alanmin4304]

It would depend how well insulated your container was and how long in transit.

[Alan]

And the season.

They definately don't need one now

Or a hot water bottle.

Alan 104

[Pegasus]

Alanmin wrote:

I think I recall that imported fish are packed with one seventh of the volume of the bag as water and the rest as oxygen. That way the fish are usually OK for 36 hours.

Don't know how they do it these days.. but way back when they used to drug the fish to put them into a semi-hybernation state, and this allowed them to pack more fish in less water over longer periods.

There were no heat pads back then... just good insulation, and quite often fish would arrive safely after being shipped two days or so prior to arrival.

Bill.

[malawi_man]

20 guppies and 2 bristlenoses going in a poly box to queenstown overnight. will this be alright without a heat pack??

[Alan]

Haven't you sent it yet??

Don't ship near the end of the week in case it gets held up over the weekend.

Alan 104

[livebearer_breeder]

I wouldn't risk it. Add a heat pack. Send today if possible, Alan is right always send early days of the week.

Shae

[craig]

hi,

i sent 6 frontosa babies up north via courier,over-night interislander.

mid- morning next day guy emails to say "courier had stuffed up" sent them on the 2 day truck.

they were packed at partners workplace, big bag's, 1 fish per bag, alot of oxygen and plenty of water, thanks to great packing and not to colder nights all 6 arrived 41hrs later. a bit dark in colour and abit sluggish but all alive.

if that had been discus,wouldn't have been so lucky.

heat packs in winter are a must. in summer however you need to becareful as if they get to hot the oxygen levels drop.

i have shipped fish all over the country and this was the first stuff-up. i was very lucky.

shell.

[sharn]

ok, so getting some beautiful new discus sent down to me this thursday hopefully from auckland, im just not sure who to trust with my new babies? ive used fastway before but i was wondering if you guys had any other opinions/know of companies that frequently take fish... its probably going to work out about 30 bucks or so with same day (im not using overnight cause it doesnt take 12 hours to get from auckland to te puke hehe) but it will be quite heavy. its going to have at least 3 fish in it so the box with be fairly big also.

thanks guys

[craig]

hi sharn,

i usually use PBT, only ever had that one problem.

i have received fish from up north post haste, fish always arrive okay,sometimes have to ring the depot to fasten them up alittle.

good luck with ya discus,make sure they pop in the heat paks for the discus. we are getting cold nights.

cheers shell.

[Faran]

I only trust NZ Couriers with my babies.

[sharn]

i rung NZ couriers and i think ill try them $12 per 5kg is pretty reasonable with same day shipping. they will leave around 10am and get to me anywhere from 2.30pm-5.30pm

[Faran]

Just gotta watch that volumetric weight thing. You need to measure length, height and width and multiply to get under 0.025m3. For example - 40cm x 20cm x 15cm = 0.4 * 0.2 * 0.15 = 0.012m3 which is only half of the max size. I get big boxes and cut them in half these days.

[sharn]

*woosh and flies over sharns head*

whaaaat? :lol:

[Faran]

Measure your poly box and figure out the volume. 5kg is a maximum scale weight but the volume of the container needs to be less than quarter of a cubic meter... A lot like figuring out the volume of a fish tank.

[MRSkz]

Blue I thought u'd switched courier companies. What happend?

[Faran]

We came to an understanding about the shipping prices and the charges they hit me with. I learned that my boxes were too big and they learned my new address and that I pay my bills once the initial shock is over

[MRSkz]

Glad to hear that, they should have informed you of the charges before they put them on ur bill though.

They're the only one's I trust with my fish as well.

[Mooloo]

Freight rates are usally worked out on a tonne/cubic basis charged on what ever is the greater. ie 1tn = 3 cubic metres for the north island and interisland usually is worked out on a 1tn = 2 cubic metres. So obviously the smaller the item the less the charge as long as the weight is close to its cubic conversion.