Tolak
Gun Toting Lunatic
FedEx next day air is the most reliable way to ship fish that distance, you can take a look at their site to estimate the cost.
Start asking around shops now for a good size styro for shipping, looking at your stock it's going to be 7 bags for the fish, filter media & plants. See if you can buy about 20 good size bags from your lfs, if not they can be ordered online, as you will need to order a heat pack. 8"x20" are a good size for bagging & shipping the fish you have.
At this point maintain as good of water quality as possible, healthy fish ship the best. Two days before shipping stop feeding the fish as long as they are adults, if they are younger stop feeding the day before. Set up a bucket of tap water with about 4x the suggested amount of Prime, same temperature as the tank. When you are finished tying or rubber banding the bags you will want 1/3 water, 2/3 air, so take into consideration some of the length of the bag being used for closing. Add half tank water & half water from the bucket to the bag, then add the fish. Tie or rubber band the bag closed, then insert it upside down into a second bag, tie the second bag. This inversion eliminates any corners, which can trap some fish.
Place the bag in the styro, continue bagging. When you are finished packing around the bags eliminates any shifting, crumpled up newspaper works good for this. You will want a small hole in the top of the styro, 1/2" is all that is needed. This allows O2 to get to the heat pack, something it needs to work properly, and something many people don't realize. Put a layer of newspaper over the top of the now securely packed bags, crunch the heat pack to activate, and give it about 5 minutes exposure to room air before taping it to the inside of the lid. Tape on the heat pack, toss on the lid, tape it closed and drive it to the FedEx location.
Usually you can get styros from shops, if you have a problem locating bags let me know, there are plenty of suppliers, or I can send you some, I buy them by the case. I'm due for ordering heat packs as well, this topic is a good reminder, thanks!
Start asking around shops now for a good size styro for shipping, looking at your stock it's going to be 7 bags for the fish, filter media & plants. See if you can buy about 20 good size bags from your lfs, if not they can be ordered online, as you will need to order a heat pack. 8"x20" are a good size for bagging & shipping the fish you have.
At this point maintain as good of water quality as possible, healthy fish ship the best. Two days before shipping stop feeding the fish as long as they are adults, if they are younger stop feeding the day before. Set up a bucket of tap water with about 4x the suggested amount of Prime, same temperature as the tank. When you are finished tying or rubber banding the bags you will want 1/3 water, 2/3 air, so take into consideration some of the length of the bag being used for closing. Add half tank water & half water from the bucket to the bag, then add the fish. Tie or rubber band the bag closed, then insert it upside down into a second bag, tie the second bag. This inversion eliminates any corners, which can trap some fish.
Place the bag in the styro, continue bagging. When you are finished packing around the bags eliminates any shifting, crumpled up newspaper works good for this. You will want a small hole in the top of the styro, 1/2" is all that is needed. This allows O2 to get to the heat pack, something it needs to work properly, and something many people don't realize. Put a layer of newspaper over the top of the now securely packed bags, crunch the heat pack to activate, and give it about 5 minutes exposure to room air before taping it to the inside of the lid. Tape on the heat pack, toss on the lid, tape it closed and drive it to the FedEx location.
Usually you can get styros from shops, if you have a problem locating bags let me know, there are plenty of suppliers, or I can send you some, I buy them by the case. I'm due for ordering heat packs as well, this topic is a good reminder, thanks!
