How do I safely transport fish?

[blessedfamily]

I am giving a relative some of my fish and she lives 40 minutes from me..what is the best way to transport fish? I will be giving her koi and goldfish. Can I use a cooler or something similar? Also I will be selling some fish what should I tell them to bring or what can I purchase? I have a few bags that my local pond store gave me but how long can they stay in the bag? I know when I buy fish they add those oxygen tablets because I live 30 minutes away. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Amber

 

[talal101]

40 minutes really is not too bad, what is the weather like?, if it is really hot or really cold then i would recommend a cooler, no oxygen tablets required just fill it up a third and keep it closed and maybe open it for a few minutes half way through the drive and depending on how far those people live you could ask them to bring a cooler as well or just a regular 4 gallon container

 

[blessedfamily]

I will be selling and transporting the fish in about 2 weeks..so it should be warm but not too warm-spring is TRYING to arrive

 

[blessedfamily]

So how would they acclimate the fish to their water if they are not in bags?

 

[fishin4cars]

1/3 water 2/3 air in a bag, bag should be 2-4 inches larger at the bottom than the length of the fish minimal, Bigger is better. DO NOT OVER LOAD BAG! one to three fish per bag depending on size of fish and bag, coolers work well for that distance, to get them used to water simple add pond water by the cup over a 20 minute or so time spand where you at least double the original amount of water you started with. Don't use oxygen tablets, they are really not that effective. It's a sells gimick! Pure oxygen is what should be used if anything.
If you worried about heat a good way to keep them cool is place a few ice cubes in a zip lock bag and place in the cooler but not directly in the bag with the fish. If you use a bag, if your using the cooler it will be ok to float the ziplock in the water. We use this to transfer fish 2 1/2 hours away and they usually do fine.

 

[blessedfamily]

Thanks Larkin..do you suggest using just the cooler over using bags?

 

[DoDad]

I've transported a lot of koi and received a lot of shipped koi.
Some up to 26".
From dealers the get to me overnight and the put enough water to cover the koi's gills and then pump O2 in the bag.
When transporting large koi make sure your container with the bag in it is sideways to the vehicle.

 

[RSFish1]

Ahhh..Being only 40 minutes away is easy. A cooler will work. But buying one of the bigger plastic storage boxes is even better for bigger fish. The good thing is if they are going from your outside pond to her outside pond, the water temperature will be close. You can add some water from her pond to the transportation container to get them used to the Ph levels and such of their water.

I personall suggest a portable air stone if the trip is going to be over 45 minutes and/or there are multiple fish. I would see if she has an air pump available for when you get there. It would be nice to have the water well oxygenated as your are adding her water to the container.

Make sure to buckle in the container the fish in in or strap it down. There will be some idiot that will make you slam on your brakes just because you have water and a fish in your car. Make sure the lid is secure so they do not jump out while going down the road. And make sure to place a few towels around the container. Water will find a way to splash out at least a little.

 

[blessedfamily]

Hi Randy..where can I get a portable air stone? I lost one of the big fish last year when I got them off that guy and felt so sick about it that I really want to know the proper way to go about doing it. We did use big totes but no air stones That fish was 10 years old and I killed it within 35 minutes..really felt horrible.

 

[RSFish1]

I think they have these at Walmart and go to the fishing supply area. You can get a battery powered aerator. They are used for keeping minnows alive for fishing. They take like 2 C or D batteries. They come with an air hose and an air stone. If for some reason they do not have them, I am pretty sure Dicks Sporting Goods does. They will look like this- http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Two-Speed-L...506?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf64ff05a

 

[blessedfamily]

And I am pretty sure Dicks will charge me an arm and leg lol..thanks I will look at walmart later on tonight..thanks for all your help.

 

[fishin4cars]

Sorry it took me so long to respond, somehow I missed the post when I was looking at new posts, probably the day I was away in court all day. I prefer to use bags but coolers will work fine. The portable aerators are great little devices, walmart, Acadamy, bass pro shops, dicks, cabela's and most bait stores stock them, normally about $10-15 each and run on a single d cell battery, I have a couple I use for longer trips and for fishing, I did go pick up a few extra cheap airstones in case one starts clogging as the little pumps really don't put out much pressure.
Hope all goes well, I know the feeling about losing one in transport. I bought a really rare catfish several years ago, had to stay over one night in a hotel on the way home. Stupid me plugged in a airpump in the hotel room along with a small heater to keep the water as stable as possible. I was tired turned out the lights and went to bed, woke up the next morning and found out the light switch turned off the plug I was using. I was totally sick the next morning when I check on the fish. $400 down the drain. Only one I've ever seen and still to this day would really love to find another one, But I won't try that again!!!!

 

[CometKeith]

hey Fishin, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one in court all day. I'm glad to be supporting the life style of about a half dozen lawyers! I know a lot more about that then fish!

 

[fishin4cars]

hey Fishin, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one in court all day. I'm glad to be supporting the life style of about a half dozen lawyers! I know a lot more about that then fish!

LOL, I heard that, Since you know a good bit about them can you answer this question, Why is it they want in the office at 9am but don't show up until 10am yet when they know you take medications they always seem to be up and awake and eager to call you on the phone before anyone in the house is awake? LOL

 

[CometKeith]

Oh thats funny. Mine are always too busy to talk to me, but somehow they are always billing me for 2 hour phone conversations with the other lawyers!