How can you transport aquarium fish long distances?
Posted on August 30th, 2009 by admin
Fish
My friend is moving, and driving 8-9 hours from Ohio to upstate New York. How can he transport his aquarium fish safely?
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My friend is moving, and driving 8-9 hours from Ohio to upstate New York. How can he transport his aquarium fish safely?
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Filed under: Fish
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It depends on the type of fish, however most tropical fish can be transported in large coolers (like the beer ones). Try to keep as much of the original water as possible as the stress of new water that has no bacteria will stress your fish out even more after being stressed enough from the travel. I suggest using some type of stress coat in the water to help also.
Put them in clean small containers with small air holes, pack the containers into a box with lots of padding on the bottom and sides. Put a blanket over the top and place them on a flat surface on the seat. You can add a bit of stresscoat to each container to help with stress.
The small containers limits the sloshing, the holes allow for some oxygen exchange and padding provides warmth and less vibration. He may still have some loss but that’s about the best you can do.
He should also save some of his old water and his filter media to set the tank up again and prevent having to cycle the whole thing again.
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Progressive Electronic Music
I would suggest selling or giving them away and starting all over when you arrive at the destination.
MateMediaSoft
Ideally there will be a tank set up in New York.
He has to copy the method wholesalers use or try a variation of it.
He needs an insulated case; a beer cooler would do it, polystyrene fish boxes; exactly what you see in a wet fish shop are what’s used commercially.
Go to the nearest LFS and beg,steal or borrow the biggest fish bags they have.
Half fill the bag with tank water and then give it a blast of pure oxygen. Add the fish and tie the bag as close to the top as possible, (as much air in there as you can).
The fish will be OK for 48 hours; that’s how they are sent by courier.
Don’t know where in Ohio you can get an oxygen bottle though – Sorry.
Afterthought:
The fewer fish per bag the less chance of losses.
RSS Feed Reader
A) Packing fish
- use double bags in case the inner one leaks
- tie off the pointed ends with rubber bands or taped back to create round corners (small fish may get into corners & become crushed or suffocated)
- bag width should be at least twice fish length
- Bag should be at least 3 times as deep as wide, for adequate air space
- adults of territorial species & fish larger than 6 cm should be packed separately
- plastic jars can be used instead of bags, easier to open en-route to allow fresh air in
- if using water from the existing tank, check ammonia & nitrite levels are zero & nitrates as low as possible
- if existing tank water quality not that ideal, use about 2/3 tank water & 1/3 new water in the packing containers
- suggest to put a bit of zeolite in packing containers to remove ammonia excreted by fish in transit
- put enough water in the containers, about 3 times fish body depth and add some stress coat conditioner
- aerate the water in the containers vigorously for several minutes before adding fish and use as deep a bag as possible. If possible, get the local shop or someone with an oxygen tank to fill the containers with oxygen. You can also use your airpump to inflate the bags, better than nothing. Never inflate by blowing into the bag, your air is ‘used’ air that already has oxygen removed by your lungs.
- seal the bags tightly while trapping as much air as possible
- place the bags in a dark & opaque insulated container, pack empty spaces with newspapers or bags filled with air to serve as padding to prevent the fish bags from sliding around
B) During the journey
- get to the destination as fast as possible. It is the time taken, not the distance, that is important in transporting fish
- don’t be tempted to keep peeking at the fish. It’ll stress them more to have light repeatedly flashing into their eyes
- only open the containers if you think they need fresh air, jars are more ideal than bags for this purpose
C) Finally there
- Get them unpacked as soon as possible, but keep them in the transport containers in a darkened area to let them calm down (just a very quick visual check that they’re still ok)
- once in the new tank, keep the tank lights off and don’t feed immediately. The fishes will take a few days or at least a day to recover from the stress of travelling.
It is quite likely there will be some fish loss on the way, but hopefully this can be minimised. Good luck to your friend & his fishes!