Welcome to Monster Fish Rescue! "Do the research. Buy the tank, then the fish!" M F R will attempt to re-home any size fish big or small regardless of your situation. Have a fish you don't know what to do with? **Please check out our current eBay auctions here.     **PLEASE do NOT buy these fish. PLEASE DONATE!!! WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP! Click the "Make a Donation" button below ----------->         Click Here          <------------ Photo credit: Clare and Karl Baxter Photo credit: Clare and Karl Baxter Want to advertise on this website? CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US FEATURED ARTICLE HOW TO SHIP FISH By Jonathan Strazinsky Let’s do this step by step, I think it’ll be the easiest. 1.)        Get on the horn or stop by your local fish store (lfs) to see if you can have one of their shipping boxes.  Most chain stores, Pet Supplies Plus, Pet Smart, Pet Co, and any other big box store, get their fish shipped to them every week or every other week. Those stores just throw those boxes away and they’d be glad to give them all to you! Explain to them you plan to ship fish soon and ask if they can provide you with bags and a handful of rubber bands. Usually they will. Depending on the size fish you’re shipping will depend on what size bags to get. 2.)        Once you have your supplies all together you need to prep the fish for safe transport. Do not feed the fish for five days before shipping. This will ensure good water quality during transport. Who wants to swim in their own poo poo? 3.)        Another thing you can do is unplug the heater for those five days. This will slow the fishes metabolism which will make for a more comfortable ride. 4.)        Also during those five days call or stop in your local post office to chat with them about what you plan to do. Find out if they have a flight going to the fishes destination on the day you plan to ship. You can also find out when their truck comes to take packages to the airport. Most employees will have this information for you and gladly share it. 5.)        On the day you ship your fish, which should be a Monday or a Tuesday, try and get to the post office an hour before their truck arrives to take them to the airport. This ensures the least amount of time in the bag  The reason you ship early in the week is in case there’s a mix up at the post office. There are many variables as to why the fish take too long to arrive. So you might as well be prepared so the fish don’t sit in a box over the weekend. 6.)        The morning of shipping day is when you’ll want to pack your fish. Fill the bag so there’s half water and half air. You might want to practice catching air in a half filled bag before catching the fish. Remember, the idea is to put as little amount of stress on the fish as possible. Practice makes perfect. After you’ve trapped the air in the bag and the fish is in there. Twist the top and fold it over like you’re making a bow in your shoe string. Whilst holding the bag take your other hand and get the rubber band on the bow. I use two rubber bands, sometimes three… Next (this is optional) wrap the bag in news paper then slip another bag over it. Make the same little bow in this bag and rubber band it shut. ALWAYS DOUBLE BAG! The news paper is option but does help add insulation and is a fin bursting preventative. 7.)        Tape the box up, be sure to put a return address on it in case something happens and ship it off. That’s it. It sounds more complicated than it really is. Good luck and happy shipping!