MiacCroFiche
New Member
What is the best way to transport about thirty Dalmatian Mollies in my car?
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How to transport a lot of fish?
- Thread starter MiacCroFiche
- Start date
In plastic bags inside a chilly bin or cooler box. Pack them just like they would be from your local LFS. Pack about 4-6 fish per bag. If you go to your LFS they may sell you some bags.
OP
OP
MiacCroFiche
New Member
Thank you so much. I will try this……
Not too much water, blow the bags up with your breath, tie them off with a rubber band so they stay inflated. The fish will be fine for around 24 hours as long as they don't get cold. Put them in the cooler box in the dark and they will just go to sleep.
Well I think that would depend on whether or not you're transporting the tank along with the fish. If it's a fairly small tank (say 20 gallons or smaller) you can siphon out the water until there is about 15-20% left in the tank. Depending on the size and weight of the aquarium it may take two people or you may be able to do it alone - but just move the tank to the front passenger seat of your car and put the seatbelt accross it. If the tank has a lid you also may want to tape the lid shut for the ride. When you move heavier tanks, make sure you have one hand on the underside of the tank so it doesn't break.
If you are NOT taking the tank, then you just need to purchase some fish bags from your local fish store or from Amazon. Depending on the size and how long you'll be transporting them you could put 2-5 fish in a bag and fill the bag about 1/3 full of their tank water. Capture some air for the bag and then rubber band it closed. Some people also put on a second bag that faces the opposite direction just to protect against leakage. This would last 5 fish for about 1/2 a day, 2 fish 1-2 days. Online fish stores transport these all the time - using 1-2 day shipping and I've never had one die in the bag. Some people recommend you don't feed the fish for a couple of days so all their poop is gone and doesn't get in the bag. Others put a tiny piece of sponge in the bag, I guess to collect all the poop/urine excreted by the fish - I have no idea if they treat the sponge with a special chemical to attract the poop/pee to the sponge or it just automatically picks it up. I've had other sellers just put the fish in the bag, rubberband the bag and set it in a box for transport and not worry about the waste.
Ideally the fish bags will fill the entire box. If not, then add some bubblewrap or other material to try to keep the fish bags as stationary as possible so the fish aren't sloshed around all over the place.
Another thing it depends on is how long you'll be transporting the fish. A couple fish in a bag can go for 2 days in the bag. Most sellers, however ship overnight so that the fish aren't in the bag longer than 24 hours. If it's going to be a multi-day trip I don't know what to tell you to do - you'll have to re-bag the fish so they get fresh air and fresh tank water in each bag. Then they'd likely last another couple of days.
If you are NOT taking the tank, then you just need to purchase some fish bags from your local fish store or from Amazon. Depending on the size and how long you'll be transporting them you could put 2-5 fish in a bag and fill the bag about 1/3 full of their tank water. Capture some air for the bag and then rubber band it closed. Some people also put on a second bag that faces the opposite direction just to protect against leakage. This would last 5 fish for about 1/2 a day, 2 fish 1-2 days. Online fish stores transport these all the time - using 1-2 day shipping and I've never had one die in the bag. Some people recommend you don't feed the fish for a couple of days so all their poop is gone and doesn't get in the bag. Others put a tiny piece of sponge in the bag, I guess to collect all the poop/urine excreted by the fish - I have no idea if they treat the sponge with a special chemical to attract the poop/pee to the sponge or it just automatically picks it up. I've had other sellers just put the fish in the bag, rubberband the bag and set it in a box for transport and not worry about the waste.
Ideally the fish bags will fill the entire box. If not, then add some bubblewrap or other material to try to keep the fish bags as stationary as possible so the fish aren't sloshed around all over the place.
Another thing it depends on is how long you'll be transporting the fish. A couple fish in a bag can go for 2 days in the bag. Most sellers, however ship overnight so that the fish aren't in the bag longer than 24 hours. If it's going to be a multi-day trip I don't know what to tell you to do - you'll have to re-bag the fish so they get fresh air and fresh tank water in each bag. Then they'd likely last another couple of days.
Oh they do make heat and cold packs you can place in the box with all the bags of fish and keep the box covered.
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Don't blow them up with your breath, that will increase the carbon dioxide content vs oxygen in the bag.
Watch how this man ties them at 5:45:
Don't feed the fish 24 hours prior to bagging them, this way they'll produce less ammonia in shipping. If you're worried, place some zeolite in a small mesh bag to absorb ammonia. Acclimate the fish to 75% fresh dechlorinated water as tank water isn't suitable for shipping. If you can find pure oxygen, fill the bags up with it and they'll last for up to 40 hours. Double bag the fish in case they leak. Place them in styrofoam lined with news paper, and if the temperature is 5°C, add a heat pack, then another heat pack for every 5° the temperature drops.
This is all of course for extended shipping. If it's only a few hours, don't feed for 24 hours and simply bag them up and don't let your car get too cold.
How far are you transporting the tank and fish? I recommend not transporting the fish inside the tank . You should remove all substrate and water etc. That way the tank will be lighter and less apt to break or leak. Take the media out of the filter and float in a small tight container. Bag the fish as described by Caesar.
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Use Caesar's method if you are lucky enough to find long fish bags like those. I have never seen bags that long before.
Every fish I've ever bought from a fish store over 25 years has been in a bag like that. Long and narrow. Some have had square bottoms, some have had curved bottoms (it's usually Maidenhead Aquatics which uses curved bottom bags). The plants I've bought from fish stores have also been packed in the same long narrow bags, as have shrimps I've bought on-line.
The standard fish bags in New Zealand are 22x39 cm
Indeed, I have always used and seen those long and narrow types of bags being used for the transportation of fish and shrimps.
Yep, agreed that fill up with one third water and fill the rest with air either compressed oxygen from an air pump (bit slow but it does work) or breathe into bag, tightly bound with elastic bands and double bagged.
Breathing into the bags for air for fish transportation for short journeys is perfectly fine, longer journeys over 12 hours would suggest air / oxygen from alternative source be better.
Only thing would add, if transporting shrimps, add some bits of plants for the shrimps to cling onto and for snacks for the journey!
Put fish bags into bucket and cover with a towel and then acclimatise temperature matching and simply put fish into their new home.
I rarely acclimatise fish as this is really a process for fish that have travelled a long way or for wild caught fish, true acclimatising takes days or weeks at least. Simply add new fish straightaway to new tank as long as temperature matched as fish from local source should be fine as water parameters will likely be minimally different.
Yep, agreed that fill up with one third water and fill the rest with air either compressed oxygen from an air pump (bit slow but it does work) or breathe into bag, tightly bound with elastic bands and double bagged.
Breathing into the bags for air for fish transportation for short journeys is perfectly fine, longer journeys over 12 hours would suggest air / oxygen from alternative source be better.
Only thing would add, if transporting shrimps, add some bits of plants for the shrimps to cling onto and for snacks for the journey!
Put fish bags into bucket and cover with a towel and then acclimatise temperature matching and simply put fish into their new home.
I rarely acclimatise fish as this is really a process for fish that have travelled a long way or for wild caught fish, true acclimatising takes days or weeks at least. Simply add new fish straightaway to new tank as long as temperature matched as fish from local source should be fine as water parameters will likely be minimally different.
Lajos_Detari
Fish Herder
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Most of the bags that are used by fish shops are long and narrow.
This is due to the importance of oxygen over water.
As some had mentioned, put 1/3 of water and 2/3 of air.
This is due to the importance of oxygen over water.
As some had mentioned, put 1/3 of water and 2/3 of air.
FishHobby99
Fish Gatherer
This is how I transported 20 cichlids & catfish from ~ 2 hours away (4 hr round trip). They went into a 12.5 gallon Coleman Cooler that had 2 battery operated air bubblers attached. The coolers were the previous owner’s suggestion. The local fish store said to use 5 gallon buckets with lids. I did that to move 2 axolotls on a 6 hour round trip.
All animals were transported using water from their original tanks. Hauled home an additional 45 G water for the fish & 20 for the axies, all in covered buckets. They run $5 each at Lowe‘s.
It's not that hard to transport fish. I do that so often. As already mentioned overhere, use plastic bags. We have certain rules overhere, which aren't followed by many. But overhere, it's officially a one third water and two third air. Breathing into the bag won't hurt for a little while. But I don't prefer this for the air you breathe out doesn't contain that much oxygen anymore. If you're running for a certificate of fish health care in my country, breathing into a bag is a big taboo.
You can also use a bucket. And preferably with a lid like this one:
Works perfectly as well.
The number of fish in a bag or bucket, depends on the size and behavior of those fish.
The bags used commercially wise are available in different sizes. But most stores use just two sizes. I myself have different sizes of fish bags at home. In the segment that I'm active in, we prefer to bag one fish in one bag, depending on the kind of fish. This goes mostly for goodeids. But there are also breeders who put also other livebearers as one specimen in one bag.
But be sure that the temperature stays stable. A cooling box or a styrofoam box would be great to put those bags in. And there are also heatpacks that you can use.
You can also use a bucket. And preferably with a lid like this one:
Works perfectly as well.
The number of fish in a bag or bucket, depends on the size and behavior of those fish.
The bags used commercially wise are available in different sizes. But most stores use just two sizes. I myself have different sizes of fish bags at home. In the segment that I'm active in, we prefer to bag one fish in one bag, depending on the kind of fish. This goes mostly for goodeids. But there are also breeders who put also other livebearers as one specimen in one bag.
But be sure that the temperature stays stable. A cooling box or a styrofoam box would be great to put those bags in. And there are also heatpacks that you can use.
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