shipping a pleco??

so how do i go about this? ive got a friend wanting a pleco form me ive never shipped but im willing to try... do i need to use chemicals? what about a heat pack?
thanks for the help guys

Use medium square priority box lined it with Styrofoam.  Place fish is a bag that LPS use filled with 1/3 h20 and 2/3 air. Place fish bag in box surrounded with  newspaper or package peanuts. Place bag upright even if usps ppl flip upside down fish would be in 1/3 water part. Box is like this.
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thank you will do good idea

Where u shipping? If in Washington, priority is fine. If outside washington pay for next day or 2 day delivery is best. Unless its near portland area priority is fine but beyond that. Next or 2 day delivery for the sake of the animal. Good luck fishyladdy aka brianna.

Pleco's can pierce the bag. I'm not sure how what is recommended for that.

im gonna like triple bag it the bags i have are very thick also. do i need to ad any chemicals to the bag?

How big is the fish? How far is the journey? Smaller fish ship better. I use Kordon breather bags but have never shipped plecos. Fish should be fasted(no food)for at least 24 hrs before shipping. In this weather a heat pack shouldn't be necessary. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] may be worth a look for pleco specific shipping?

40F at night, with barely touching 60F during the day id say use a heat pack. as for bags id be very cautious. i did this for a friend once and the post office opened the package up and left the lid off so all the fish froze to death. personally id put it off until spring.

Anthraxx wrote:40F at night, with barely touching 60F during the day id say use a heat pack.

I guess I haven"t been paying enough attn. to nighttime lows. Careful with heatpacks also. Fish have been cooked!

I have a few Styrofoam shipping boxes that I snagged from work. They're used to ship temp-sensitive vaccines, so I'm sure they'd work for a fish. Depending on the size of the pleco you can have one.

i decided against doing it.. i dont want to risk a 50+ dollar fish. ill wait till spring thanks though guys

I hope I didn't scare you away from using heat packs. They work great if you buy the correct duration and use them correctly. Your fish will be bigger in 6 months and that's a more sensitive issue in my opinion. Older, larger fish just don't ship as well.

Also, I think if you were to separate the heat pack from the bag by a layer or two of paper or towel, that might decrease the risk of overheating.

What I might do is this: Come up with a plan, then pack up the box and fish like you planned, but don't send it. Then, try to reproduce the temperatures it might take on its journey- maybe leave it outside from early morning until noon, then check the temp. If it's good then, you could put it back outside and keep checking it throughout the afternoon and evening to see if it ever gets way too cold or hot (a digital thermometer with a remote probe might be useful, you can get them cheap for reptile tanks). This should give you at least an idea whether your packaging is well insulated enough or if your heat pack is too big, etc., and you could adjust before you send it off.

I would probably do what you said and forget about it, especially if it's a $50 pleco

yeah im just gonna keep him. i dont wanna chance it.