How long is to long to transport?

[Bullnugget]

I don't have much on choices for a LFS. There is a small place who is a local owner, but he doesn't have a great reputation, seems like his fish are always dieing. I had 2 Angelfish from him, they died, and on the local Facebook walls everyone says not to buy from him, although they are mostly saltwater tanks. The other is a small pet store chain, which actually is a nice little place, and then Petsmart.

I am about an hour away from Columbus, Ohio. There is a place there called Aquarium Adventures and they have just about every fish you can imagine, along with updating they website to show what they got in this week. I was thinking of taking a trip up there again this week to get fish. I have always went to browse when i was in the area, but I am wanting to finish my 55, and the variety close by just isn't enough. Is an hour maybe a bit longer to long in the bag for the fish? Aquarium Adventures is a tad bit overpriced and i would hate to see that money go down the drain, literally.

 

[Andy Sager]

I don't have much on choices for a LFS. There is a small place who is a local owner, but he doesn't have a great reputation, seems like his fish are always dieing. I had 2 Angelfish from him, they died, and on the local Facebook walls everyone says not to buy from him, although they are mostly saltwater tanks. The other is a small pet store chain, which actually is a nice little place, and then Petsmart.

I am about an hour away from Columbus, Ohio. There is a place there called Aquarium Adventures and they have just about every fish you can imagine, along with updating they website to show what they got in this week. I was thinking of taking a trip up there again this week to get fish. I have always went to browse when i was in the area, but I am wanting to finish my 55, and the variety close by just isn't enough. Is an hour maybe a bit longer to long in the bag for the fish? Aquarium Adventures is a tad bit overpriced and i would hate to see that money go down the drain, literally.

If shop packs with oxygen, the fish can stay in the bags for about 24-48 hours (if they use the right size.) If they don't use O2 and just pack with regular air, tell the store to pack in a larger bag than usual, use rubber bands to close the bags and you should have at least 3 hours before you would need to open the bag and re-air it. I just brought fish from NJ to FL with no oxygen in the bags. I just pulled over every 3 hours, opened the bags, re-aired the bags, sealed them back up and kept driving. I had no deaths during transport.
One thing you need to remember is to quarantine all your new fish before putting them into your main tanks. Extended times in a bag can weaken the fish somewhat so you want to make sure the fish are good and healthy before you display them.

Hope this helps

 

[Bullnugget]

Thanks, I am always reading about people quarantining saltwater fish, mainly because of the salinity difference right? I have never really looked into it, would they need to be in a separate tank completely, obviously one that has probably been cycled already? If so I don't plan on doing this, mainly because of the lack of room, and getting another tank, even if it would only be a 10 gallon.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks, I am always reading about people quarantining saltwater fish, mainly because of the salinity difference right? I have never really looked into it, would they need to be in a separate tank completely, obviously one that has probably been cycled already? If so I don't plan on doing this, mainly because of the lack of room, and getting another tank, even if it would only be a 10 gallon.

Just to clarify, quarantining, saltwater AND freshwater fish, is for disease prevention. Most saltwater fish are wild caught so they are QTed to treat wild pathogens they might be carrying. With freshwater fish, parasitic, bacterial or fungal diseases may be present on or in the fish and the stress of transport can put these diseases into action which is why in today's hobby, it is always recommended to QT new arrivals no matter where they come from. You take a high risk of bringing something into your main tank when you don't.
As for what size tank, a bare 10 gal should work for most fish unless they are large specimens. It is better to use bare tanks for new arrivals so that if you have to medicate, you won't have to worry about damaging the bacteria bed. Using just an airstone or HOB filter will suffice and you can control the water quality with water changes. Most diseases will show up on new fish usually within the first 7 days so a QT of 14-21 days should suffice. Since this is a temporary tank, just having a place to set up a tank for 3 weeks shouldn't be too hard to do. (FY: I had 20+ tanks in my bedroom growing up. There's always a place somewhere. )You can put the tank away once done and only need to bring it out when you add more fish.

Hope this helps

 

[Andy Sager]

As for a QT tank, so i can fill it up, put the fish in it even when it hasnt cycled? Then when im done empty the thing? Sorry. This is a very new hobby for me.

Yes, you set up the tank with water. Use whatever chemicals you may need (if any) to make your water "fish safe" just as you would for your main tank. Acclimate the new fish to this tank ( the same as you should for your main tank). Once they are in this QT tank, observation is key. Look for disease, abrasions (torn fins, etc.) abnormal behavior, overall health. Medicate only as needed.

What makes this system different from your main tank is that your main tank uses a bacteria bed to keep the water clean and devoid of ammonia and nitrogen buildup. "Cycled" just means that the process of creating this bacteria bed has occurred. The cycling process doesn't start until you have an ammonia source. (I strongly suggest you read up on the cycling process as I am giving you the abridged version here ) In a bare tank, you will be changing some water about every 2-3 days before there is any appreciable amount of ammonia present to harm the fish. There is another aspect to this wherein if the PH of your water ( and you want to match your water as close to what the PH is of the water the fish you are buying are in) is in the acidic range, ammonia will be in the non toxic form (ammonium) so while it may show up on a test kit, it is not toxic to the fish. Either way, by doing a partial water change every 2-3 days, you will be reducing the presence of any ammonia, no matter what form it is in,( thereby eliminating any nitrogen buildup from the fish waste,) so the tank does not need to have the bacteria bed to be safe for the fish.
Once you have finished QTing your fish, you can just clean out the tank, sterilize it, and put it away until the next time you buy fish.

So to recap, you will need:
Tank, air supply, HOB filter (optional), Heater (if room temp is unstable), lid ( cause new fish can be jumpy), hiding places ( if the fish you are getting like to hide i.e. knife fish, sharks, smaller cichlids) and extra water for water changes and replacement of acclimating water. That's it.

I strongly urge you to read up on "acclimating techniques" and "cycling" so you have a better understanding of what's happening.

Hope this helps

 

[Bullnugget]

I know about cycling, learned the hard way once. This is why I was afraid of throwing a new fish in a tank with new water. I did not know though that small amounts were not that harmful, and also about the acidic water part. Thanks. I have never had a problem before, so a QT tank was never in my thoughts.

 

[Andy Sager]

I know about cycling, learned the hard way once. This is why I was afraid of throwing a new fish in a tank with new water. I did not know though that small amounts were not that harmful, and also about the acidic water part. Thanks. I have never had a problem before, so a QT tank was never in my thoughts.

While you are using new water, you are actually going to be using "seasoned" water which means you have made the water "Fish ready." ( I usually set up the water a day or 2 before I put the fish in it.) I have about 4 tanks at the moment just getting ready to put fish in them. Better safe than sorry

As for never having a problem before, you are actually playing the game Russian Rhoulette. Total wipeouts will happen the longer you stay in the game. They are inevitable if you don't take precautions.
The following is a post I made in a number of other threads concerning today's fish. Take it for what it's worth.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have to start by saying I am far from concerned for myself about catching anything from my fish. I've been around them long enough that I almost challenge any organism to get into my bloodstream and survive. LOL But that's for ME and me only.

Let me follow by saying that I am far from a Doom's Day, Henny Penny, the sky is falling, totally paranoid kind of person. I play the odds and the odds are in my favor that nothing is going to happen.

That all being said, recently, the odds have changed so the concern is more not what you can give the fish but what the fish can give to you. You may want to read this article:
Tropical fish diseases passed to humans: Humans at risk of impetigo, pneumonia from diseases to drug-resistant tropical fish | Mail Online

 

[Justin144]

Hey another Ohio fish lover, I'm just going to say im in the exact same spot as you on the one hour away from aquarium adventure ( which compared to pet land and the lfs is amazing!!) I absolutely love when I get to go on a fish trip down there . I was down their this weekend and bought my fire eel ( been waiting forever for him ) to stock my 100 gallon and 3 beautiful angels for my 72 bowfront deffinitly the best fish store in central Ohio

 

[Fresh2o]

My 2 cents. It might be a good idea to transport them in a cooler to reduce temperature fluctuations.

 

[Grish]

My closest LFS is about 50 minutes away. They are good about packaging the fish for the drive and I have never lost a fish from the drive home. Just make sure they know that you do have a longer drive to get home.

 

[Fishlover3578]

Does aquarium adventure have saltwater fish my dad wants to do saltwater

 

[Fishlover3578]

What is their address

 

[azmodan]

Does aquarium adventure have saltwater fish my dad wants to do saltwater

What is their address

Google.

 

[Justin144]

Yes they do have a huge saltwater arrangement and I don't know there address but their website will have it , www.aquariumadventurecolombus.com ( I think that's it )?

 

[Bullnugget]

Aquarium Adventure

Yes, a huge assortment of all. They are pricier though so take it for what its worth.

 

[Justin144]

Yes I totally agree on the pricey part but the fish are always healthy . I have had zero disease or problems with their fish

 

[T1KARMANN]

I don't have much on choices for a LFS. There is a small place who is a local owner, but he doesn't have a great reputation, seems like his fish are always dieing. I had 2 Angelfish from him, they died, and on the local Facebook walls everyone says not to buy from him, although they are mostly saltwater tanks. The other is a small pet store chain, which actually is a nice little place, and then Petsmart.

I am about an hour away from Columbus, Ohio. There is a place there called Aquarium Adventures and they have just about every fish you can imagine, along with updating they website to show what they got in this week. I was thinking of taking a trip up there again this week to get fish. I have always went to browse when i was in the area, but I am wanting to finish my 55, and the variety close by just isn't enough. Is an hour maybe a bit longer to long in the bag for the fish? Aquarium Adventures is a tad bit overpriced and i would hate to see that money go down the drain, literally.

You can transport fish in a polybox not bags for about 24 hours with a bat air pump

The you can put the box in the house and run a internal filter for weeks