Shipping fish is mostly common sense. you have to consider:
The Bag- This must be big enough for the fish to fit whether the bag is upright. The bag must be thick enough for the size and ability to break or puncture it, This mean how many ml thick it is. Bags for smaller fish are usually 2 ml and for bigger 3 or 4 ml is needed. Fish should be double bagged at the very least. Bigger fish or ones which may puncture the bag may need more measures to guard against that. The second bag should have the top of the first bag placed so it is on the bottom of the second bag (i.e. they open in opposite directions).
Water and Air- While fish line in water, when shipping air is more important. At least 50% of the bag space should be for air. There must be enough water in the bag for the fish to be able to stay submerged whether the bag is upright or lying on its side (lengthwise). Use clean water for shipping
Water Temperature- The fish cannot bet to warm or too cold along the way. So heat or cold packs me be needed. These should never be able to come in direct contact with the bags. Ideally fish should travel withing their normal temperature range but at the lower end. They are less active at the cooler end than the warmer end.
Purging- Except for very young fish, you should not feed fish about to be shipped for one to 3 days before shipping. this minimize poop production in transit. Poop makes ammonia. You may want to add a piece of PolyFilter. This will absorb ammonia and organics. With larger fish one may want to sedate them a bit. Smaller fish usually do not need this.
Packing- The bags should not easily move or bounce around the shipping styro. One can use large bubble wrap, crumpled news paper or other softish packing materials to keep the bags in place. Some fish work best in bags packed upright and others, like bottom feeders, should be horizotnally oriented. Some people also use a large bag to line the box in case the individual bags leak. This helps to contain the water.
Sealing the Bag- there are two ways most do this. One is with rubber bands which must be wound tightly. Using two is also a good idea. The other way is to knot the bag. I use a pliers to pull the bag closed tightly. I also use an air pump to fill the bag with air, but this is my way and you can do it differently. Look for some Youtube vids on sealing fish bags. You may show bags with only 1/3 water and 2/3 air. What matter most is the fish can always be submerged no mater in what position the bag is.
Two final notes about this all. We do not really ship fish when it comes to the weight of the box. We are shipping water. So the ideal situation is to use the least amount of water possible to insure the fish arrive alive and in good shape. Overnight shipping is not cheap so it makes sense not to send more water than is needed. Next, how many fish we put into a bag is a good question. More fish make the shipping costs lower, but if one fish dies it can result in this killing the others in the bag as it rots. There is a compromise between how many fish go in one bag and how much space this takes for the whole shipment. Too few in the bag raises costs and time to pack, but to many risks them not all arriving alive.
Lastly, when transporting fish yourself, you can bag them in bigger bags, put more fish into the bag and use more water since there are no shipping costs.
I think I covered most of it. If not, somebody else can chime in. However, this is how I do it and it is neither the only way nor necessarily the best way one can do things.
The Bag- This must be big enough for the fish to fit whether the bag is upright. The bag must be thick enough for the size and ability to break or puncture it, This mean how many ml thick it is. Bags for smaller fish are usually 2 ml and for bigger 3 or 4 ml is needed. Fish should be double bagged at the very least. Bigger fish or ones which may puncture the bag may need more measures to guard against that. The second bag should have the top of the first bag placed so it is on the bottom of the second bag (i.e. they open in opposite directions).
Water and Air- While fish line in water, when shipping air is more important. At least 50% of the bag space should be for air. There must be enough water in the bag for the fish to be able to stay submerged whether the bag is upright or lying on its side (lengthwise). Use clean water for shipping
Water Temperature- The fish cannot bet to warm or too cold along the way. So heat or cold packs me be needed. These should never be able to come in direct contact with the bags. Ideally fish should travel withing their normal temperature range but at the lower end. They are less active at the cooler end than the warmer end.
Purging- Except for very young fish, you should not feed fish about to be shipped for one to 3 days before shipping. this minimize poop production in transit. Poop makes ammonia. You may want to add a piece of PolyFilter. This will absorb ammonia and organics. With larger fish one may want to sedate them a bit. Smaller fish usually do not need this.
Packing- The bags should not easily move or bounce around the shipping styro. One can use large bubble wrap, crumpled news paper or other softish packing materials to keep the bags in place. Some fish work best in bags packed upright and others, like bottom feeders, should be horizotnally oriented. Some people also use a large bag to line the box in case the individual bags leak. This helps to contain the water.
Sealing the Bag- there are two ways most do this. One is with rubber bands which must be wound tightly. Using two is also a good idea. The other way is to knot the bag. I use a pliers to pull the bag closed tightly. I also use an air pump to fill the bag with air, but this is my way and you can do it differently. Look for some Youtube vids on sealing fish bags. You may show bags with only 1/3 water and 2/3 air. What matter most is the fish can always be submerged no mater in what position the bag is.
Two final notes about this all. We do not really ship fish when it comes to the weight of the box. We are shipping water. So the ideal situation is to use the least amount of water possible to insure the fish arrive alive and in good shape. Overnight shipping is not cheap so it makes sense not to send more water than is needed. Next, how many fish we put into a bag is a good question. More fish make the shipping costs lower, but if one fish dies it can result in this killing the others in the bag as it rots. There is a compromise between how many fish go in one bag and how much space this takes for the whole shipment. Too few in the bag raises costs and time to pack, but to many risks them not all arriving alive.
Lastly, when transporting fish yourself, you can bag them in bigger bags, put more fish into the bag and use more water since there are no shipping costs.
I think I covered most of it. If not, somebody else can chime in. However, this is how I do it and it is neither the only way nor necessarily the best way one can do things.
