How To Ship Fish

What you will need:
- Shipping bags
- A heat pack
- Styrofoam
- Packing materical such as bubble wrap or foam shipping beads
- Newspaper
- Tape
- Shipping Box


Step One: Take the Styrofoam and cut it so that it can line all sides of the shipping box, top, bottom and all four sides, and then add you packing material.

Step Two: Take your shipping bags( you will need 2 per fish) and place the fish you wish to ship in a bag along with water from the tank they are in. Always use their tank water, not fresh water, they’re less likely to stress out that way. Fill the bag about 1/3 of the way, just enough to cover the fish and give them a bit of room for movement. Tie the bag shut, making sure to trap plenty of air in the bag.

Then flip the bag and fish upside down and, tied side first, place the bag inside of the second shipping bag.

 Then tie the second bag tightly, and your fishie is already to go.

Step Three: Place the fish inside the shipping box, making sure the shipping bag and fish are snug in the box and that they won’t move around too much once the box is sealed.

Step Four: Take the heat pack remove the outer plastic covering and activate the heat pack.

Wrap the heat pack in a layer of newpaper (I’ve used looseleaf to demonstrate because I don’t have any newspaper at the moment) and then tape the newspaper covered heat pack to the piece of Styrofoam that will cover the top of the package.

 

Step Five: Place the last piece of Styrofoam on top and tape up the box and ship out the package.

 Some Useful Shipping Tips:

- Fast the fish for a couple of days before shipping. This will decrease their chance of becoming constipated and developing swim bladder issues due to the stress from shipping.
- Its not necessary to mark the box being shipping with “fragile” and “live fish” I have personally shipped fish both ways with no problem so it’s a personal preference.