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.

[Martinspuddle]

Greetings & welcome to

@fr499y (forum admin) received my Endlers through the post.

I've used Parcel Force not Royal Mail as their policies forbid sending livestock, as do UPS and MyHermes. It's up to the individual carrier whether or not they will carry livestock.

It's not unusual for fish to be transported by either FedEx (TNT) or APC overnight. As long as they are in a appropriate shipping container with heat packs and marked 'Live Animals' or 'Live Fish' it's perfectly legal to do so within the UK.

[fr499y]

Avoid APC overnight for the time being as it took 7 days to get a next day delivery!
Go with a proper licensed courier and don't skimp on the packaging.

If you are planning to do it long term then you are technically setting up a business. Offspring of own pets or not, you are selling for profit.
I know you can earn around £12k a year without having to pay any tax on the income.

It might be better to get to know a LFS and find out if they will give you store credit on fish you breed.

[PaulVerrall]

The only thing I would say, as a fish buyer not seller is you would have to be breeding and selling something a little rare or obscure. Otherwise if its a fish like say a convict, you can buy in most LFS so why would you risk paying loads in postage, fish getting stressed in transit and not being able to pick the one out you like yourself.
Convicts , BTW you pretty much can't give them away, they are very rampant lol.

[fr499y]

Same goes for most live bearers, plecs and other prolific breeding fish.