Koi question (time sensitive)

[Marshall]

Just got some very good news in a text message that said my Godson Liam is gonna be coming down to visit in a few days ( have not seen him in nearly a year now) His mother said all he has talked about is "can I hold the turtles? are they mean turtles?" and "is Marshall gonna give me one?" LOL well I think his mom would kill me if I sent her home with a 75 gallon terrarium with all the equipment and a turtle in it so maybe a no go on that one But, of course I will be able to let him hold a few of the really tame ones and show him, all the turtles in the sanctuary. Obviously he will have to be supervised due to his young age and the danger of salmonella or even accidentally injuring one of the turtles. Now for the Koi question, his mother wants to get Liam 2 or 3 Koi to go in their pond (850 gallon) but is afraid to get them on her own because she does not know anything about them and also does not trust the pet store employees to know much more (which I agree with) so here is the problem, obviously I would be more than happy to help pick out and pay for the koi but she lives about 1 hour and 15 minutes from me so I wan't to know if A. can they survive the trip & B. what can be done to make sure they do ? Thanks.
PS: I included a picture of my Godson Liam but it was taken with my mobile about a year ago so it is not the best quality and it's kinda small but I will definitely be taking a whole lot more Friday so I will share an updated pic for anyone who is interested.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

It would be a lot simpler for you, and safer for the fish, to travel to your Mom's and help her pick out some local Koi. Transporting live fish for that amount of time requires special care, including the administering of a tranquilizing agent. Otherwise the fish will experience major stress.

 

[Thomas Gannon]

The biggest problem is stress. However people have bough cheap tanks with a battery powered pump to transport them long distances. Places like walmart or a petstore should have these for a good price. If they are small like 6 inches or under this would be a safe bet. Larger koi would be a problem because more water would be needed to accommodate the fish you want. I've sold a guy from Indiana a fish and he did this trick and he later called in saying the koi survive . Koi can be really resilient, but the safest bet is to find something close to her.

 

[Marshall]

The biggest problem is stress. However people have bough cheap tanks with a battery powered pump to transport them long distances. Places like walmart or a petstore should have these for a good price. If they are small like 6 inches or under this would be a safe bet. Larger koi would be a problem because more water would be needed to accommodate the fish you want. I've sold a guy from Indiana a fish and he did this trick and he later called in saying the koi survive . Koi can be really resilient, but the safest bet is to find something close to her.

They will be about four inches.

 

[Thomas Gannon]

It should work then. Just be sure it comes with a good pump.

 

[Thomas Gannon]

I also reccomend giving them a dose of stress coat or some other immune system booster

 

[Marshall]

It would be a lot simpler for you, and safer for the fish, to travel to your Mom's and help her pick out some local Koi. Transporting live fish for that amount of time requires special care, including the administering of a tranquilizing agent. Otherwise the fish will experience major stress.

The pet store that is an hour and fifteen mins away is the closest to her, that is the problem. Their are some pet stores closer but they don't sell young koi or some don't sell koi at all. The only koi dealer closer is a specialty store that only sells certain types and they are all over 8-10 inches not to mention very expensive which is not what she is looking for. Thanks for the response though and I like the idea the other guy @Thomas Gannon posted because I already have a transport tank that I use for turtles which has a 45 gallon tank with baffles to stop sloshing as well as a pump that runs on 12v car power and has the option to have the inside lit or blacked out based on whats least stressful.
Bty she isn't my mom lol she is the mother of my Godson (just a close friend)

 

[Thomas Gannon]

Glad I could help
And be sure she knows how to add fish to a pond, that the pH is between 6.8 and 8.2, and that if it is filled with hose water that you use a dechlorinator and heavy element remover

 

[Meyer Jordan]

The pet store that is an hour and fifteen mins away is the closest to her, that is the problem. Their are some pet stores closer but they don't sell young koi or some don't sell koi at all. The only koi dealer closer is a specialty store that only sells certain types and they are all over 8-10 inches not to mention very expensive which is not what she is looking for. Thanks for the response though and I like the idea the other guy @Thomas Gannon posted because I already have a transport tank that I use for turtles which has a 45 gallon tank with baffles to stop sloshing as well as a pump that runs on 12v car power and has the option to have the inside lit or blacked out based on whats least stressful.
Bty she isn't my mom lol she is the mother of my Godson (just a close friend)

Sorry about the relationship error.

In considering transporting the fish, keep in mind that handling (transporting, netting, etc.) has been shown to be at the same level of stress as that caused by a predator. if stress caused by temperature changes were given a stress rating of 2, handling would have a stress rating of 10. In a stressed state a fish's respiration is high and therefore so is the Oxygen demand and Ammonia production. Hatcheries transport fish that have first been sedated in pure Oxygen environments to not only minimize any induced stress but to reduce any lasting effects of the remaining stress. Having a tank big enough with a pump only partially meets the requirements for safe transport.

 

[Marshall]

Sorry about the relationship error.

In considering transporting the fish, keep in mind that handling (transporting, netting, etc.) has been shown to be at the same level of stress as that caused by a predator. if stress caused by temperature changes were given a stress rating of 2, handling would have a stress rating of 10. In a stressed state a fish's respiration is high and therefore so is the Oxygen demand and Ammonia production. Hatcheries transport fish that have first been sedated in pure Oxygen environments to not only minimize any induced stress but to reduce any lasting effects of the remaining stress. Having a tank big enough with a pump only partially meets the requirements for safe transport.

As fr as the oxygen goes, How does that get administered ? Because I have pure oxygen that I use in one of my UW welding rigs and a cutting torch also. It is not "bad oxygen" as some may think either, as a matter of fact I buy it from the same supplier that sells to home health dealers.

 

[Thomas Gannon]

Sorry about the relationship error.

In considering transporting the fish, keep in mind that handling (transporting, netting, etc.) has been shown to be at the same level of stress as that caused by a predator. if stress caused by temperature changes were given a stress rating of 2, handling would have a stress rating of 10. In a stressed state a fish's respiration is high and therefore so is the Oxygen demand and Ammonia production. Hatcheries transport fish that have first been sedated in pure Oxygen environments to not only minimize any induced stress but to reduce any lasting effects of the remaining stress. Having a tank big enough with a pump only partially meets the requirements for safe transport.

I've had many customers do this and I have yet to hear if any have died, but I do address stress as a concern and I always reccomend an immune system booster because a stressed koi will more than likely get sick. Again the immune system booster isn't a guarante.

 

[Marshall]

Sorry about the relationship error.

In considering transporting the fish, keep in mind that handling (transporting, netting, etc.) has been shown to be at the same level of stress as that caused by a predator. if stress caused by temperature changes were given a stress rating of 2, handling would have a stress rating of 10. In a stressed state a fish's respiration is high and therefore so is the Oxygen demand and Ammonia production. Hatcheries transport fish that have first been sedated in pure Oxygen environments to not only minimize any induced stress but to reduce any lasting effects of the remaining stress. Having a tank big enough with a pump only partially meets the requirements for safe transport.

PS: Wouldn't netting and handling be an issue though whether you transport them for one hour or one minute? I think the netting stress is sorda unavoidable so basically I like the oxygen idea so if you can explain that

 

[Thomas Gannon]

PS: Wouldn't netting and handling be an issue though whether you transport them for one hour or one minute? I think the netting stress is sorda unavoidable so basically I like the oxygen idea so if you can explain that

Moving koi is always going to have stress, and netting koi is almost unavoidable. This is why I always stress the immune booster because no matter what you do they will get stressed. Its more of a matter of how stressed will they be.

 

[Mmathis]

Why not goldfish instead of koi? She admits not knowing anything about them.

 

[Thomas Gannon]

Why not goldfish instead of koi? She admits not knowing anything about them.

Koi and goldfish belong to the same family and both are pond fish. However everyone knows what a goldfish is.