General Fish Shipping Questions

[jwcarlson]

I'm wanting to ship some sterbai that I've been raising (https://forum.simplydiscus.com/showt...-Cory-Breeding). I've got 4 mil bags, oxygen bottles, and heat packs. Some ~40 hour ones, some 72 hour ones. Have boxes with styrofoam insulation, etc.

I think I'm moderately ready to ship fish. Life has been hectic the last few weeks and I've been dinking around with other stuff, but I think it's time.

Does anyone have any tips/tricks? I'm concerned primarily with the sterbai poking holes in the bag, So I'm planning on double bagging them with oxygen in the bag.
Should I be worried about using a heat pack? I don't want to cook them, highs are in the 70s here at the moment... do I even need a heat pack?

I'm planning on overnighting them.

I have a propane torch, is there any reason I can't just use that torch head to fill up the bags with oxygen?

[Charlyc11]

The head you need has to have the oxygen valve the thread is reversed from the normal propane. The one that I got is the one from Amazon and you only use the oxygen side.

Amazon

[AquaticNerd]

I haven't shipped fish before, but there are a lot of videos and content out there that I've read and watched regarding shipping of various fish. If I recall correctly, there was some literature or something regarding shipping cories 1-2 per bag because of some toxin that they excrete that could potentially kill an entire bag during shipping.

Not 100% sure if that's true or not, but I've seen some folks shipping 1 fish per bag for these reasons.

[jwcarlson]

I haven't shipped fish before, but there are a lot of videos and content out there that I've read and watched regarding shipping of various fish. If I recall correctly, there was some literature or something regarding shipping cories 1-2 per bag because of some toxin that they excrete that could potentially kill an entire bag during shipping.

Not 100% sure if that's true or not, but I've seen some folks shipping 1 fish per bag for these reasons.

The toxin stuff is true. In extreme cases I have heard of people basically putting the fish in bags and shaking them until they release the toxin and then putting them in fresh water. If I could find reasonably small 4 mil bags, I'd ship them one to a bag. Maybe there's better suppliers than what I have searched up. I have watched a few videos.

[jeep]

You have all the necessary materials. Just go for it. Once you do your confidence will immediately follow, even though I'm always nervous when shipping.

Cory's will take a smaller box. I buy them at HD for about $1.25 then use either .5" or .75" leftover polystyrene foam board and cut it to line the box so it's rigid and well insulated. Make sure your heat packs aren't expired, as what happened to me while I was packing up 4 boxes during winter and had to delay until the next week. Open your heat packs an hour in advance of sealing the box to make sure they're working. I fast my fish for 2 days before shipping and put 1 drop of Prime in each bag. Double bag!

If feasible, I highly recommend overnight shipping. It's more expensive but the boxes usually arrive on time. Avoid USPS as all costs! They no longer guarantee on-time arrival even for Express and the post office is horrible these days. I've had excellent success using UPS Next Day, but my shipping broker doesn't have a contract with FedEx so I can't attest to them. I know most fish shippers use FedEx.

Here's a little trick I use now. I had cut my fingers and winding rubber bands was painful so I dug out my hog ring pliers and crimped the bags. It's so much faster and doesn't wear down your fingers. You just have to make sure the hog ring doesn't puncture the bag, which is easy to do. It's a worthy investment!

[Charlyc11]

I recommend using paypal shipstation for shipping their pricing is highly discounted and you can pick UPS as the shipper. It's free to use for paypal users instead of paying a feed in the regular shipstation software. You just buy the labels or you can invoice and buy the label. Invoicing depends on the amounts you pay a fee and get recorded for IRS. I started invoicing but most of the time I bought the labels only so no records as a sale.

[jwcarlson]

Liz helped me setup the PayPal shipping thing and, yes, the costs are like 1/3 compared to the UPS website prices!

So, I should use a heat pack even if temps are "OK"? I have been planning on doing a test with a heatpack and a temp probe for a couple days and empty bags of water to record min and max temps.

Brian, regarding rubber banding. I bought some of those to do the bags, but I could see that being a major pain. My mom has a pair of hog castration pliers for her tie-dye projects. Maybe I could use those.

[LizStreithorst]

Check AB for 4" 4mil bags. You should be fine without heat packs as long as the lows don't drop below 50. This has worked fine for me for everything except Discus. The castrating bands didn't work well for me, but a heat sealer did great.

[brewmaster15]

Liz helped me setup the PayPal shipping thing and, yes, the costs are like 1/3 compared to the UPS website prices!

So, I should use a heat pack even if temps are "OK"? I have been planning on doing a test with a heatpack and a temp probe for a couple days and empty bags of water to record min and max temps.

Brian, regarding rubber banding. I bought some of those to do the bags, but I could see that being a major pain. My mom has a pair of hog castration pliers for her tie-dye projects. Maybe I could use those.

I will be a stick in the mud. How many bags are you going to actually ship? Elastic bands are really fine for most hobbyist that infrequently ship. They are all I have ever used. Unless theres a physical reason why you cant use an elastic band it maybe your best bet. If you are shipping alot and that gets old, then maybe upgrade . Jmo

[brewmaster15]

Jacob,
You mentioned you got 4ml bags... what size?

Al

[Willie]

A non-intuitive trick I learned from Discus Hans is to not fully fill your bags. Saggy bags are much more difficult to puncture. Also, bags can burst as pressure drops on the airplane.

[danotaylor]

A non-intuitive trick I learned from Discus Hans is to not fully fill your bags. Saggy bags are much more difficult to puncture. Also, bags can burst as pressure drops on the airplane.

Gold tip. Experience talking. Listen up folks

[jwcarlson]

I will be a stick in the mud. How many bags are you going to actually ship? Elastic bands are really fine for most hobbyist that infrequently ship. They are all I have ever used. Unless theres a physical reason why you cant use an elastic band it maybe your best bet. If you are shipping alot and that gets old, then maybe upgrade . Jmo

I don't plan on purchasing anything extra, but was wondering if using my mom's castration bander might work. I'm fairly young, yet. But I absolutely have pitiful grip strength. I struggle opening jars and have to ask my wife to help. It's been an issue my entire life and it was so bad that about 20 years ago I failed that part of a physical for a job and the doctor kind of glazed over it since I wasn't driving a truck or anything. So I'll see how banding bags goes...

Jacob,
You mentioned you got 4ml bags... what size?

Al

6"x12" I plan on trying to tape up the corners a bit so the bags are rounded on the bottom.

A non-intuitive trick I learned from Discus Hans is to not fully fill your bags. Saggy bags are much more difficult to puncture. Also, bags can burst as pressure drops on the airplane.

That makes a lot of sense, Willie, thank you!

[brady]

Good luck Jacob with tge shipping.
Have you decided what to charge sau for 4 plus shipping?
Jay

[jeep]

Brian, regarding rubber banding. I bought some of those to do the bags, but I could see that being a major pain. My mom has a pair of hog castration pliers for her tie-dye projects. Maybe I could use those.

I'm pretty sure the hog rings I use have nothing to do with castrating pigs, lol... They're used for crimping things like fencing wire and upholstery https://www.amazon.com/Ruibapa-Galva...24&sr=8-5&th=1

I agree that if you're only packing up a few bags, use rubber bands. When I ship, I like to do several boxes at a time so I like the hog rings but again, you have to make sure you don't crimp the bag itself. They puncture easily...

Miranda has some sort of professional hog ring sealer that may have been adapted for bagging. It pump air then seals the bag in one step. I doubt I'll ever justify the need for something like that.

Willie's idea about not fully inflating the bags has a good point. I only fill them tight so it's easier to see if any bags are leaking.. Last year I found out every one of my bags was defective and had pin holes. If I hadn't pumped them full I may not have noticed...