Questions about shipping fish

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Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 2, 2005
10
0
31
53
Florida
Hi,
I have never shipped a fish before, but I am going to be shipping a 4 inch flowerhorn across the country next week using USPS overnight express. I watched a video on youtube about shipping fish but still have a couple of questions.

Is it ok to lie the bag on it's side when I ship it?

It's going to be in the 30's where I ship it and I am using a heat pack to warm it, but didn't know if I was better off using a box where the bag is a snug fit or a box which is bigger which would allow more air for the heat pack keep active?

I would also greatly appreciate any other advice you could offer.
 
a box with alot of news paper and a heat pack...i've order fish before and when i get them they always have news paper as insulation also i dont think that the bag should be on its side...just my 2 cent
 
I poke a small hole in the styro lid (size of a pencil) and afix the heat pack over the hole on the inside of the lid, so the heat pack gets a slight amount of air, this stimulates the material to heat up. Newspaper between plastic bag, and lid.
I'd use a very thick plastic bag, with just enough water to cover the fish, but not enough to let it thrash around, that spine in the dorsal, easily punctures a bag.Might even duct tape the bag.
Fit the packing material tightly so the bag doesn't move.
 
Thank you, I have a couple of more questions I thought of.

Do you have to poke a hole thru the cardboard box also or just the lid of the styrofoam liner?

Is 3/4 inch styrofoam lining thick enough for the 30 deg weather?

Am I better off using a smaller bag just widder then the fish or a bigger one where he has some room to swim a little?
 
You don't need to put a hole in the cardboard box, enough air gets in. I received a box from across country last week, had 3/4" styrofoam, and the fish were fine.
I believe a small bag with lots of air, but no room to swim/thrash around is better. I've received 5" pike cichlids in very narrow bags (thick plastic) with just a little over an inch of water, enough to cover the fish, and they arrived in perfect condition.
Some people cut off a small chunk of a seasoned sponge (filter) and put it in the bag to take care of ammonia from fish waste.
In a dark box, hopefully the fish will sleep.
 
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