Best way to ship large cichlids

[Matmanhapman]

I am currently residing in Colorado right now, but my parents live in MD and are taking care of my Africans there. I purchased an awesome 180 G tank here in Colorado and really want to move all/most of my cichlids (approx 15) from MD to CO. Ill be in MD in early January and was thinking about boxing up some of my cichlids and transporting them through air freight from Dulles to Denver on the day that I fly back to Colorado. Would this work? This way I could literally pick up my fish from the baggage claim more or less.

I know it would also help to bring the established filter from MD to CO as well, although I have a smaller tank in CO with a couple established filters I could use. I have an FX5, but im not sure how I would ship a filter without hurting the bacterial ecosystem inside of it.

I feel like if I transport all of the cichlids at once there could be too much bio-overload on the new tank, especially if i cant get the original filter there immediatley. I was thinking about shipping the fish in spurts. I could do an overnight shipment of like 5 of my cichlids to CO, where my cousin would be able to help acclimate them to the 180 without me being there.

Please do not recommend to just sell my fish and start over in Colorado. Ive had my cichlids in MD for a couple years and they are starting to get big. Ive got a lot of haps and I want to see them at maximum potential.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, and shipping advice would also be really helpful (i.e how to ship large cichlids; method of transport, etc). My cichlids are on avg about 5 inches. My largest cichlid, N. Livingstonii, is about 8-9 inches.

Thanks in advance

 

[JasonC]

Instead of sending the box back behind airport lines to be picked up at baggage claim, I wonder if you could pair it down to a size that could be carry-on? Or if it has to go down under in the baggage compartment, if you could gate check it instead.. that way you could keep them out of the cold January air as long as possible... and in as few baggage handlers hands as possible. I would check w/ your preferred airline to see what their rules are and how they can accommodate you.

 

[dogofwar]

Checking a styro or cooler that meets the airlines specs as a checked bag is your best bet.

That's what I did when we moved here from Cali.

Matt

 

[Matmanhapman]

Checking a styro or cooler that meets the airlines specs as a checked bag is your best bet.

That's what I did when we moved here from Cali.

Matt

Ok, thanks.

How would you recommend bagging/boxing the fish. The cichlids are of decent size (4+ inches). I know i should bag them individually, but do i need to pump oxygen in their bags? I might need to check several styro boxes to get all the cichlids over also.

 

[dogofwar]

I'd individually bag them and take a direct flight (if possible).

I'd double or triple bag. Bagging with oxygen would be good but probably not necessary (fish will be in the bag for much less than a day).

You can fit a lot of 4"-ish fish into a shipping bag. Most airlines have a 50 or 60 lb weight limit without extra charges. More boxes = more checked bags = more money...

Matt

 

[Tony]

Glad to hear you made it to school, Matt. Congrats on the big setup!

I'd go along with what Matt Quinn said. Another tip would be to add either Ammolock or Polyfilter to each bag as insurance.

Ever get a hold of the Rocky Mountain Cichlid folks?

Good luck and do keep in touch.

 

[Matmanhapman]

I'd individually bag them and take a direct flight (if possible).

I'd double or triple bag. Bagging with oxygen would be good but probably not necessary (fish will be in the bag for much less than a day).

You can fit a lot of 4"-ish fish into a shipping bag. Most airlines have a 50 or 60 lb weight limit without extra charges. More boxes = more checked bags = more money...

Matt

I just spoke with my airline, US Airways, and they said they do not accept live fish for transport. I may be forced to use fedex/ups next day air which is gonna get expensive. Do you have any other suggestions?

 

[chriscoli]

Doesn't Southwest and Delta ship live fish? Not that I'm saying you should change your flight plans...but is it worth considering them as an alternative to the other carriers for your fish?

 

[Andrew]

Airport-to-Airport Air Freight on Southwest Airlines. Contact the BWI freight office and see how to get set up.

 

[verbal]

It looks like Delta is an option too. They have a DASH service that gets you the package within an hour of the flight arrival. I am not sure how you go about getting approved as a sender.

 

[Matmanhapman]

Airport-to-Airport Air Freight on Southwest Airlines. Contact the BWI freight office and see how to get set up.

Can I use Dulles instead of BWI, since thats where im departing from?

 

[Matmanhapman]

Does anyone know what happened to bag buddies? I was gonna use their product to ship my fish.

Glad to hear you made it to school, Matt. Congrats on the big setup!

I'd go along with what Matt Quinn said. Another tip would be to add either Ammolock or Polyfilter to each bag as insurance.

Ever get a hold of the Rocky Mountain Cichlid folks?

Good luck and do keep in touch.

Hey Tony,

Is ammolock like bag buddies?

I think i looked up the Rocky Mountain Cichlids online and they looked pretty dead in the water compared to the CCA. Their marktetplace had like 4 threads total and the most recent was from a month or 2 ago. I did find an awesome cichlid store near Denver though so that was pretty sweet.

 

[verbal]

I have seen Ship Shape mentioned as a replacement for bag buddies.

Rocky Mountain Cichlid Association is hosting ACA this year, so they hopefully have more activity at their meetings than on their forum.

Does anyone know what happened to bag buddies? I was gonna use their product to ship my fish.

Hey Tony,

Is ammolock like bag buddies?

I think i looked up the Rocky Mountain Cichlids online and they looked pretty dead in the water compared to the CCA. Their marktetplace had like 4 threads total and the most recent was from a month or 2 ago. I did find an awesome cichlid store near Denver though so that was pretty sweet.

 

[dogofwar]

In order to ship cargo from an airport, I believe that you need to establish qualification as a "known shipper".

This isn't a trivial process or one that can be done on the day of shipping, at least for the carriers with whom I inquired.

Coming back from Uruguay, I pack fish into styros in my checked luggage. A big suitcase can hold a big styro and a smaller one (like from the seafood department of a grocery store). The limiting factor is weight (staying under 50 lbs).

My recommendation would be to pack two suitcases of fish in your checked luggage.

Just triple bag (and double trash bag all of the bags in a box), minimize water (maximize air) in each bag, don't bag too tightly (air expands at altitude), let the fish clean out (don't feed them) for 3-4 days prior and bag with de-chlorinated tap.

You'll need heat packs as well.

Matt

 

[Andrew]

BWI has a lot more flights to choose from, including a direct flight to Denver. They're also used to shipping A LOT of fish. You can certainly check from Dulles though. At this point you need to just get on the phone and start seeing what the possibilities are, including what you need to do to ship. Whether you go with air freight or checked baggage, you're only going to know if you have direct contact with the airlines.