Shipping fish? Does it work?

[Rava]

I'm interested in buying a betta fish online, because I want a sort of specialty one I can't find in my area. Does shipping fish usually work okay? Is it too stressful on the fish? Do they die? Has anyone had fish shipped to them? Just want to make sure it's not too stressful on the fish. :) Thanks!

[Wench]

I've only had fish shipped from Jeff Rapps, so I can't speak for all mail order shipments. I was very pleased with my order. I won't hesitate to mail order again.

[heat]

I've received and shipped fish both, and as long as the carrier actually handling the fish doesn't lose them they've been fine. One word of caution though is the temps.. I'm assuming since you are buying online that they will be shipping with a heat pack over night?
If they aren't.. ask them to please ship them over night and make certain on the heat pack. It may cost a bit more but better than having a fish on ice by the time you get it.

Good luck. :)

[Misskiwi67]

Who are you planning on buying from??? I frequent aquabid quite a bit, and there are some sellers that are fabulous, and others that should be avoided like the plague. If I don't know about the seller personally, I could probably find someone who has purchased from them, or find someone with a good reputation to sell you a similar fish.

Shipping fish, and my only experience is with bettas, works quite well. If you're ordering from overseas, MAKE SURE THEY USE A TRANSSHIPPER, or else you're risking major fines from game, fish and parks. If they're shipping within the US, use overnight shipping only, and make sure the seller knows how to pack the fish and ship fish, especially in the winter. The more experience they have, the better.