Shipping fish?

Question

On aquariacentral.com we are talking about shipping fish, and I figured the people here could help out too
A few of the questions are
What age should a fish be before you ship it
(specificallyswordtails)
How many hours is good ofr a heat pack?
ANy info on shipping snails
How much will heat packs raise the water temp?

Answer 1

Age: It doesn't really matter, so long as the fish aren't fry, and as long as they are well established. I would say 2-3 months from swordtails, but it can vary, depending on how fast they grow (which depends on heat, food, tank size, water cleanliness etc).

Heat pack: A normal heat pack will last about 6 hours.

Snails: Same process as shipping fish.

Heat pack raising temp: A heat pack should be wrapped in a paper towel or something, so it does not come in direct contact with the fish bag. The idea of the heat back is to keep the temperature in the shipping box (which should be styrofoam) more stable. A proper-sized packed box, with one heat pack, should stay around 75F.

All in all, I find shipping a usually unnecessary and stressful event for the fish. If you can't find the fish you want locally, then it may be the only option; but if you can find them locally, shipping should be avoided if possible.

Answer 2

heat packs are kind of worthless. you need to make sure someone is home so the package isn't just left on a doorstep. that is the buyers problem not yours. usps and ups both guarantee temperature boundaries but i am not sure what they are -- i have only shipped plants not fish. your best bet is to contact usps and ups and they can tell you the best way to ship just about anything.