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Have you ever wondered if live animals can be shipped? They absolutely can! However, if you do not take the correct precautions for shipping an animal, especially a fish, it might not end well. Follow this article to properly pack and ship a Live Betta Fish. This method of shipping a Live Betta Fish can also work for other types of smaller fish.
Steps
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1Get all of the supplies that you will need.
- 2 fish shipping bags
- Rubber bands
- The betta fish (in a container with small amount of water, enough that the betta is fully submerged and can move around a tiny bit.)
- Packing tape
- Shipping box
- Newspaper
- Bubble Wrap
- A heat pack
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2Prepare the fish in the shipping bag. Carefully pour the betta and the water from the container into one of the fish shipping bags.
- Once the betta is in the bag, quickly hold the bag shut from the top, making it so that a good amount of air has been trapped inside the bag. This will be the oxygen that the betta will breathe during shipment.
- Twist the bag, so that the air is tightly sealed in the bag and cannot escape.
- While keeping the bag tightly closed and twisted, take a rubber band and wrap it around the twisted part of the bag, so both the oxygen and water are sealed in the bag and will not leak during transport. It is highly recommended to double band the bag, to be safe.
- Take a big piece of packing tape and cover the rubber-banded area, pressing down on the tape, making sure there are no places for air or water to get out.
- To make sure that the bag is sealed, flip the bag upside down and check for any leaks, or if the bag seems to be losing air.[1]
Tip: Fast the betta for 2-3 days before packing and shipping out the fish. This way, the betta will have an empty belly, so he/she will not create waste in the bag during transport, causing high levels of ammonia that can potentially be fatal.
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3Set the betta aside and set up your shipping box. Fill the bottom inside of the box with a few thick sheets of newspaper. Take your betta and place him/her in the box gently. Take a few more thick sheets of newspaper and place them on top of the betta in the box. Take your heat pack and wrap it in more newspaper. Place the heat pack on top of the newspaper. Take a sheet or 2 of bubble wrap and place it on top of the newspaper-wrapped heat pack. You want the box well filled with newspaper. The more newspaper = the less bouncing around of the betta = the less stress on the betta. Close and tape the box shut. [2]
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4Add warning stickers. This is optional but recommended. Either buy LIVE FISH stickers and place them around the outside of the box, or write things such as LIVE FISH and FRAGILE on each side of the box with a bold, colorful thick-tip permanent marker.
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5Ship the fish. USPS is one of the only shipping companies that will ship live animals in the US, so using USPS is highly recommended.[3]
- You can either make and print a pre-paid label online at USPS.com or go to a USPS store in person and have them print a label. Be sure to choose overnight shipping or 2-3 day shipping. Anything longer can be dangerous for the betta, and can pass during shipping if confined in the box for a long time. However, if you packed the betta very well, the betta should do just fine in the box for a longer period of time than expected. Priority mail is priced by the recipient’s location. Any other boxes are priced by weight. Shipping a betta fish through USPS priority mail is usually $10-$15 for a small box, $20-$35 for a medium box, and $40 + for a large box.
Warnings
- If you do not add enough newspaper into the box and wrapped around the heat pack, the heat pack could potentially over-heat the betta, which can be fatal.⧼thumbs_response⧽
