Moving.. How to pack fish for 2 days?

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beeare2000

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
May 8, 2008
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Hello people... I had a question. We're moving, and we'll be travelling for 2 days to get there.. Any suggestions on how to pack the fish? I realize I can go to the pet store, and have bags filled with oxygen, but does anyone have a better idea? I'm not worried about moving them per say... just mostly making sure they have enough air.. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks.
 
I'm sure other's will weigh in on this, but from what i've heard one of the best ways to transport fish is in a large rubbermaid container, and then you could get a batter operated air pump and an air stone, make a hole in the lid just big enough for the air hose, put the air stone on the hose after it's been poked through the lid, hook it up, and voila! Lovely oxygenated bubbles that are travel friendly! :)
Another option would probably be to bag everything, and any time you make a pit stop, open the bags and stir the water slightly to get some oxygen in there? Not sure if that would work terribly well though...

Anyway, the farthest i've traveled with fish was my 20 min move, so I'm sure others will weigh in who have actually had to move long distances :)

by the way...how big is the tank and how many/what size fish do you have? This info will probably influence the best way to transport your fish :) Good luck!
 
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If it were me, large tupperware container. I'd also probably get an AC converter for the car and run an airpump and even a small heater in there.
 
A couple rubbermaids could work, as long as I can seal them enough that water won't splash..

I'll be transferring ten 3-4 inch fish.. And I actually think I already have a converter to plug in an air stone into a cigarette lighter..

Anyone else have ideas? These are great. Thank you.
 
Another option would be to use Breather Bags. These are great for shipping. When using these bags, you don't leave any air in the bags. O2 is able enter throught the bag walls, and other gasses can leave the same way.
 
I'm in the exact same position. Two days of car travel ahead of me and almost 30 pets to transport. For my fish I'm doing the rubbermaid container with a filter in it. The ACFs and FB newts / toads will just have to deal with the same water for two days.
 
One thing to remember, don't feed the fish (at all) for about 2 full days before the move. That will cut down significantly how much ammonia they excrete during travel and reduce the chance of ammonia toxicity.

If your fish (and tank) are such that the fish eat a lot of the natural algae in there, then you might consider moving them out of their tank and info an algae-free tank/container during their 2 days of fasting as well.
 
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