Question about ship alive fish

[CPP]

Do I need to fill the bag with pure Oxygen? triple bags, etc?

Where do I get pure oxygen into the bag?

What is the best way to ship alive fish? Thanks.

[FarWaters]

You will get a lot of differing answers on this, but several aspects always hold true. Yes, fill the bags with oxygen. You can get oxygen tanks, and be able to refill them, at a welding supply store. You need to buy the regulator and tank, and refills usually cost around $15-$20 depending on the size of the tank. There are other places to get oxygen, but I found this easy and most areas near a city have a welding center.

If you use a standard fish shipping box, make sure there are no cracks in the styrofoam cooler, and that the cardboard is in good shape and not damaged from previous use. People secure the bags using many different fashions, and I am sure you will get different ideas of that on this post. But, just make sure that there is no room for the bags to move around, and try to put some separation between the bags, so if a spine goes through, it will only puncture that bag, and not the one next to it.

Put newspaper or magazine pages between the second and third layer of bags to protect against spine punctures, and make sure you tape up the styrofoam box real well. There are also commercial inserts that can be purchased that fit between the layers. They are thicker plastic 1/4 bags that are black in color. Also, make sure you tape the outside of the box well enough that there won't be any shifting of the top.

There are many other factors such as temperature and amount of water, and I am sure you will get answers on that as well.

With this said, does anyone know where I can find the plastic bag inserts that fit between the layers? I have looked around as they work real well, but have had no luck finding them.

[April]

1/3 water.. 2/3 oxygen. a bit of prime. and some add a bit of methylene blue. heat pack.if you live in cooler climates. tie each bag off separate with elastics. and yes..put newsprint between the layer . it also insulates and calms if they cant see. also it does help with puncture. how many hours are you shipping? i have shipped without..about 8 hours. you can also use bagbuddies which are great for shipping. their made my jungle. calms the fish..has blue in them..
but..if you dont use oxygen..and there is a delay..could be problems. if just a short flight..you can use airline hose and your airpump to pump air in the bags. dont use your mouth..as thats not oxygen.

[hirst_cb]

Go the triple bag route unless you are shipping 1.5-2" fish then I only double bag. Make sure if using rubber bands that you use atleast 2 of them per bag - I tie all smaller bags in tight knots and use 2 rubber bands per bag on the bags i cant tie. I use bag buddies and oxygen and have a great rate very low DOA(hardly any). Styrofoam boxes to me are a must but I get fish in that do great without styrofoam boxes but I dont recommend it.. i used to ship overnight without air but with bag buddies and it worked good too but i dont worry about the shipping anymore if I use air, frankly i havent had any die that way. Good luck!!!

[discusfire4]

If you are shipping large fish.....don't put three to a bag. ;)

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