So Update for anyone looking at doing the same in the UK,
If you want to fly fish out of the country you have to use a service who fly pets out. I used Extrodinair based in Edinburgh. and they were brilliant, there were issues with contacting BA but i think in times like this getting hold of people can be difficult.
But at least to Canada there is a good system for fish in/out and luckily mine were all exempt from restrictions and the officials knew what they were doing in customs so they got through quickly. When my partner brought her cat into the UK the officials in the UK had no idea what was going on (Savanah F2 so under CITES too) and waited a whole day for a stamp before we could take the cat, so could have been worse!
doing it in Covid times is not recommended, just in case anyone wants to try this again in a pandemic!
But fish left Edin on Wednesday (22nd) and arrived in Toronto at 8pm on the 24th, they were a day delayed as BA decided to switch the plane on the first leg (edin-heathrow) to a non pet carrying one so they spent the night in heathrow, but made it safe and sound and are in their new (upgraded) tanks at my in laws.
Now I'm not living in a flat in the city I can get bigger ones so I doubled the size of my current tanks! I also wanted to do it as my Father in law was doing the cycle, so wanted extra volume just in case it didn't go as planned!
Overall, wouldn't do it all the time and for many fish, but the it's not a bad as you would think, the worst parts are the costs and the stress for delays (for me and fish!). I think if you have long lived fish who are part of the family its a worthwhile option if you are moving abroad.
