Do people ever buy new fish when in the states and bring them back with them?

[ciaus]

I travel quite frequently to the US and have the opportunity, on occasion, to maybe pick up a discus or two...But since fish use water, and TSA is terrified of water...Is it simply too much trouble to try and bring back fish with you from the States?  Where is the problem encountered, getting on the Plane, maybe checking the carton. or coming through customs?

Thoughts?

[fischkopp]

If you go by car it's no problem to bring fish back. Just declare it and make sure it's legal. We did that last year.

It is probably more complicated if you go by plane ... I can't comment on that though.

[Soeman]

If you're traveling by plane, it would be impossible to get them though security, you would have to pack them in the checked baggage; a heat pack would be absolutely necessary.

For any border crossing, make sure your live cargo is legal - make sure your imports are not on any endangered species lists, or could be confused with any species on these lists.

The biggest question to me on this matter (as I have debated it on-and-off), is whether any documented quarantine measures are required? I know to import plants you require a phytosanitary document indicating that the plant has been quarantined in a sterile environment for X days, to ensure that they are not piggy-backing any unexpected guests. The biggest issue for plants is the soil however, so I imagine fish would be far less troublesome.

Forget about importing driftwood of any type without either extensive documentation or a hidden compartment. Natural Resources department (and the forestry industry) is terrified of importing wood eating insects.