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Shipping fish?


Krakens_tanks
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So I have a buddy and I have started breeding a few live bearers and we have a few people who are intrested in purchasing them but we have never shipped fish before. We are having a small issue when trying to locate info.

Where can we get sheets of styrofoam to line the boxes we tried amazon but still feel like we could get it cheaper and higher pack counts then 10pc of 2x2 for $48 

Also what kind of shipping should we try to do if shipping through ups. Not sure if there is a special live animal shipping or would the standard over night shipping be good enough? We want to make sure fish stay as safe as possible.

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John at KG Tropicals recently did a video on how he ships fish.

As for shipping method, I don't think there is one best way.  Loads to consider when shipping.  #1 what does the buyer have as options. Then there are seasonal issues to deal with, heat packs or cold packs, delays due to holidays...

I get Styrofoam from home depot and cut as needed.  But then I'm only shipping a couple boxes a year.

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23 minutes ago, Krakens_tanks said:

So I have a buddy and I have started breeding a few live bearers and we have a few people who are intrested in purchasing them but we have never shipped fish before. We are having a small issue when trying to locate info.

Where can we get sheets of styrofoam to line the boxes we tried amazon but still feel like we could get it cheaper and higher pack counts then 10pc of 2x2 for $48 

Also what kind of shipping should we try to do if shipping through ups. Not sure if there is a special live animal shipping or would the standard over night shipping be good enough? We want to make sure fish stay as safe as possible.

Congratulations on raising fish for shipping! I'll speak from a receiver end -- not so much a shipper (yet). The very best shipper of fish use Polar Tech Styros and Boxes -- used for frozen food shipping, Science equipment shipping, some government applications, etc. They're form-fit box plus styro, taped up. If you have any friends who work at a grocery store, see about what they do with frozen food shipping containers. Polar Tech makes excellent products. But it's very expensive to buy new. 

Now, for another approach altogether -- here's a _great_ intro video from Irene ("A Gamer's Wife" / "Girl Talks Fish") on preparing fish for shipping:

UPS 2 Day Tracking is the best way to go. USPS has not been good this year at all.

Michael's Fish Room has also shared a video on how he ships fish...

Check online here for styrofoam "cooler" + box sets: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/44429/insulated-shipping-boxes.html?filter=type:cooler-shipping-box-sets 

 

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Get styrofoam sheets from Home Depot, Lowe's etc and cut to fit. If I remember right a 4x8 foot sheet of 1" thick was about $20, you could get enough for quite a few boxes out of that. With that, I have never shipped fish myself, only received them. Several shipments I have gotten recently the shippers have used styrofoam boxes that I am guessing came from having medical supplies shipped in. The joint between the lid is taped good, fish packed well with newspaper wrapped around bags for extra insulation. I have also gotten fish that they just take a cardboard box, and nestle the bags of fish in and stuff packing peanuts or the loose blown in insulation material. I dislike those methods, because you end up with packing peanuts or loose insulation all over when you unpack the fish. 

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  • 1 month later...

I buy a panel foam pack from Lowe’s and cut to size.  It is a 6 pack of 13”x48” sheets and my Lowe’s have them for $10.  I also double bag, and line my boxes with 13 gallon trash bags so if there is a problem they won’t leak.  I ship platy, swordtail, and snails using USPS priority and have had good success.

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