Posting Killifish
Killifish travel reasonably well through the post during the warmer months of the year. Small pairs should be chosen in preference to larger fish. Fish intended for despatch should not be fed for at least 24 hours before being posted as disgorged food will quickly pollute the water inside a small plastic bag. Heavy gauge plastic bags are used – one fish per bag. A small volume of water is placed in the first bag and the fish added. The bag is then securely sealed with strong rubber bands and the bag then inverted into a similar plastic bag which again is securely sealed. The whole is then placed in a strong insulated container and wrapped with strong brown paper and sealed. Great care must be exercised when sealing the bags as water seeping through parcels will not endear the postal authorities to the sender and may lead to some trouble for him. It is also an offence against postal regulations to send such an insecure package which could cause damage to other mail items. It is useful, but not essential, for parcels to bear the legend ‘Biological Specimens – Urgent’ and should always be sent first class mail. Failure to do this will often lead to delayed mail and consequent suffering and death of the fish.
Receiving Fish by Post
On receipt of the parcel carefully open and look for any note that may have been sent with fish and which will give details as to their care and maintenance. Remove the bags and allow them to float for half an hour or so in the tank in which the fish are due to live. After this time, when temperatures have evened between plastic bag and tank, gently allow the fish to swim from the bags into the tank. Again water conditions should be close to those in which the fish have been raised. After release leave the fish alone for a while to settle. This may be as long as 12 hours depending on the species. Do not feed until you are sure that they have settled and are ready to consume some sort live food. The sender should be notified of the safe delivery or otherwise as soon as possible – it’s little use complaining after three to four days of receipt about the condition of the fish. If requested by the sender do not forget to return the box, they are quite valuable to him.
Some Observations on Packaging Fish and Eggs
A. Gabbutt, BKA 445
In the past couple of months there has been a fair amount of discussion about the ways that members send eggs to one another. This article is a collection of do’s and don’ts that should prevent the odd letters of complaint we some- times see in Killi-News.
FISH
There are a few simple rules which, if followed, should ensure the safe arrival of fish.
1. Do not feed in the 24 hours before the fish are due to be sent (there has been quite a lot said about the dangers of feeding fish just before sending them off in past news-letters and I have nothing further to add).
2. Fish should always be double-bagged. This not only gives extra strength but also guards against a bag bursting or leaking.
3. Just enough water to cover the fish should be used. This not only saves money by reducing weight, but also leaves plenty of room for air in case of a prolonged journey. Fish sent in this way also seem to be calmer on arrival and do not dart aimlessly about the tank bumping into the sides and damaging themselves.
4. The box is the most common cause of the non-arrival (due to the box splintering en route) or the arrival of dead fish (due to cold). There are a large number of boxes in use that are inadequate in that they do not protect the fish from cold and knocks and bumps. Here I introduce a simple test:
a) Place the box on the floor (putting it on a table could lead to accidents)
b) Simply stand on it. Here comes the moment of truth: if you find yourself lying in a pile of shattered polystyrene be grateful that you found out now and, not as I have done with the arrival of a bewildered postman at 4 a.m. holding a bag of fish in one hand and a pile of E.P. loosely held together with sellotape in the other would suggest you send for a species control box if, after this, you find yourself without a box. If the box cannot support your weight, it is unlikely to stand up to the rigours of transit or to provide enough heat insulation to protect fish from cold. Whilst this may lead to the ‘excessively heavy boxes’ that have been complained about in the past, my view is that if it saves the life of a fish it doesn’t matter if it costs a bit more. As every member knows about how much it costs to send his or her box I suggest they send any extra over a certain limit (say 40p) so that members who advertise won’t find themselves out of pocket.
5) Always wrap a box in brown paper. This offers extra protection and tends to keep the bits together should the box break.
6) Always return boxes as soon as possible if someone has been good enough to send you one of theirs.
SENDING FISH AND EGGS ABROAD
As Tony Newbury has pointed out, the customs officials of most countries X-ray parcels as they enter the country. There are two methods that can be employed to save the eggs from an early death. The first of these is to write DO NOT X-RAY on the box as has already been suggested. However, this must be done in the language of the country to which the eggs are being sent. This is easy if South Africa or the USA is involved, but what is the Spanish for ‘Do not X-ray’?
The second way, which is how I prefer to send eggs, is to send them by letter post using the peat fibre method al- ready described. I have been told that aluminium foil can provide protection against X-rays but I don’t know enough about the subject to make any further comment. However, I always wrap eggs in aluminium foil just to be on the safe side (after all it can’t do any harm).
Sending fish is somewhat more difficult as they cannot be sent by letter post. If you do send fish I would line the box with tinfoil as well as writing ‘Do not X-ray’ on the outside. Alternatively fish could be sent by air freight with the receiver collecting them at the airport and taking them through customs himself.
If you are having eggs or fish sent to you in the UK from abroad you will need an import licence which can be ob- tained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for 25p (valid for 6 months). This licence can then be sent to the customs depot that the fIsh and eggs are likely to come througp. (if being sent by post).
A second ‘Endangered species’ licence is needed if the following are to be imported:
Cynolebias constanciae
“
“ “ “
marmorulus minimus
opalescens
splendens
as well as a note of release from the government of the country from which they are sent, even if it is not the country of origin.
It is useful to tell the sender your licence number and at which depot it is being held so that this can be written on the package along with the customs declaration which should include the name of the species. For example, if I was be- ing sent some A. australe eggs the following should be written on the outside of the box:
“Contains eggs of the aquarium fIsh Aphyosemion australe imported under licence No. 10,326 held at H.M. Customs Mount Pleasant depot.”
This, according to our customs officials should speed the package through.
(This is not a plot to sell more SC boxes-Ed.)