The fishy e-mailing lists have had all sorts of horror stories about how shipping fish hasn't worked. Part of that is the post 9-11 atmosphere. Part of that is a misunderstanding of the rules by a few postal workers. Sometimes aquarists have done a very sloppy job of packing.

Sometimes too we have picked the wrong carrier at the wrong time of the year. I still remember receiving some probably great fish from a guy 50 miles to the north in Chicago. Had I known what was happening, I would have jumped in the car and driven to his place, immediately. He shipped me some killies via UPS, a company with rules against shipping living things (which has very hot warehouses in the summer.) The bodies were already decomposing! Also had a similar experience ordering plants from a Florida concern in the summer - some of the plant remains were gooey.

In shipping fish, one doesn't feed the fish for a couple of days. (Then they don't vomit or defecate - keeping the water cleaner.) One adds a tiny bit of water to a bag and ties the bag off. The bag is then inserted upside down into another bag and that bag is tied off. (That eliminates corners where a fish could get trapped an crushed when the package shifts.) It is a good idea to leave a bag slightly "floppy' so it can withstand pressure changes within an airplane. Tight bags may pop.

Most wise hobbyists single bag livebearers, killies or whatever they are sending. Commercial shippers will use big bags and include dozens of small fishes, But that is a different game.

ALL double-bagged fish are then placed with a loose garbage bag, which is then tied. This is to prevent any water from leaking and destroying other mail. That bag should be put into a tightly sealing styrofoam box and that box fitted into a cardboard box, which both adds a tiny bit of insulation and strengthens the styro.

Don't ever use masking tap or zip lock bags. The masking tape is against postal rules and it isn't very strong and does come apart when wet. Zip-lock bags are a horror, because they will inevitably open when pressure changes. Virtually all aquarium club auctions will prohibit zip-locks. Some will charge a rebagging fee. Nobody wants plants drying out or fish and water exploding off a table and across the room! :)

We used to ship styros with Live Fish, Please Keep at Room Temperature. Less sophisticated USPO people got all shook at that, so many of us now put "Fragile, please keep at room temperature." Post office people are required to ask if one is shipping explosives and liquids. I have answered no when just shipping bags of plants, which were just moist and well tied.

I have also answered yes to the liquid question when shipping fish this summer. I hasten to point out the water was double bagged and inside another liner.

A couple of the employees at my local post office know that I ship fish once in a while, so I especially have to be up front with them. They for their part have been terrifically gracious and helpful. (Please and thank you are appropriate).

I know of one fish nut that ships water samples. He is telling the truth, sort of. It makes sense to provide no more info than necessary on the "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies" premise.

Lying however is violating Federal Regulations though and that is a very foolish thing to do. Don't mess with the Feds.

One killiguy, familiar with Post Office Regulations, has suggested packing as described above and labeling:

PERISHABLE
Small Cold-Blooded Animals
    DMM CO22.3.3

That DMM C)22.3.3 is the Postal Regulation used to describe shipping fishes. They are NOT banned from the mail. (Express shipping, now farmed out to Fed Ex, may be rejected because they don't want fish shipments, unless they are the large, lucrative ones, professionally packed by the pet trade.) Fish are not in the prohibited small animals list. We do have to abide by the packing rules though and some aquarists don't do that, tarring the rest if us.

You can find that DMM Co22.3.3 if you go to the US Post Office site. Go to http://www.usps.com/

Sometimes in moderate weather we can get away with shipping plants in cardboard boxes. If this was September (after Labor Day air traffic - don't ship around holidays), I might have offered to do that for guppylvr1003 and her Betta breeding friend. They might have gotten some Najas for postage. Maybe they offer stands if they haven't gotten any by then. (E-mail me off list guppylvr1003 if you still need it then.)

I would save postage by just keeping the plants wet. The bag(s) would be fish bags and inside a larger "liner."

I finally broke down and bought a bunch of bags from Florida Tropical Fish Farms Association http://www.ftffa.com/

You may find that a local independent pet shop will sell you a few bags. Those bags are useful because they seem to allow CO2 to escape and O2 to be absorbed into them. There are a number of stories of fish lost or delayed in the mail but properly packed, that have survived for a couple of weeks. That also happened with a shipment I sent once.

I even know of a couple of cases where fish got left in shipping boxes and discovered a couple of months later. They were a bit hungry, but went on to become successful breeders when conditioned and given some much deserved TLC.

Oh yes, zip lock bags, freezer bags and bread bags
are designed to keep a product from drying out. That also means that they allow no gas exchange through their sides. Unless you plants are on a short run (you put them there and drove over to someone's house), that is another reason not to use them.

So pack your plants in fish bags. Keep them just wet. Tie them well and make sure the package is watertight. The bags should be a little loose. The more insulation - styrofoam, box layers, not those useless packing noodles - the more postage, but also the more secure will be the cargo.

Either don't label or label "Fragile, please keep at room temperature."  Or Label "Plants, double bagged, keep at room temperature" so they don't cook while left out on the tarmac or in the back window of a delivery truck. Perhaps "live animals" will work too.

Fish-shop boxes are ok, sort of. Steak or food shipping boxes are better. A polite visit to a veterinarian, physician, pharmacist, butcher, hospital (in no connected order) and the like and an offer to recycle their styro shipping boxes, may pay dividends. Some will suggest calling ahead so they can tell you when to drop by after they have unpacked shipments. One can also buy them from places like:
http://www.polyfoam.com/

Also consult the weather forecast. If there are freezing temperatures or highs in the upper 80s and 90s F/ over 29 C, either really insulate or wait for better weather. You mentioned that you weren't planning on shipping right away, so you are already thinking the weather factor through.

Another great question Shell Guppykillisnailaholic! Have a wonderful time at the theme park.