Topic: THE tip for shipping fish via USPS!! must read!

[mikedmatthews]

I've had exactly the opposite experience, I always use bag buddies and have around a 90% survival rate.
I'm not doubting your experience but I wonder why. Maybe it reacts different with different water chemistry. My water is generally around 8pH or so and very hard. Also I ship mainly small fish like Endlers and Killies.

I think bag buddies neutralize ammonia and sedate the fish. So the fish sleep Through the ordeal.

I always use breather bags now, they work much better than traditional bags for me.

sounds like my water too.  i was shipping mainly cichlids bag then.  juvies maybe 2-4 months old.  the folks i was talking to that had the same issues were shipping the same age fish and had similar results, so i didn't look further when it cleared up after not using them. 

[hiroyoshi10]

So using bag buddies can have varied results? Do you put any special chemicals in the bag like amquel?

[hiroyoshi10]

One more thing, is it cheaper to buy things in bulks or seperate. Meaning like I am going to purchase food and shipping supplies and etc. I am being charged about $20 for shipping and the actual merchandisise price would be about $50 plus S&H is $70. Would S&H be cheaper if I bought the food first, then bought shipping supplies another time because I do not need shipping supplies immediately but I do need the food. Or would this whole thing even cost more or less S&H because all of this total would be about 8 lbs...

[dalto]

One more thing, is it cheaper to buy things in bulks or seperate. Meaning like I am going to purchase food and shipping supplies and etc. I am being charged about $20 for shipping and the actual merchandisise price would be about $50 plus S&H is $70. Would S&H be cheaper if I bought the food first, then bought shipping supplies another time because I do not need shipping supplies immediately but I do need the food. Or would this whole thing even cost more or less S&H because all of this total would be about 8 lbs...

It depends on the vendor but 9 times out of 10 it will be cheaper to put it all in one order.

[mikedmatthews]

how much does the stuff you are getting charged $20 for weigh?  that seems really high on a $50 order.  i typically pay $8-15 on pretty much anything up to $120 unless i get something heavy or bulky.  do a lot of my ordering with kensfish, jehmco, fosters and smith.  i buy everything in bulk, but a lot depends on if you can keep it fresh.  with me i go through things pretty quick having 100 tanks running.

[hiroyoshi10]

Can you give me the links to those sites? When you are shipping, for the styrofoam how thick does it have to be? I was at my local crafts store and I know you are supposed to use poly fiber but can it just be like polyester where you stuff toys and what not?

[mikedmatthews]

www.kensfish.com
www.jehmco.com
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/shop.cfm?c=3578


dude!  craft store foam is a killer.  you can get 1" sheets 4'x8' at a home improvement store from $8-20 depending on the store and the quality.  i usually get 1/2" thick and double up if i thikn i need it.

poly fibre...for filters?  because if you mean poly-fil there's two kinds.  there's poly-fil for aquarium filtration sold in sheets that is was expensive and takes stuff out of the water.  then there's poly-fil meaning white fluffy polyester fibres used in box and cannister filters.  they sell bags at some fish stores, but its the same as the bag at walmart that says poly-fil for a lot less.

[hiroyoshi10]

oh ok, I will look into that. Another thing I also think it's waaayyy tooo expensive for $20 shipping. The total weight can't be more than 8 lbs...

[mikedmatthews]

after USPS changed their rules this year i got a couple nasty surprises shippign fish.  i didn't use boxes that fit their categories so it doubled my cost.

[hiroyoshi10]

Oh what is the new rule? What is the dimesions have to be for the box? Another thing I forgot to add earlier. THe shipping costs like $20 but its like at the very most 8 lbs...