First Time Shipping a Fish!

[tomojsg]

Thanks for the advice. There was styrofoam on the top and bottom, but the box was an odd shape. Next time I'll be doing a box that is better suited to a single bag.

i think that bag would have fit perfectly if the styro was a little thicker and you had the bag
filled a little more with pure oxy. or just stuffed/padded more with newspaper and what not.
but hey look on the bright side; grats on your first successful shipping of live fish!


jeaninel nice, grats on the survivor!

 

[shookONES]

Nice write up. Though the damaged box is a stark reminder why I always use FedEx or UPS if I'm not shiping airport-to-airport.

 

[duanes]

Agree about stuffing the box so tight, that the bag of fish doesn't move in the slightest. I like to use the smallest styro, the fish bag will fit into. I have found the cartons medications are shipped in, do well for a 1 fish shipment, and are very think, so they hold temp well.
Also about the heat packs. As soon as they get wet, they become useless.
So what I do, is tape them to the inside of the top, and poke a hole in the top of the styro right over the heat pack, so air gets to them, the salts (chemicals) in the heat bags need air to react/produce heat, otherwise they simply shut down. And it is best to keep the heat packs from touching the plastic fish bags, I usually put a piece of old fabric between the bag, and heat pack.

 

[Aquanero]

Nice write up and congratulations on the success. I see you didn't mention step one, start by taking out a bottle of Jamesons before you do anything else.

 

[tomojsg]

Nice write up and congratulations on the success. I see you didn't mention step one, start by taking out a bottle of Jamesons before you do anything else.

lol hahaha i prefer a bottle of johnny walker preferably blue or king george or
a nice bottle of yamazaki or hibiki 12/18/25 years. if im doin the cheap stuff
a bottle of johnny black or glenlivit isnt bad either.

 

[Woefulrelic]

I wonder if MFK is the only forum I'll find suggestions on what to drink before I ship fish.

 

[tomojsg]

I wonder if MFK is the only forum I'll find suggestions on what to drink before I ship fish.

lol hahaha who knowsss

 

[Buphy]

That was actually the final step of moving 2 125 gallon tanks to the 3rd floor.

Nice write up and congratulations on the success. I see you didn't mention step one, start by taking out a bottle of Jamesons before you do anything else.

 

[deeda]

Nice write up and I'm glad the fish is doing great.

We had a member at our local club give a talk on packing and shipping fish, which he does for a living. He lines the box with a large fish bag and then with 1/4" thick styrofoam, cut to fit, and tapes all the joints with duct tape. He then uses newspaper insulation from a home improvement store a couple inches thick as a cushion and to absorb any water from a damaged bag. Double bagging and/or or using 4ml thick bag for spiny fish or large cichlids. Pack the rest of the box with more newspaper insulation to prevent the bag from moving around.

Everyone has a different method and results when shipping fish so the more suggestions, the better shippers we will be.

 

[jeaninel]

This was a great learning experience. The fish was double bagged and the inner bag was covered in duct tape. There was no break in either bag and the ties were tight but the outer bag did have some water in it that must have leaked thru the ties. The picture below was exactly how I found the contents when I opened the box. One of the heat packs must have fallen out along with a lot of the newspaper. I'm wondering if the box got tipped up on it's end rather than kept flat. I'm just thankful that delivery didn't get delayed otherwise t h e outcome may have been much more tragic.