Flying with fish - can you check fish on a plane?

Aquarist76

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Hello all. I'm moving to Hawaii and want to my bring fish with. I'm seeing mixed info on traveling with fish on a plane. I know you can 100% bring them on the plane with you but that severely limits the amount I can bring with me. I thought, and have read online people doing, checking the fish as cargo like you would if they were being shipped. On the TSA website though it says that is not allowed. Does anyone know the actual rules on this? I wanted to bring around 30 fish up to my largest tang which is 8". Going to be hard getting all those as carry ons.

Thx
 

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I would first look into if Hawaii allows personal importation, even if they are from there. I know they have strict policies on fruit and other things due to bringing in pests.
 
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Aquarist76

Aquarist76

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I would first look into if Hawaii allows personal importation, even if they are from there. I know they have strict policies on fruit and other things due to bringing in pests.
I've looked into that. It is allowed, they have lists of what is and isn't allowed as far as aquatic life. Some of my fish won't be allowed but those that are it's a question of how to get them there.

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fish farmer

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I've looked into that. It is allowed, they have lists of what is and isn't allowed as far as aquatic life. Some of my fish won't be allowed but those that are it's a question of how to get them there.

Thx
Could you have them bagged up at a LFS in a styro cooler with oxygen and have them as checked baggage?
 

gaki

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I’m pretty sure tsa allows it. They let me fly with a bag of corals. On the tsa website, it says the water only has to be able to sustain life (so they don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals on a plane). Obviously if there are living fish in the water, it can sustain life so you should be good. I would definitely call the airport in advance just to be safe, because sometimes it depends on the officer on duty.
 
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Aquarist76

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I’m pretty sure tsa allows it. They let me fly with a bag of corals. On the tsa website, it says the water only has to be able to sustain life (so they don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals on a plane). Obviously if there are living fish in the water, it can sustain life so you should be good. I would definitely call the airport in advance just to be safe, because sometimes it depends on the officer on duty.
Yes, TSA allows them on the plane with you. The question is about if they're allowed to be checked.
 
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Aquarist76

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Checked baggage gets thrown around a LOT so might not be the best idea
Yes, but they would be boxed up like they would be for shipping. They really wouldn't be able to throw them around and would be labelled as fragile and live fish.
 

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Yes, but they would be boxed up like they would be for shipping. They really wouldn't be able to throw them around and would be labelled as fragile and live fish.
Doesn’t stop them. Baggage people give 0 Fs and don’t care about a fragile sticker and throw things around as quick as possible. Same goes for the Mail. I’ve seen it with my own eyes on numerous occasions where boxes get dropped and thrown and tumbled like anything else.
 

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Yes, but they would be boxed up like they would be for shipping. They really wouldn't be able to throw them around and would be labelled as fragile and live fish.

Weight limit for checked luggage is like 70 lbs. When fish are shipped FedEx overnight they're amongst other light/small packages since high costs deter people from frequently FedEx overnighting heavy packages.
 

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Yes, but they would be boxed up like they would be for shipping. They really wouldn't be able to throw them around and would be labelled as fragile and live fish.
I work as a mechanic at msp airport on the ramp. I wouldn't trust some of these rampers as the amount of packages and luggage I find all over the ramp is ridiculous. With that being said I have checked a box with coral in it from Cali to Mini and it made it just fine,one bag sprung a leak. When bagging fish for flight you must be diligent to package it properly as the atmospheric pressure in the planes is alot less. Double/triple bag them and make sure they are tight enough to not leak. I would say there is a chance your bag wont make it if you check it, but the chances are good. 1 in every 50 of the packages I send on planes gets lost/damaged approximately. If you have a big package do not arrive last minute for the flight as if they misplace your box or it gets slowed down there is no buffer time for it to make it to the plane. Arrive at least 2 hours early
 
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Aquarist76

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I work as a mechanic at msp airport on the ramp. I wouldn't trust some of these rampers as the amount of packages and luggage I find all over the ramp is ridiculous. With that being said I have checked a box with coral in it from Cali to Mini and it made it just fine,one bag sprung a leak. When bagging fish for flight you must be diligent to package it properly as the atmospheric pressure in the planes is alot less. Double/triple bag them and make sure they are tight enough to not leak. I would say there is a chance your bag wont make it if you check it, but the chances are good. 1 in every 50 of the packages I send on planes gets lost/damaged approximately. If you have a big package do not arrive last minute for the flight as if they misplace your box or it gets slowed down there is no buffer time for it to make it to the plane. Arrive at least 2 hours early
Do you think having it shipped would be safer than checked on a plane? I'm looking into shipping but it seems like it may have to be 2 day air which makes me nervous.
 

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I’d rather have fish with me
Each airline has their own rules so I would check with them first
 

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Do you think having it shipped would be safer than checked on a plane? I'm looking into shipping but it seems like it may have to be 2 day air which makes me nervous.
I used appropriately sized soda bottles, if the fish is too big, then bag anyway, cut the bottle around but leave a 1” uncut “hinge” .. flip back the top, insert bag, re tape ...the harder plastic soda bottle is puncture insurance ... or get cardboard and wrap around ...you don’t want a leak in flight
 
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Aquarist76

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I used appropriately sized soda bottles, if the fish is too big, then bag anyway, cut the bottle around but leave a 1” uncut “hinge” .. flip back the top, insert bag, re tape ...the harder plastic soda bottle is puncture insurance ... or get cardboard and wrap around ...you don’t want a leak in flight
I was going to package them like online sellers do. I actually have a good dozen or so boxes from Liveaquaria saved (Styrofoam box with outer cardboard box). I was going to bag them up w/ water and oxygen, put in a heat pack, extra packing peanuts as needed. Bags and heat packs I'm going to buy on line and oxygen from home depot.

I've seen this kit recommended in other places for filling the bags with oxygen instead of air (not using the other component, just the O2).

 

ThePurple12

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A few fish is easy, but 30 fish including an 8" tang probably won't work. You could bring some of them and ship what you can't bring.

I'd be worried about the tang running out of oxygen either way, but I could be wrong.
 

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Would it be possible to sail there and then land a dinghy in a remote area at zero dark thirty?
 
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