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Shipping & Receiving Fish/Eggs

    Shipping and receiving fish is no real difficult task.  After all, how do you think your local fish shop and others receive fish?  Shipping fish is no more difficult as receiving fish, whether from your local fish shop, or through the mail from ordering on-line.  Below, are some helpful tips for shipping fish and receiving fish and eggs through the mail to acclimate into your aquarium.

    All you need is shipping bags, some backing materials and a Styrofoam box.  And of course just a little preparation and organization.

    You can get the shipping bags from your local pet shop.  You can get Styrofoam boxes also from your local pet shop or your local veterinarian, who receive many of their supplies and medicines this way.  

    The most popular is an 18x18x9 story inside a corrugated cardboard box, which nowadays come with pretty fish painted on all four sides. However, a plane story box or one smaller than the 18x18x9 are also suitable, so long as there is enough room to put some packing materials inside the box with the bags of fish.  Newspaper and those small Styrofoam "peanuts" used to package breakable items for shipping should always be on hand. 

    Always try to ship fish that are around the 1" size as them seem to travel the best. At least one full day before shipping NEVER feed those particular fish.  Fish can live far longer without food, than they can in water that has the ammonia level increasing from fish waste. For most fish you can use a 6"x14"x2.0 mil bag and only use enough water to take up about 25% to 33% of the bag.  The volume of air is more important than the volume of liquid for the fish.  Also by shipping you will pay by weight.  Just make sure the fish are fully covered with water while lying on its side and that is enough. 

    Never blow into the bag to inflate it, because you will be adding CO2 instead of fresh air.  Rather, grasp it quickly and all the air you need will be trapped inside or put some air in the bag using a small air pump. For fish species that are usually very active and easily made anxious, you can use some kind of sedative or drug such as Jungle Bag Buddies. After sealing the bag with the rubber band, invert it into another bag of the same size and seal it again, this time very tightly. 

    Don't put pairs in the same bag, especially cichlids or more aggressive fish. If the fish are not sexable you should have no problem but still never put more than six in the same bag. Label all bags clearly, as sometimes the person at the other end does not know what a particular species looks like. (These bagging instructions should also be used when shipping fish to an auction.)

    Along the bottom of the shipping box I lay a few sheets of newspaper so it comes up along all sides. This also helps a little in insulation and absorbs any water that may leak from one of your bags. Throw a thin layer of those Styrofoam "peanuts" in next and then place down your bags. Less bags, more "peanuts" as they don't weigh anything and they stop the bags from rolling around. Fill in the remainder of the box with Styrofoam and newspaper but before you seal it.  Don't forget to enclose a letter with breeding information, hints or just a note but to be on the safe side, enclose it in a plastic bag. Now seal the box and with shipping tape.

How to ship?   

    I have great success by shipping United States Post Office Priority Mail, which takes two days for a normal trip and will be delivered to the recipients door and costs about $8 to $10. Also for a small fee of under 50 cents you can get a tracking number so you can check the progress of you package on the Internet.

    Ship on Monday to be sure it isn't held over the weekend someplace. If you ship in cold weather, go to a local sporting goods store and buy some hand or body warmers or if it's to hot, buy some thin freeze packs and put them on the bottom but slip newspaper between them and the bags of fish. 

    By all means let the other person know exactly when you plan to ship and have them call or e-mail you when it arrives.  I've found the folks at my local post office to be eager to help in making sure I am shipping correctly.   Likewise, they get just as excited to call you to let you know that if you are receiving fish that they are in and you can pick them up at the post office immediately.

    Ship once and you'll wonder what took you so long to try it before. A whole New World of fish will be opened to you and the best part is that most breeders would rather trade for something else than get money from you.

Shipping Fish Eggs  

    Shipping eggs may be easier than fish, but still care must be exercised.  Usually the species of fish you wish to ship eggs are the various species of killifish.

    Water Shipping

    This is easy.  Just put some fertilized and viable eggs in a small container (i.e. a film roll container) seal it well, place into a cushioned mailing envelope and mail U.S.P.O.

    Peat Moss Shipping

    Killifish eggs can be easily shipped in peat moss.  This will insure that the fry will not hatch, until they are put into water.  Here again, shipping is easy.  Simply put eggs into a baggie of very moist peat moss, seal it, tag it for "hatching date", place into a cushioned envelope and ship.

Receiving Fish & Eggs

    Just as you need to slowly acclimate new fish from your local fish shop for temperature and water change differences, the same is true for fish and eggs received through the mail from a private breeder.

    Receiving Fish

    Place the baggies of your new fish in the water of the tank they will be released.   Allow about 30 minutes for the temperatures to equal.  Slowly open the baggie and let a little of the tanks water into the bag to mix with the water the ship was fished.  Add about 25% - 50% additional of the new water to the bag of water that was shipped. Wait a few minutes and let a little more water into the bag.  Repeat this process slowly over the next 20-30 minutes, until fish swims freely and comfortably out of the bag. 

    Do not be alarmed if your new fish doesn't eat for a day or so.  This is normal after the shock of being shipped, however, after a day or so, feeding live foods or thawed frozen adult brine shrimp will get their appetites going.  They may be also nibbling, when you're out of the room and not watching, until they get more acquainted with you and then learn that you in the room means food is coming soon.

    Receiving Eggs

    As with receiving fish, if you receive a small vial of fish eggs, you need to let the temperature equal between the shipping vial and the hatching tray.  Slowly add a little of the water from your hatching tray, until you fill the vial with water. New water should be added in amounts of about 50% over a 20 min. period, as you should do with live fish.  Slowly dump the water from the vial and all of the eggs into the hatching tray.

    If you receive eggs in peat moss, simply set the baggie in the water to make sure the temperatures are equalized.  Then add the peat moss (make sure you get all of the eggs too) to the water in the hatching tray.  Don't be alarmed if it takes up to a week or so for the fry to hatch.  Continue changing out a little water each day in the hatching tray, while the fish eggs incubate.

    If you are receiving fish eggs from annual species like Nothobranchius genus fish, DO NOT add the eggs and peat to water until the hatching date that should be marked on the baggie.

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