Fish on an airplane

Trickster · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 309 Location: My Chair

O.k. So im moving,.... yup leaving my home, friends, all that fun stuff. So anyway i gotta move the fish. Found something called minnowmate. A fully insulated cooler with a air pump that runs on battery power.... all that etc...

In its advertisements and customer reviews, it kept 300 minnows alive and healthy for as long as the batterys last (about 5 days)

Anyway instead of the bumpy travel of days of driving. I wana take them on the plane with me as the 1 piece of luggage i can hold under my seat or above my head....

I want to know if fish can go on a plane. They always transported by car, but i wonder is that because its cheaper....

So long story made short, does the air pressure changes and all that (like how our ears pop).. will it affect the fish in any harmful way?

(If you wana check out the site for minnowmate its minnowmate.com)

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

I think it might be illegal.

-Chelle

Trickster · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 309 Location: My Chair

Im calling air canada, seeing if i can. Its not crossing any boarders to any diffrent countrys or anything, just to a diffrent canadian province.

But lets say i can. Can i.. yes/no take my fish on an air plane? will they be ok?

kc5gvn · Moderator Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 1147

It is safe for them to be shipped by air. That's how they get shipped all around the world. The problem you will find by trying to carry them as luggage is that any pets CARRIED ON THE PLANE you have to purchase a seat for (standard airline policy). Your best recourse is to package the fish the way they are normally shipped by air. This means bagging them and putting the bags in styrofoam shipping cartons the last day of your move, and then picking them up at the local airport where you are moving to as soon as they arrive.

Trickster · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 309 Location: My Chair

Well we dont have to pay for the moving, the company is paying, so ill see if we can get another seat Wink

. But i will see how it works out.

Trickster · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 309 Location: My Chair

o.k i called air canada. I can take the fish on the plane in the insulated cooler.

But i got 1 last question. When the cooler goes through the screening thing, they use some x-ray thingy or wut not, so i was wondering if that would damage the fish vision or anything like that.

kc5gvn · Moderator Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 1147

I've never carried them that way so I really can't say for sure, but I would expect that it would not be harmful since it is low level radiation. If you are concerned about the possibility of injury due to radiation you can have them physically open and inspect the cooler.

sakura.seppun · Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 5:24 pm Post subject:

this may have just been my friend being stupid, but she used to work at wal-mart, and she said that they had to tell customers to hold their fish over the sensors in the "theft detectors" as it would kill the fish. I've personally never heard of that before, but you should make them just physically check. There's no sense in taking the chance. They don't make dogs go through, there shouldn't be a problem with fish.

Trickster · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 309 Location: My Chair

No, wal-mart scanners dont hurt the fish in anyway. All it does is scan for certain tags or unchecked expensive items, they dont either bother with small things like chocolate bars. (As i have heard and read)

So yea i will ask them to open it up and check it. Thanks for the help everyone.

pookiepets · Member Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 66 Location: irvine

when i went w/ lufthansa german airlines to iran a girl brought her red betta in a water bottle! but a minnow mate i guess u can but it wont hurt the fish i know if u go from a diffent country there are like signs that sai nooo pets or food / etc!

Kirk · Member Joined: 17 Sep 2004 Posts: 79 Location: Canada

What kind of fish are you transporting?