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If the Post Office didn't make it so easy to ship fish I probably wouldn't be shipping any! Using Priority shipping you can afford ably ship fish any where in the US. They will even supply you with boxes of different sizes free of charge.
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Today, we are using the small #4 box. I like to use this box for small inverts and fish. Back when I was selling freshwater dwarf shrimp on E-Bay, I shipped hundreds of Red Cherry Shrimp using this size box.
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You can go on-line to the USPS web site and have these boxes delivered right to your home, or you can stop by the Post Office and pick one up. If you order them on-line, they come boxed and flat...
The #4 box is a square 7 inch by 7 box that is 6 inches deep. Not a big box, but just right when you need to ship a bag with a dozen shrimp or 6 or 8 small fish.
Once we tape up the bottom of the box, we need to start cutting the insulation that we use to line the box with.
I like to use this 1 inch thick styrofoam insulation that I get at Lowes. A 4 foot by 8 foot sheet costs around $8.00 and will line quite a few boxes.
I start out by cutting the top and bottom of the styrofoam liner. We need two pieces that are 7 inches long by 7 inches wide.
Next we need the sides of our lining. We need two pieces 7 inches long by 4 3/8 inches tall, and two pieces 5 inches long by 4 3/8 tall.
With the bottom and sides inserted into our box here's what it looks like.
Next we need a small piece of cardboard to keep our heat or cool pack from coming into contact with our fish or shrimp.
We only need a small piece that will fit across one of the corners of the box. This picture shows a heat pack in the corner with the cardboard separator in place.
Next I take shredded newspaper or packing peanuts and add them to the box where our bag will be placed.
If using peanuts, I put down just enough to cover the bottom of the box, then put the bag in and finish filling around the bag with peanuts.
If using shredded paper, I put in the paper and then use my fingers to make a little nest to place the bag into.
The idea is to pack tight enough around the bag so that it won't move around inside the box. Once we have enough packing in place, simply put the final piece of insulation, (the top), in place.
Close up the box, tape on the shipping label and we're ready for the Post Office!
In part 2, I'll show how to bag our fish and pack the Medium Flat Rate box.
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