Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Air Shipment

I was wondering if anyone has ever had fish shipped 2nd day air ups. Since I live far away from any fish farms it looks like if i'm gonna stock my pond its gonna be air ups. Is this a good thing or not? Thanks

yes,i had bass federal expressed twice from alabama to louisiana.i'm sure it was overnight air not 2 day day.

Corey,

Are you sure you don't have any fish suppliers in you area? Have you check with your state department of natural resources to find out. Even if you have to drive a hundred miles you could transport them in you vehicle with oxygen bags if they are fairly small. It would be a lot cheaper than paying for shipping and the fish would be less stressed.

Definetly check with your DNR.
Fish can be shiped easily, but its done in small numbers overnight. Stocking a pond by shipping the fish air frieght is going to cost more than a delivery fee. If you want more than 6 fish, I would find a local hatchery.

Thanks for the replies. I haven't checked with the DNR so I'll look into it. The closest hatchery that I have located so far is about 200 miles away,and they only sell warm water species. I was looking for a hatchery that sells cool water species and I'm sure there isn't a place that sells them closer than 350 miles one way. Bill Cody told me on a different thread that living in the part of the country that I live in that I would have a hard time finding a place that sells the cool water species. I was planning on buying the 1-3 inchers, so i thought maybe the air shipment could be done. I'll check with the DNR in the states that surround me to see if something is closer. Thanks

corey,

what coolwater species are you looking for (walleye, yellow perch, smallmouth bass)? You aren't exactly in a part of the country that is condusive to coolwater species. Seems to me you get mighty hot in the summer down there.

Dunn's Fish Farm has truck routes through your area, or at least close. There is an Oklahoma DNR hatchery in North Central Oklahoma. Here is the link to get started with OK DNR:

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hatcheri.htm

I'm not sure on all the rules, but this should be a good place to start. Unfortunately, the website says only bass, bluegill, and catfish are stocked. They might offer others for sale, I don't know.

A couple other places to check:

New Mexico Hatcheries:
http://www.nmsu.edu/~redtt/Resources/html/AgAnimals.html#fish

A Colorado site:
http://www.ftai.com/

Kansas DNR:
http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/fishing/Hatcheries/hatcheries.html

Probably not the exact places you want, but I bet they can help direct you to where you want to go.

Cecil,

I have a unique pond for the region I live in. I posted all about my pond under high maintenance in the types of fish to choose category. With water temps that max out at 74 and average upper 60's to 70 Bill Cody told me it would be considered a cool water pond. PS I'm really impressed with those trout on your website, especially those brook trout. They could eat the biggest brookie I've ever caught.

Svoberts,

Thanks for the links. It seems that every hatchery west of me is for trout and every hatchery east of me is warm water fish.

Cecil - See the discussion of Corey's pond under Types Of Fish To Choose, topic "High Maintenance" Jan 23, 04.

Corey - I have received fish by mail or courrier. Here are some hints for your situation.
1. Resign yourself that you will have to have them shipped next or same day air. Too risky for total loss with shipment of 2nd day air. Regular next day delivery (UPS or FedEX type) will cost about as much as the fish in each box. Due to this high up front shipping cost, you will have to decide just how important it is to have these cool water types instead of more economical local warm water species. Another shipping alternative that we have used (at least prior to Sept.11) is air freight. Fish are delivered to the airport by the hatchery. Airline treats them as baggage/freight items and usually they arrive the same day as shipped. You have to go to the airport and pick them up at the air freight terminal. They ship by 100 weight and you can get 1 or 4 boxes of fish shipped for one same cost (each box weighs about 20 lbs-25 lbs). This will have to be set up with the hatchery of origin. Only CERTAIN hatcheries will ship this way. Plus I'm not sure that the airlines will even still do this due to the damn terrriorism threats. You will have to do some checking/homework on this method at both ends; hatchery and airline.

2. The key to shiping fish by "mail" or next day courier is to not order very large fish. 60 to 100 fish 1.5" to 3" long can be easily shipped successfully next or same day per box when packed properly by an experienced hatchery. There is a hatchery near me that regularly shipped "boxed" fish from Ohio to California via air freight for University research projects.

3. The other VERY important item is to have fish shipped when the weather is cool, such as early spring or latter in the fall. Cooler the better. Cooler temps allow more oxygen to be in the water and the fish use less oxygen and produce less toxic waste and degredation products due to their being at cooler temps.

4. With your situation, if it was my pond, I think I would first experiment with stocking some trout especally since you seem to have an interest in them. They will grow fast from fingerlings (exp if fed trout food)and the smaller ones are usually real cheap compared to some other types. Research the closest trout seller and the prices of various sizes. You may want to stock fewer the first year or two to test overall midsummer survivals & growth. If they do not survive long term then go with the cool water types. If your description has been accurate then I think trout would make it in in the deepest, less circulated, non flow-thru areas of your pond even during the heat of summer. If you stock minnows as forage, any final surviving sport fish species will be able to utilize them.

Bill,

Thanks for the advice. I located one hatchery in kansas that isn't to far away that sells walleye but I haven't yet found any close by that sell smallmouth or yellow perch. I'll probably go ahead and find a hatchery that will send the fish next day air. Do the smaller size fish have a higher mortality rate once you get them to the pond? I am planning on stocking all species between 1-3 inches. Could I just stock a few trout when i stock the other fish and if they survive stock larger ones later? I do have an intrest in trout but not as much as I do the cool-water species.

I have a four acre lake in Thailand, which was dug one year ago. I have stocked the butterfly peacock bass in it, which were available in Thailand from the aquarium industry. However, I would like also to stock the largemouth bass as the butterfly peacock are not much of a top-water feeder like the largemouth. Does anyone know of a hatchery that can air ship LMB to Thailand? I have checked on it here and can obtain the permits for importing them, though it will take a few weeks for the paperwork trail. What I would like to import are 100-200 1"-2" inch fish, which I would net raise prior to release in the lake.