1. Shipping container, The first Item you will need is a shipping box. An insulated box is what you will need during any season. fish can freeze during the winter and overheat in the summer if they are not in an insulated box. Plus, in the case of a leaky bag, a styrofoam box will help contain the water rather than soaking (and destroying) the cardboard box. A true styrofoam container is the best.

use an insulated shipping container when shipping live aquatic animals

2. Heat packs, As the weather gets colder, heat packs are necessary to keep the fish warm during their trip. The 35-hour packs are fine for overnight trips. The heat packs should be allowed to heat up before taping them to the box lid. Make sure they are taped on well, because a heat pack that ends up resting against a bag of fish will overheat and kill the fish. The heat pack should be taped onto the inside of the box lid, and a double layer of newspaper placed between it and the rest of the box contents.

heat packs are necessary to keep the tropical fish warm during their trip

3. Bag the fish, You will only want to ship healthy fish, as shipping is a stress to their systems. The fish should not be fed the day prior to shipping to give them a chance to clear out their systems. My bagging instructions below apply specifically to Bettas. For other fish you will want to use larger bags with more water in them.

Plastic bags can be acquired at your LFS, Longer bags are better because they give you more room to tie a knot in the bag.

you will need plastic bags theses can be acquired at your local fish store

First, fill the bag with about two inches of water from the tank. Net out your fish and dump him into the bag. Sounds easy, but this can be one of the most frustrating parts of the job! Holding the bag open while trying to extricate an angry fish from a net can be a big hassle.

tropical fish just need enough water to cover them

Once you get the fish into the bag, grab the open end of the bag and quickly close the top to trap air in the bag. Twist the end and tie a knot in the bag. This also sounds easy, but it takes a few tries to get it right. If the bag isn't long enough to tie, then use a rubber band. It would be best if you use CO2 in the bag. Never blow into the bag doing so will kill the fish.

Next, invert the tied bag into another bag, and push the tied bag to the bottom of the new bag. Then repeat the knotting/rubber-banding procedure with the new bag. Now you've got a double-bagged fish in a safe environment with no bag corners to get stuck in.

Air is more important than the amount of water. As long as there is enough water to keep the fish covered, that is enough. When you are shipping fish, using the least amount of water necessary helps keep shipping costs down. Water is heavy!

Now that you've got the fish bagged, label the outer bag with permanent ink. Black "sharpie" type markers are the best to use. If the marker rubs off or smears when it is wet, you'll have a confused customer when he opens the box and tries to figure out which fish is which.

4. Pack the box, With the fish bagged and labeled, place them in the styrofoam box. If bagged with the proper amount of water, it shouldn't matter whether the bags lay on their sides or stand upright. Besides, the box is likely to get turned over or laid on its side during transit. With the fish in the box, fill in the empty space with styrofoam packing peanuts or newspaper however, if a bags leaks, the newspaper will get wet and lose all its cushioning qualities. So I recommend only using styrofoam peanuts to cushion the bags in the box. Tape your heat pack (if necessary) to the lid, put the lid on the box and tape the box closed.

5. Ship the box, Normally I would recommend labeling your box. However, due to the current problems with the US Postal Service (USPS), mark the box fragile and use the fastest possible shipping method. Some of the airlines that carry for the USPS refuse to ship live animals, so if your box is marked "Live Fish", it may be returned depending on which airline receives it for shipping.

mark the box fragile and use the fastest possible shipping method for your aquatic animals

The final step in shipping fish - paying for the shipping!

You can use UPS, Fedex For Standard Overnight, boxes usually cost about $25-$30 to ship depending on weight. USPS Express Mail is cheaper, running about $18-$25 depending on weight. The problem with USPS is that frequently their overnight shipping takes two days, especially to remote locations. USPS Priority shipping is a good summer option. One warning: Priority packages usually take 2-3 days to arrive, but are not guaranteed to arrive in that time frame. So there's a chance that the package may be in transit longer than you had planned.

Make sure you get a tracking number for the package. FedEx, UPS and USPS Express always provide one, but if you use USPS Priority, you have to pay for delivery confirmation. Email or call your customer to let them know the fish are on the way. If your customer will not be home to receive the fish (not a good idea in winter or very hot summer weather), make sure to mark the signature waiver or your fish will end up riding around all day with the delivery man in an unheated/un-air-conditioned truck.