Transporting fish long(er) distance

[amos]

Anyone have experiences/best practices to share around transporting fish 2 hours or so? Is this better avoided?

 

thanks in advance,

 

Jon

[Brian Ward]

They're routinely shipped overnight and most stores will package for 5+ hours. Just use a very large bag or bucket and plenty of water.

[L8 2 RISE]

They're routinely shipped overnight and most stores will package for 5+ hours. Just use a very large bag or bucket and plenty of water.

 

AND plenty of AIR!!!! You want about 1/3 water, 2/3 air. Also, make sure the bags are being shaken. One of the reasons 24 hour shipping works is that the box is constantly being shaken (not rough shaken, just lightly shaken) which means more oxygenation of the water. There would probably be a higher survival rate of fish that are shipped for 24 hours than those that are just sitting in a bag for 24 hours for this reason.

[Der ABT]

if you can put in an airstone. Ive had fish in buckets for a move from bburg that ended up taking about 9 hours with a stop that took alot longer then planned.

they had no airstone but driving did move the water around, lost one fish but i think it was crushed by a falling rock. if you can stop every so often and open the bag/put fresh air in and mix it around a little i would do that.

[amos]

AND plenty of AIR!!!! You want about 1/3 water, 2/3 air. Also, make sure the bags are being shaken. One of the reasons 24 hour shipping works is that the box is constantly being shaken (not rough shaken, just lightly shaken) which means more oxygenation of the water. There would probably be a higher survival rate of fish that are shipped for 24 hours than those that are just sitting in a bag for 24 hours for this reason.

 

 

if you can put in an airstone. Ive had fish in buckets for a move from bburg that ended up taking about 9 hours with a stop that took alot longer then planned.

they had no airstone but driving did move the water around, lost one fish but i think it was crushed by a falling rock. if you can stop every so often and open the bag/put fresh air in and mix it around a little i would do that.

 

Great thoughts. Thanks for the insights.

 

Jon

[Jon Lazar]

I would think the LFSes use oxygen, not air, when bagging fish.

[Jan]

+1 on the bucket. I'd also invest in a battery powered airstone unit. I have 2 that I use for emergencies. I purchased them at Petco for like $12.00/ea. If I were you I'd buy one and use it for the transport. It wont end up being useless piece of equipment.....Better to be safe than sorry.

[Mountaineer]

I've moved my tank 3 times (some of the same fish over the past 5-6 years) once from Germantown to the Va Beach area and then back here to Olney 3 years later. That is about a 4 hour trip but usually takes much longer due to traffic. I moved these fish in the back of a U-Haul truck in rubber maid containers with the fish tank water. No air stones and they did fine. I'm not going to comment on what would be best, but just sharing my experiences. I figure they spent less time in the back of that truck I was driving than the Fed-Ex truck coming from who knows where before they arrived at the LFS. I don't even want to think about the time they spend just sitting on the tarmac at the airport.

[davelin315]

I think it also depends on what kind of fish you're talking about. Sometimes they go south unexpectedly, but the ones I have most often lost in moves are Centryopgye angels and, believe it or not, some larger damsels.