Shipping live aquatics in the UK. How can I do this? Can I do this?

[nathanaldo07]

I know this is a controversial topic of sending live fish/invertebrates through the post, however, I have came to the conclusion that if I take all the precautions - double bagging, using polystyrene boxes, heat packs, using next day shipping services, etc - then I would be able to successfully ship live aquatics just like the many breeders across the country. I have quite a bit of experience (and success) shipping items from simple letters up to boxes weighing 15kg+ as I run a small eBay shop, so I firmly believe I would be able to have live fish and invertebrates arrive alive and well.

The reason I want to do this as I would love to start breeding fish and raising young fry up to the point of sale, however, I do not feel I would be able to sell all fish locally as many fish give birth in the hundreds and I would be left with tanks full of fish. So I would want to be able to have the reassurance that I would be able to sell across the country and have a better chance of selling all of the fish.

I have watched many videos and read many articles but I still have a few key unanswered questions:

What courier should I use to post the fish? Are there any couriers which specialise in live fish?
I see that many people use royal mail, however, I would not want to have to take a box labelled 'LIVE FISH' to the post office and get told I cant send the parcel even though royal mail policy allows it. I have heard of many people simply just not labelling the parcel to avoid any confusion. Would it be better to get the parcel collected from my home?

Can I legally sell the fish online and post them?
As far as I am aware the only relevant legal obstacles to this would be a lack of a 'pet shop license' which I believe I can get around as the fish fry would be classed as the offspring of a pet and would not have been bred with the intent to profit off of them. I think I have already answered this question for myself but any further input would be greatly appreciated.

If anybody with experience in sending fish through the post has any recommendations/tips regarding this, i would really appreciate them.

Thank you for reading this thread, and thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[castle]

APC Overnight - Nationwide next day delivery

APC Overnight. Specialising in timed deliveries, giving you flexible options for urgent packages.

apc-overnight.com

You'll be fine.

 

[zozo]

In my country, there are definitively some obligations to follow for sending life fish per courier. It should be a personally handelled local pickup and delivery by an approved courier, the fish should be in special temperature regulating bagging and boxing materials delivered on the appointment within a given time frame. It's also called Pet Approved Transport. Some companies make a living of it and or offer these services...

HOME - Pet Courier Services

Pet transport throughout Europe and United Kingdom. Give your pets a professional service with maximum comfort.

www.petcourierservices.co.uk

I guess these go by EU laws and regulations and will be similar all over Europe.

So yes you can, but it won't be cheap and not particularly lucrative for small orders regarding P&P...

I know of only one LFS who had their own delivery service and courier, they only had 2 delivery days once every 2 weeks each day in a different region.
They gathered all orders over this time frame and if enough orders came in it would be delivered on the appointment. If not it would be postponed another week. But they stopped this service eventually I guess it was not profitable enough for them to keep it going. All LFS that use external professional couriers for this are too expensive then i would need to order a rather large bulk of fish to break even on P&P.

As in our country In the UK you can also forget about Royal Mail as far as I could find out.

BBC NEWS | Magazine | What can't you send through the post?

 

[PARAGUAY]

First and foremost a duty of care to the fish shrimp livestock is the biggest concern What if someones not able to recieve them? I have had shrimp from aqua essentials and the criteria was all around the livestock , quite right. There are wholesalers who deliver to stores perhaps inquire there

 

[mort]

I think whether you need a license depends on interpretation really. For a hobby breeder you don't need a license but if you are regularly selling hundreds of fish then it can be seen as a business. It used to be if you sold to a shop you were fine but not sure if that's changed. Tbh I wouldn't be breeding anything that I was confident I couldn't easily move on unless it was rarer, where I was prepared to sit on it for a while.

Royal mail and parcel force don't ship fish, they arent authorised to send live animals (invertebrates are allowed depending on what they are) . People do send fish through their services but they shouldn't and they won't be liable for any loses.
Apc used to be the only carrier bonded to ship fish. I don't know if that has changed but tbh I wouldn't be looking anywhere else as they are very reliable. I didn't ship fish from the shop but sent corals and plants out almost daily with very few problems with them.

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi
I would use Breather Bags if sending fish by courier!!!!
I'm not sure if even these work....as Ive never received fish from an on-line seller!
I've saw Oxygen been pumped into bags but I'm not sure if this is into Breather Bags or not?
hoggie

 

[Hufsa]

Hi
I would use Breather Bags if sending fish by courier!!!!
I'm not sure if even these work....as Ive never received fish from an on-line seller!
I've saw Oxygen been pumped into bags but I'm not sure if this is into Breather Bags or not?
hoggie

Breather bags should be filled up fully with water, no air or oxygen inside.
Topping off normal non breather bags with oxygen is usually good although it should not be done for fish who gulp air like Corydoras, as it can be fatal

 

[Aqua360]

What fish are you going to sell? Worth considering this carefully as shops may undercut you on price etc on eBay

 

[nathanaldo07]

I'm thinking more to do with shrimp now but I was originally wanting to breed pearl gouramis and albino corydoras.

 

[tam]

Couriers need to be licensed to transport fish, not sure about shrimp. Royal mail isn't though, I think there are only a couple that are.

Courier services that carry fish - OATA - The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association

Our shopping habits are changing because of Covid-19 and many more people are buying fish online, without always visiting a shop to choose the particular fish they want. One thing that has not changed is the law that covers the transport of live animals – in this case fish – which is covered by...

ornamentalfish.org

 

[mort]

I'm thinking more to do with shrimp now but I was originally wanting to breed pearl gouramis and albino corydoras.

Shrimp are fine to go through royal mail as they allow non dangerous invertebrates.

Pearl gourami and albino cories could be hard to shift as they are very cheap fish to buy and shops can easily get hold of them. There will always be people that want to buy them but the are "worth" very little to the trade unfortunately.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Pearl gourami and albino cories could be hard to shift as they are very cheap fish to buy and shops can easily get hold of them.

If you want to sell fish to shops you need fish that are both <"difficult to breed and in demand">. Even then you are only going to <"get a fraction of their retail value">.

As well as snails and shrimp plants might be a better bet than fish, particularly plants like Bucephalandra spp., Anubias spp., Bolbitis heudelotii and mosses.

cheers Darrel

 

[PARAGUAY]

If this takes off and I hope it does because your researching . But like others have saidcheck everything. Make sure to get any licences permissions in writing and frame any certification . Last thing you want is some jobsworth late to the party when everything is up and running put the stop on your work

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Make sure to get any licences permissions in writing and frame any certification

I'm not sure what the legal status of Apple Snails (Pomacea) is post Brexit. I think that they were going to become legal again, but I'm not sure if this has already happened.

Edit: I've just answered my own question, <"legal">.
Edit edit: ....... but not in N. Ireland.

cheers Darrel

 

[nathanaldo07]

APC Overnight - Nationwide next day delivery

APC Overnight. Specialising in timed deliveries, giving you flexible options for urgent packages.

apc-overnight.com

You'll be fine.

In my country, there are definitively some obligations to follow for sending life fish per courier. It should be a personally handelled local pickup and delivery by an approved courier, the fish should be in special temperature regulating bagging and boxing materials delivered on the appointment within a given time frame. It's also called Pet Approved Transport. Some companies make a living of it and or offer these services...

HOME - Pet Courier Services

Pet transport throughout Europe and United Kingdom. Give your pets a professional service with maximum comfort.

www.petcourierservices.co.uk

I guess these go by EU laws and regulations and will be similar all over Europe.

So yes you can, but it won't be cheap and not particularly lucrative for small orders regarding P&P...

I know of only one LFS who had their own delivery service and courier, they only had 2 delivery days once every 2 weeks each day in a different region.
They gathered all orders over this time frame and if enough orders came in it would be delivered on the appointment. If not it would be postponed another week. But they stopped this service eventually I guess it was not profitable enough for them to keep it going. All LFS that use external professional couriers for this are too expensive then i would need to order a rather large bulk of fish to break even on P&P.

As in our country In the UK you can also forget about Royal Mail as far as I could find out.

BBC NEWS | Magazine | What can't you send through the post?

Hi
I would use Breather Bags if sending fish by courier!!!!
I'm not sure if even these work....as Ive never received fish from an on-line seller!
I've saw Oxygen been pumped into bags but I'm not sure if this is into Breather Bags or not?
hoggie

Breather bags should be filled up fully with water, no air or oxygen inside.
Topping off normal non breather bags with oxygen is usually good although it should not be done for fish who gulp air like Corydoras, as it can be fatal

What fish are you going to sell? Worth considering this carefully as shops may undercut you on price etc on eBay

Hi all,

If you want to sell fish to shops you need fish that are both <"difficult to breed and in demand">. Even then you are only going to <"get a fraction of their retail value">.

As well as snails and shrimp plants might be a better bet than fish, particularly plants like Bucephalandra spp., Anubias spp., Bolbitis heudelotii and mosses.

cheers Darrel

If this takes off and I hope it does because your researching . But like others have saidcheck everything. Make sure to get any licences permissions in writing and frame any certification . Last thing you want is some jobsworth late to the party when everything is up and running put the stop on your work

Thanks for all your help everyone, I really value all of your opinions.

I have decided that it would be better to just stick with inverts though as I think they are simply just a much better option.

I have also made another thread ( This is the link to the thread ) which you could offer your opinion if you would like, it is about a fish room that i would like to build as I would love to integrate my hobby into my ebay business.