Shipping fish! What's your recipe for success?

[memorywrangler]

I'm getting ready to ship fish for the first time, and I'd like it to be a success and avoid as much trial and error as possible.

I've read this:  https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-ship-live-fish

But I'd love to hear what other do, preferably with details like where to get good bags and other supplies, if you have any particular tips or tricks that work well for you.

Thanks.

[Fish Folk]

On 9/8/2023 at 2:00 PM, memorywrangler said:

I'm getting ready to ship fish for the first time, and I'd like it to be a success and avoid as much trial and error as possible.

I've read this:  https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-ship-live-fish

But I'd love to hear what other do, preferably with details like where to get good bags and other supplies, if you have any particular tips or tricks that work well for you.

Thanks.

I’m happy to share what I do. What species of fish are you looking to ship?

[memorywrangler]

On 9/8/2023 at 12:01 PM, Fish Folk said:

What species of fish are you looking to ship?

Young scarlet badis.

[Fish Folk]

I made you a video…

Here’s a thread I made awhile ago…

 

[memorywrangler]

On 9/8/2023 at 1:07 PM, Fish Folk said:

I made you a video…

Thanks!  very useful.  How do you decide when to use breather bags or when to use "normal" bags?

[Fish Folk]

On 9/8/2023 at 4:18 PM, memorywrangler said:

Thanks!  very useful.  How do you decide when to use breather bags or when to use "normal" bags?

Sometimes it depends on what I have available. But otherwise, if I am shipping more fish or larger fish, I use normal bags. I double bag, inverting one into the other so that there are no tight corners.

Here is the O2 I use…

 

[nabokovfan87]

Dean's video, Rachel O'Leary's video are ones I watch before I ship fish. There's a ton of guides but the main thing is to take your time and to do so intently. It's not worth rushing if you make a mistake or if you miss something critical.

I am not great, or flawless at shipping fish, but I've sent two bigger boxes or corydoras and done alright. Because of the toxin it's an incredibly stressful species to ship.

That being said... my biggest tip would be to make sure you tape the corners (see dean's video) on the bags and double bag.  I have thicker bags and I use two of them each time I ship. The goal is that the bag doesn't get tossed all around the box and arrives safely.  How things are inside the bag is a whole different puzzle sometimes.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[memorywrangler]

Alright, I've been experimenting with tying (rather than rubber-banding) bags and I've notice that tying them doesn't seem to create a perfect seal -- I can squeeze the bag up side down and water will drip out very slowly.

Should I be worried about that?