What would you use to ship a gar?
Shipping fish
Started by
Guest_Skipjack_*
, Aug 23 2006 12:06 AM
35 replies to this topic
#24
Guest_Mysteryman_*
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Posted 19 June 2010 - 09:44 AM
I once got a box of fish in breather bags which were in turn stuffed into some of those huge-diameter hair curlers with big holes, which were themselves kept separated with little blocks of styrofoam. Sounds weird, yes, but it let the shipper utilize almost all of the space in the box while keeping the bags from touching each other or the box walls, thereby keeping the maximum surface area of the bags exposed to air. I thought it was kinda cool.
#25
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 25 June 2011 - 09:41 PM
My standard practice nowadays is to use Priority speed USPS shipping and Kordon brand bags.
Here are a few of the odder experiences I've had shipping and receiving aquatic organisms:
I once shipped a bag of fish a week before Christmas and the buyer said that they never arrived. That had been the first time I didn't purchase a tracking number, and also was the last.
That week before Christmas seems the time of the year when USPS is the most error prone, because the year before that they lost my shipment, too. It was mostly Physa fontinalis and a couple ramshorn snails with no insulation in a normal non-breathing bag. They arrived a week late, frozen solid (which freaked the buyer out) but all alive after thawing.
I also once ordered Corbicula clams off of aquabid and was surprised to see them completely dry in the bag when they arrived. The packaging wasn't wet, and it didn't look like the bag had exploded during travel. I shrugged and, thinking they were probably dead, put them in the tank anyway. Much to my surprise, they nearly all lived. The seller said that Corbicula clams are usually shipped dry, and that they have a higher survival rate shipped that way. O_o.
Aquatic plants also seem to do just fine wrapped in a wet paper towel inside an air tight bag. A person working at a pet store once told me that neon tetras are shipped that way too, but I don't know whether or not to believe them.
Here are a few of the odder experiences I've had shipping and receiving aquatic organisms:
I once shipped a bag of fish a week before Christmas and the buyer said that they never arrived. That had been the first time I didn't purchase a tracking number, and also was the last.
That week before Christmas seems the time of the year when USPS is the most error prone, because the year before that they lost my shipment, too. It was mostly Physa fontinalis and a couple ramshorn snails with no insulation in a normal non-breathing bag. They arrived a week late, frozen solid (which freaked the buyer out) but all alive after thawing.
I also once ordered Corbicula clams off of aquabid and was surprised to see them completely dry in the bag when they arrived. The packaging wasn't wet, and it didn't look like the bag had exploded during travel. I shrugged and, thinking they were probably dead, put them in the tank anyway. Much to my surprise, they nearly all lived. The seller said that Corbicula clams are usually shipped dry, and that they have a higher survival rate shipped that way. O_o.
Aquatic plants also seem to do just fine wrapped in a wet paper towel inside an air tight bag. A person working at a pet store once told me that neon tetras are shipped that way too, but I don't know whether or not to believe them.
Edited by EricaWieser, 25 June 2011 - 09:41 PM.
#26
Guest_gerald_*
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Posted 27 June 2011 - 11:04 AM
Oh yes of course, all the time! And discus are shipped stacked in Pringles potato chip cans.
(Sorry Irate - beat ya to it)
(Gill-breathing fish need to keep flow moving over their gills, although I guess it's theoretically possible that really tiny fry packed with high oxygen could absorb what they need through skin, like lungless salamanders do).
(Sorry Irate - beat ya to it)
... do just fine wrapped in a wet paper towel inside an air tight bag. A person working at a pet store once told me that neon tetras are shipped that way too, but I don't know whether or not to believe them.
(Gill-breathing fish need to keep flow moving over their gills, although I guess it's theoretically possible that really tiny fry packed with high oxygen could absorb what they need through skin, like lungless salamanders do).
Edited by gerald, 27 June 2011 - 11:09 AM.
#28
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 07 July 2011 - 11:18 PM
Oh yes of course, all the time! And discus are shipped stacked in Pringles potato chip cans.
(Sorry Irate - beat ya to it
Drat - I was gonna say humidified oak leaves. But I like your idea better...check your front porch for a package from Mississippi....remember to inhale deeply through the nose!
#30
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 08 July 2011 - 11:02 PM
Would an air compresser be fine for filling?
You don't really need that - just snatch the top of the bag shut and capture the air. I used to be in the pet business 30 years ago - there's a technique to it but it's not that hard.
#31
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 09 July 2011 - 03:40 PM
The Kordon breathable bags suggest leaving no air in them, if you're using those. No air means no sloshing stress to the fish, so in my opinion they're better.Would an air compresser be fine for filling?
Edited by EricaWieser, 09 July 2011 - 03:40 PM.
#33
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 09 July 2011 - 11:09 PM
The Kordon bags are really good, but they are not cheap. If you're on a budget just beg a few regular bags from Petsmart, and if you get there on fish day you can score some styro shipping containers as well (i.e. both for free).
A lot of us old-timers have shipped a lot of fish in pet store bags with no problem. Nothing against Kordon bags - I'm just saying you have a choice.
A lot of us old-timers have shipped a lot of fish in pet store bags with no problem. Nothing against Kordon bags - I'm just saying you have a choice.
#34
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 10 July 2011 - 12:21 AM
They're 50 cents each unit price on aquabid in the shipping section. Just clarifying for people who didn't know how much they cost. That is, yes, just about the most expensive plastic bag you can find. But at the same time it's only 50 cents.The Kordon bags are really good, but they are not cheap.
#36
Guest_jetajockey_*
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Posted 11 July 2011 - 02:26 AM
I have medical grade o2 that I use for some of my shipments, but honestly, most of the time I just use an airline off of the air pump to fill the bags. If they are shipping 2 day priority or express they will be just fine.You kids! In my day, 50 cents would buy you a burrito. Keep you from starving to death. Now it's chump change - something to spend on fish bags?
Ah, the life of luxury.
I don't like kordon's bags either, I dislike how much they cost mainly, and have had a few leak out in transit. They are really good for invert shipments though. I still go with double bagged 2mil poly bags, 4x16 for small fish and 8x18 for larger ones.
Using an air compressor probably isn't a good idea, isn't there a chance of getting oil in there?
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