Shipping

fishthoughts · Post by **fishthoughts** » 29 Nov 2004, 15:10

Sorry for posting so much lately, but is there a special way to ship plecos? Shipping Cichlids is easy but plecos might not be the same... Ive heard that you ship them 1/3 water, 2/3 oxygen and no bag buddies, then ive heard you ship them in jsut enough water to cover them and the rest oxygen with a bag protector so they dont puncture... Any "correct" way to do this??

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 29 Nov 2004, 15:31

Not an expert on shipping, but it's certainly true that Pleco's have sharp fins that may puncture the bag. So touble bag is a good security measure.

In other aspects, I don't expect them to be much different from cichlids.

Obviously, the idea of 2/3 or "Just enough to cover" will depend a lot on the size/shape of the bag. If you have a "tall thin" bag, 2/3 of the bag is unnecessarily deep, but if you have a "tall wide" bag, it may be less than sufficient to cover the fish.

Of course, there are about 800 different species of "Pleco's", and each of them has it's own special requirements. Some are rumoured to be capable of surviving a drought by burrowing in the mud at the bottom of the river, and as long as their burrow stays moist, they come out allright when the wet season starts again. Those types would probably survive quite well by being wrapped in wet newspaper (or similar). Others would probably die just by you thinking about that sort of shipment.

--
Mats

fishboy20 · Post by **fishboy20** » 29 Nov 2004, 17:51

Most distributors treat their plecos like cichlids by double bagging them. This is usually sufficient. However, I have had boxes of fish come in that were soggy due to a catfish puncturing a hole all the way through. Rarely is there a loss due to shipping. I have had more problems with them being under weight and having internal issues. The best thing for shipping catfish would be to double or triple bag (if you feel the need)and insulate the box with a couple layers of newspaper. Seems to work well and you can apply several variations upon this approach. At least catfish aren't as hard to ship as piranha!

fishthoughts · Post by **fishthoughts** » 29 Nov 2004, 18:14

I ship cichlids with double bagged 3 mil bags, so i think that'd be sufficient... thanks!

Post by **Shane** » 29 Nov 2004, 18:26

I went to wide mouth plastic bottles some years ago and have not bought or used a bag since. Impossible to squish, snag or puncture and very easy to do water changes in (unlike bags) and change out the old air for new. A friend of mine ships corys in baby food jars and swears by them.
-Shane