Many people wonder how I have gotten bettas to their destination with absolutely no color loss and eating right out of the bag. I got my shipping tips from a local breeder that ships their show bettas and takes great care in how they do it.
Because I have vested much time and energy into getting my rescues 100% back to health, I take the extra step (and a little extra money) in shipping bettas to their new owners. I know that the ride is rough, but it can be endured rather easily by any healthy betta. If a betta is a tail biter or is easily stressed by water changes, they are still going to have some difficulty in shipping but not near as bad as it could be.
Preparing a betta for shipping the next day:
- I do a 100% water change two days before in order to make sure all ammonia is out of their water.
- I set one hefty 1 gallon zip lock bag with the water they are going to be shipped in right next to their
tank to ensure optimal water temperatures - I give them a meal of 2 pellets before I go to bed.
- I prepare the boxes so all I have to do is put the bag in and walk out the door.
What you need to ship:
- 2 hefty 1 gallon zip lock bags
- 1 larger box
- 1 smaller box
- Lots of packing material
- 1 small flashlight and batteries
- Packing tape
Preparing the box for shipping:
- Place one gallon baggie with the water for shipping next to the betta (as stated above). Do this the night before. This way you know the temp is the same and you also know if the baggie has a small leak in it.
- Take the smaller box and put enough packing material in it to hold the baggie upright and firmly in place. Do not put the baggie in yet!
- Cover the bottom of the larger box in packing material
- Set the smaller box in the center of the larger box on top of the packing material
- Pack packing material around the smaller box until it is firmly held in place.
Putting the betta in the box:
- Scoop the betta out of his tank/bowl gently and add him to the baggie with the water that you had next to him.
- Capture as much air as possible in the baggie with him before zipping it up. Do not blow into the baggie because this is not oxygen! (I use a balloon hand pump to fill the baggie with air, has a nozzle I can put into the baggie while it’s almost closed.)
- Place the betta in the second ziplock bag, but with his zip going the opposite way. This way if water leaks, it will not go directly to the other ziplock opening… rather it will just drip to the bottom of the baggie and not get the packing material wet.
- Put the double bagged betta into the small box
- Turn the flashlight on and slide it into the small box with the betta. Make sure the lighted end is not facing directly at the betta
- Tape up the small box
- Tape up the large box
- Mail it as soon as possible.
I have not lost a betta yet shipping this way and I did ship prior to the Healthy Betta Adoption Program. If you are going to add letters or notes, put them in the larger box, not the smaller.