Here is what I can tell you. I recently met a serious African cichlid keeper and breeder near Vancouver who personally brings back wild-caught fish each year when he visits Germany. He simply makes the purchase in Germany, packs the fish in bags, packs these bags inside heavy duty garbage bags, puts all of this in styrofoam boxes that are inside tight fitting cardboard boxes, then puts everything inside a duffle bag. His duffle bag fits two boxes. He then sends the fish through as checked luggage. He has done this many times, the most recent being 8 months ago. He never tells the carrier what he is doing, he never asks for permission. He just does it.
If you have the nerve to do this, go for it.
As for me, when I was in Asia I looked into bringing fish into Canada with me as checked luggage. Unfortunately, all the airlines I asked refused to allow it. In fact, they all had contract language on their websites forbidding the transfer of tropical fish as checked luggage. In other words, they force you to send it as cargo. This gets way more complicated. Keep in mind that depending on the country, you will likely have to obtain a wildlife export certificate on exiting the country. You can usually obtain this at the airport. If shipping as cargo, however, you would need an agent to do this step for you.
And so I cooperate with fish farms and agents directly in Asia.
Maybe next time I am over there I will risk trying to get the fish home as checked luggage. When you are talking about high end exotic tropical fish, however, it could be a costly gamble.
And so there you have it - that is what I know on the subject!
