Preparing your livestock for the auction/sales table

Preparing your Livestock

Preparing your Livestock.
The BLA recommend that the maximum period of time that livestock should be kept within a bag is 48 hours. The Seller must ensure that the bag and the conditions for the livestock are optimal for this period.

It is the Seller’s responsibility to ensure that all livestock are healthy when bagged, the optimum conditions are provided, and the correct type/size of bag is used. Please adopt the following guidelines when preparing fish for transport:

It is the Seller’s responsibility to ensure that all livestock are healthy when bagged, the optimum conditions are provided, and the correct type/size of bag is used. Please adopt the following guidelines when preparing fish for transport:

1. Starve livestock for a period of 24 hours before being introduced to the bag. This is to help reduce the chances of self-contamination of the water by the livestock.
2. When possible, it is recommended to pre-prepare and use fresh water that has been allowed to stand ready for bagging your livestock. This is to provide water of optimum quality, and reduce the possibility of contamination that may exist within the aquarium water.
   Water conditioners such as Ammo lock or Stress coat should be added to the water. This will help reduce the risk from toxins in the water produced by the fish and reduce stress for the livestock. Please adhere to manufacturers’ recommendations.
3. There should be sufficient water within the bag to easily maintain the livestock comfortably for a period of forty-eight hours.
4. When the bag is “tied-off,” a ratio of one third water and two thirds air is recommended. This is to provide sufficient gas exchange within the bag.
5. Bags with a rounded seal at the bottom are recommended to help prevent livestock being trapped in corners.
   If straight sealed bags are used, it is recommended that adhesive tape is used to round the corners off. With some species such as Corydoras, if necessary, please use two bags with the 2nd outer bag inverted so the neck goes into the outer bag first. This helps by “rounding off” the corners and reinforces the first bag.
6. Where necessary, a pair of fish should be individually bagged with the bags joined together securely enough that they cannot be accidentally separated. This will eliminate damage/fatalities caused by the fish themselves. It also means that the auction will progress smoothly if the Auction Team are not searching for stray bags!
7. Large groups of smaller fish/livestock should be in bags large enough to maintain them comfortably or split into smaller groups.
8. Bags with fish where contamination has become obvious will be returned to the seller to be re-bagged. Please bring some spare water in case this is required. Deflated bags will also be returned to the Seller to rectified.

Lots not deemed fit for the auction will be returned to the Seller and the lot withdrawn. This will include bags with dead livestock.
The Committee’s ruling will be final on all decisions.

Labelling & Sales Table/Auction Lot Numbers
It is the Sellers’ responsibility to label their bags correctly and that information matches exactly what is written on the Booking Form.
All bags must be marked with the allotted Seller’s Identification Letter and the Number of that particular Lot.
For example, if the allotted auction letter is A, the first bag will be marked as A1, subsequent bags will be labelled A2, A3…… and so forth.
Correct labelling of the species, and location/collection data are extremely important. Please include the common and/or scientific name of the fish. Include any relevant information such as Catch Location, Date Collected, Collector. Mark as Aquarium Strain if no data is available.  Also, the number of fish (or description) within the lot – i.e. pair, trio, 2 pairs, 10 fry etc. Lastly put a reserve price IF REQUIRED.

Correct labelling of the species, and location/collection data are extremely important. Please include the common and/or scientific name of the fish. Include any relevant information such as Catch Location, Date Collected, Collector. Mark as Aquarium Strain if no data is available.  Also, the number of fish (or description) within the lot – i.e. pair, trio, 2 pairs, 10 fry etc. Lastly should you wish, a reserve price can be added to the auction lot.

Any existing relevant information should be included ON BOTH the Booking Form and the bag labelling.

Boxing Livestock ready for transport
It is recommended that a suitable polystyrene box with a properly fitting lid is used. This will help maintain water temperature whilst keeping the livestock in the dark (minimising any stress).
Use a heat pack, or additional containers of warm water, if cooler weather and/or the livestock are to be kept within the poly-box overnight. This helps maintain the water temperature for your fish within a suitable range and avoid any risk to your livestock’s health caused by low or fluctuating temperatures. Any livestock deemed to be in water that is too cold will be returned to the Seller and withdrawn from the auction.
Take care to pack each polystyrene box/suitable thermally insulated container in an orderly and secure manner. Bags rolling around during transport will cause unnecessary stress and fatalities.
Take care that each polystyrene box/suitable thermally insulated container is securely placed within the vehicle when travelling, some care at this stage will prevent any boxes and bags being dislodged during transport.