Shipping Me a Fish For Diagnostics

Posted on May 7, 2024

Call ahead at 770 977 5377 or in some way COMMUNICATE with someone.
SEND TO: 3100 Roswell Road Suite 113 Marietta GA 30062 at a time we can handle it and are there to receive it.

There are reasons for shipping a dead fish: Dead fish can tell us things like:  “Is there an acorn in the gut? Does he have a tumor in the abdomen? Was she egg bound? Was something wrong with the swimbladder? (GROSS exam stuff. Because everything microscopic will be soup and all the parasites are long gone.)

There are reasons for shipping a live fish: Only live fisih can provide surface parasites, gut parasites, gill biopsies, blood cultures, more. These are the best diagnostic specimens.

There are reasons for shipping a dead-ish fish: A live fish that was probably not going to make it, even if shipped in water, alive anyway. If you’re “pretty sure it’ll die in transit” then ship them “dead-ish”. See definition. A “dead-ish” fish can still yield:  Surface parasites, gut parasites, gill biopsies – without the reliability of an actual swimming, live fish but whattayagonnado?

How to ship a dead fish:

Buy a cheap Igloo cooler, put a watertight bag (even a decent trashbag) in it. Fill half way with ice. Drop in dead fish pre-wrapped in a ziploc or trashbag. Fill the cooler the rest of the way with ice. Tie off the bag. Close the cooler and tape shut with half a pound of duct tape. Ship via UPS no slower than Two Day Air. (In two or three days nothing is worth nothing!)

How to ship a dead-ISH fish

The fish is in tank “A” at your place. Put some of that water in a fish safe shipping bag and drop your LIVE FISH in that bag. Oxygenate it if possible. Tie off the bag. There’s enough water for the fish to move a bit. But this isn’t enough to keep the fish alive for a two day trip. This is the fishes’ shipping bag. Then, ship almost like it’s a dead fish: Buy a cheap Igloo cooler, put a watertight bag (even a decent trashbag) in it. Fill half way with ice. Drop in your live fish in the pondwater capsule you made for it. Then fill the cooler the rest of the way with ice. Tie off the bag. Close the cooler and tape shut with half a pound of duct tape. Ship via UPS no slower than NEXT Day Air. The fish will probably die in transit ON ICE and in water – and arrive in 24-36 hours in a diagnostic condition. It might even still have a heartbeat even if it’s unsalvageable.)

How to ship a live fish

You need a large(ish) fish shipping bag. Sometimes pet shops will help you out.  The shipping water is made of 50% pond or tank water and the other 50% is tap water dechlorinated BEFORE you put the fish in it.) Put some of the 50:50 water in a fish safe shipping bag, and drop your LIVE FISH in that bag. Oxygenate it if possible. Tie off the bag.

Use a big bag and give the fish 1/3rd water under 2/3rd oxygen. Pure oxygen makes “all the difference”. This is the fishes’ shipping bag.  Buy a cheap Igloo cooler, put a watertight bag (even a decent trashbag) in it. Put a layer of packing peanuts in the bag on the floor of the cooler. Drop your live fish in the 50:50 tap:pondwater capsule you made for it into the trashbag liner. Then cover the fishes’ bag with packing peanuts and packs*. Leave room to close the cooler.

*Temperature: Remember the cooler is gonna do the “heavy lifting” in the temperature control.

  • If it’s 80-100DF (actual summer) outside drop one or two ice packs in the cooler OUTSIDE the packing peanuts. NOT UP AGAINST THE FISHES BAG.
  • If it’s 40-10DF outside (actual winter) drop one or two heat packs in the bag OUTSIDE the packing peanuts NOT up against the fishes’ bag.

Tie off the bag. Close the cooler and tape shut with half a pound of duct tape. Ship via UPS no slower than NEXT Day Air. The fish will probably arrive in 24-36 hours in a diagnostic condition. It might even still have a heartbeat even if it’s unsalvageable.)

My responsibilities:

  1. To open and photograph the fish during operating hours as quickly as possible after arrival
  2. To perform skin biopsies within minutes of opening the box
  3. To collect blood for blood culture before opening the fish abdomen if it is sacrificial live or dead-ish. I won’t collect blood from a real-dead fish. You can choose to run the culture if you want but that will be at cost.
  4. To examine and photograph the gills on all fish
  5. To biopsy the gills on live, and dead-ish fish.
  6. To open and photograph the abdominal necropsy on all fish.
  7. To “run the gut” on dead-ish and sacrificed fish.
  8. To perform impression smears on liver tissue on dead-ish and sacrificed live fish.
  9. To provide thorough necropsy notes of systems examined and condition. Interpretation when possible.
  10. To convey ‘results’ and photos to sender within 7 days. Email and text preferred. On paper later is okay.

Your responsibilities:

  1. To make sure the fish is packed and preserved in a way that the carrier accepts.
  2. To make sure the fish arrives in a cool, diagnostic condition for our expectations laid out at the beginning of this document
  3. To make sure that the fish arrive at 3100 Roswell Road Suite 113 Marietta GA 30062 at a time we can handle it and are there to receive it.
  4. To call ahead at 770 977 5377 or in some way COMMUNICATE with someone that the fish are going to be with us on a certain day and that it’s okay.
  5. (Don’t ship when I’m on vacation)
  6. To ‘for sure’ send the fish to arrive when we’re open.
  7. To be patient

NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY

  1. Third-party laboratory fees at my expense. You will have no ‘surprise’ expense. I will ask you if you want to get advanced diagnostics.
  2. To return any fish or specimens. If you send a dozen-box of 3″ Koi and I figure it all out with four or five specimens, I’ll gladly keep the spares. Happens all the time.
  3. To get permission to photograph, document or use (without user-identifiable data), the case or it’s various media and informational parts for educational purposes. In other words, I can use the information proceeds of the case to teach.
  4. Responding on some sort of time table. You can expect communication of course, but coming over with “Have him call me at two pm, I have meetings and I expect to hear from him at that time.”   Nope. We’re helping each other out, helping you with cases and giving me some case load, and it’s free so I’m not holding the pail for anyone. We’re partners on this. I’m not the employee.