I just sold some 3" SA cichlids on Aquabid and need to ship them off in the next couple of days. I have a couple of questions regarding the best/most effective techniques. So I will walk through the process I intend to use and ask my questions as they arise in the process. I will be shipping from Florida to New York. I am unsure how the buyer wants to ship as they have not gotten back to me on whether they want 2-3 day or overnight (I would like to go into this with the assumption they could be in the box for a few days and pack accordingly).
First up is fasting the fish for 2 days before shipping as I know they would soil the bag and foul up the water much faster.
Then I plan to get some bags to ship the fish in and fill them 1/4 to 1/3 with water. Now I know some people add chemicals at this point. Some add water conditioner and some add a stress reducer (I have Stress Coat +). Is there a proper chemical to add to the bag?
The cichlids are keyholes and are very mild mannered. Is it best to bag them together in a larger bag or separately in small bags?
Also, how do I go about adding oxygen to the bag without having access to pure oxygen? I remember seeing something about oxygen tablets in a YouTube video. Can anyone comment on if they actually exist and if so, how good they are to use?
I plan to rubber band seal the bag and invert it into another bag so the chances of a fish getting stuck in a corner are reduced, then rubber band seal the second bag.
For the box, I have a brown box to ship in that is insulated with a styrofoam interior. Do I need to add a heat pack to the box? I know if I do, that I will need to wrap it in a bit of newspaper to avoid contact with any bags. And if I need a heat pack, what is a good brand to use?
After packing everything up, I have packing peanuts I will use to fill in any gaps and reduce any possible traumatic jarring of the box in transit.
I am offering the buyer live arrival guarantee on overnight only as this is the first time I have ever shipped a fish and am not sure what to expect on the 2-3 day shipping in terms of how my work will hold up (I hope it's good LOL).
Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
First up is fasting the fish for 2 days before shipping as I know they would soil the bag and foul up the water much faster.
Then I plan to get some bags to ship the fish in and fill them 1/4 to 1/3 with water. Now I know some people add chemicals at this point. Some add water conditioner and some add a stress reducer (I have Stress Coat +). Is there a proper chemical to add to the bag?
The cichlids are keyholes and are very mild mannered. Is it best to bag them together in a larger bag or separately in small bags?
Also, how do I go about adding oxygen to the bag without having access to pure oxygen? I remember seeing something about oxygen tablets in a YouTube video. Can anyone comment on if they actually exist and if so, how good they are to use?
I plan to rubber band seal the bag and invert it into another bag so the chances of a fish getting stuck in a corner are reduced, then rubber band seal the second bag.
For the box, I have a brown box to ship in that is insulated with a styrofoam interior. Do I need to add a heat pack to the box? I know if I do, that I will need to wrap it in a bit of newspaper to avoid contact with any bags. And if I need a heat pack, what is a good brand to use?
After packing everything up, I have packing peanuts I will use to fill in any gaps and reduce any possible traumatic jarring of the box in transit.
I am offering the buyer live arrival guarantee on overnight only as this is the first time I have ever shipped a fish and am not sure what to expect on the 2-3 day shipping in terms of how my work will hold up (I hope it's good LOL).
Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
