# Best way to transport



## pumh (Sep 26, 2010)

Hello everyone,

Later this week i will be picking up 8 Pseudotropheus Saulosi and I am just wondering what would be the best way of transporting them home. I have a few options and could use a combonation of any of them...

1.) Bags (like the ones you get when you buy fish from the LFS)
2.) A couple of 1 gallon buckets
3.) A 5 gallon bucket
4.) I also have a styrofoam insulating box that I will most likely use

Thanks, pumh


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## jturkey69 (Jun 6, 2011)

when we picked up fish from further away then a few blocks, I loaded the back of my wagon with large plastic bins half full with my own treated water, a large net, and empty plastic pail, and depending on size of fish, either one to three per container that had a couple pieces of 2" pvc pipe for hiding...the furthest I have gone was about 20 minutes though. I have also heard of the Styrofoam coolers as they are cheap, and hold temps? my plastic bins had the tops on them with a large square cut out, and I hot glued screen door screen in the opening and small space for an airline to run through if we ever find something that is further then 20 mins or so for a battery or cig lighter operated airpump. Of course my set-up may be overkill...lol


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## pumh (Sep 26, 2010)

This is a stupid question... but if i use the styrofoam box could i put the fish directly into the box or would i put them into something like bags then into the box?


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## jturkey69 (Jun 6, 2011)

just in the box..it holds water well. :thumb: There may be more that I dont know about though, so hopefully other senior members will chime in...the above is our only experience on three separate occasions ranging from in town to 20 mins away.


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## Grumblecakes (Feb 20, 2011)

i moved mine in a 9 hour car ride inside 1 gallon ziplock bags 2/3 water 1/3 air placed inside the empty aquarium. i covered the tank so it wouldnt get much direct sunlight and tired not to run the ac much. i wouldnt place them right in the cooler since they can break/leak pretty easy. fish are a little more hardy than we sometimes give them credit for. *** seen ups unload the truck at my lfs and he was far from gentle.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

How far? 8 saulosi will be fine if bagged in a cooler (males separate if you can ID) or in a 5G bucket with lid. When transporting via bucket (I use the seller's water...it is what they are acclimated to...fill only 1/3) I use a battery powered air pump ($8) and stone just to be safe. They ride in the front seat with the air conditioner on and no stops.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

the sporting goods section has battery powered air pumps. Mine goes on more boat rides than car rides!


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## JoelRHale (Apr 22, 2011)

Fish can survive a good bit in a bag. Anything up to 2 hours I would just leave them in the bags. And do what DJ said about keeping them in the cooler.


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## jturkey69 (Jun 6, 2011)

JoelRHale said:


> Fish can survive a good bit in a bag. Anything up to 2 hours I would just leave them in the bags. And do what DJ said about keeping them in the cooler.


Good to know about being in a bag...I figured they would run out of oxygen, or something weird...so disregard my overdone methods..lol


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## JoelRHale (Apr 22, 2011)

No reason to apologize for over doing fish safety/health. :thumb:

But I can tell you that there is absolutely zero threat to fish in the bag for a car ride as shot as 20 minutes. If you're concerned you can buy these things called Bag Buddies. 400 count bottle will run you $8-12 shipped. They are little tabs you put in the water and they have clove oil (fish relaxer) and other good things including releases additional oxygen into the bag. It's not needed but if it's peace of mind you need then they would be perfect.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A professionally bagged fish can go 48 hours in the bag...but bagging them can be a pain so if they are not in bags at pick-up, I like the bucket method for transport of several hours or less.


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## jturkey69 (Jun 6, 2011)

The last few fish or so we have picked up are 5" and up..lol...bagging those are a pain I would think, not to mention I have had a couple of leakers from my mbuna as well from the LFS..lol


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## JoelRHale (Apr 22, 2011)

I used buckets (one for each fish) to transport 3, 1-2' pacus I had. IME, larger fish are much harder to transport. All 3 pacus got horribly stressed out in less than a 30 minute car ride. But then with the same method I can take 20, 1-2" Africans in 2 buckets over 2 hours in the car and they not show any sign of stress.

As for leakage, I always bring a bucket even if it's only to set the bags in. It helps avoid problems with the bagging.


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## allierw (Apr 20, 2006)

I've done bags and the bucket and had good results with both. The last fish I picked up were 6-8" and had to be triple bagged with oxygen (fins were poking holes in the bags) and then some were just put in 5g buckets with lids. I had a battery powered air pump but didn't end up using it. All the fish were fine over the 3 hours they were in either the bags or the buckets. To me, a bucket is simpler, plus you can drip in your tank water to acclimate before you put them in the tank. If they are very young saulosi, bag buddies shouldn't be needed, but if they are close to adult size, I would consider it just to help de-stress.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

If you use buckets, only fill the buckets about 1/3 with water otherwise fish can jump out if it's too full. I also like to cover the buckets with a plastic bag (with a few small holes poked in). This makes them less inclined to jump out and also keeps the bucket darker which reduces their activity and thus stress.

If you are transporting more than 20 minutes in a car on a hot day, make sure they have access to air conditioning. For example, do not take an hour rest stop with the car in the sun. Alternatively, if your car does not have ac, you will need that styrofoam cooler and possibly some cool packs.

I've done either bags or buckets for 2 hour + trips in the car and have not had any casualties.

Good luck!


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Kanorin said:


> I've done either bags or buckets for 2 hour + trips in the car and have not had any casualties.


Same here. Just last week I transported 2 haps at 6-7" and they were fine in the bags. I used two large bags and two separate Styrofoam boxes and they were fine for the 2.5 hour trip.


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## tenntexdems (May 23, 2005)

Interesting that many of the replies include experiences of a few hours or so. Just last week, I had a really interesting, albeit nervous experience. I tasked a family member to bring me 7 generations of Labidochromis; from my other home in Texas to Colorado, by car no less.

After a 13 hour transport, I certainly believe the hardy nature of the species and the majority being in good health contributed to ZERO casualties. And to think, the mission was successfully completed by an individual who enjoys watching fish, yet wants little to do with the chemistry, ecology, and overall management of their care 

1) 48 hours prior to transport, cease all feeding.

2) Several bags and bands were obtained from LFS/LPS -- Most will happily give these to you as a courtesy for obvious reasons. Often times, they will give you a handful of "bag buddies" as well, but this was not the case this time. Bag buddies have been difficult to find by others locally (for purchase or otherwise) lately as well.

3) Bags were filled over half-full -- Ensure your bag has a nice balance: plenty of water and air. Aquarium Air Pumps/Tubing fills the bags with air great and is a better option than you blowing in your exhaled CO2. (Last week, my family member didn't have a pump or bag buddies, yet they all still survived) The fish were bagged (actually double bagged) according to size and condition; shortly before departure. Obviously, the large specimens by themselves, smaller were paired, and so forth -- use good common sense and judgment. Be sure and give each bag a good juicing of stress coat -- Fish really appreciate this gesture. Band each bag tightly to avoid catastrophe.

4) Pack bags standing up, preferably in a cooler. However, last week my family member utilized a simple box -- Again, they survived. The fish should be kept in the main cabin of the vehicle -- They appreciate climate control just as you do. I'm certain 7 generations of my Cichlids survived because of climate control. They went from 106 degree outdoor heat at Sea Level to 60 degrees at roughly 9,500 feet.

5) At some point, if it's a trip more than a few hours, you will want to do mini water changes with the bags. Fish don't want to exchange ammonia through their gill anatomy; anymore than we want to inhale ammonia gas in our lungs. While I instructed my family member to change and/or add water (bottled) plus stress coat every few hours, she admitted only doing it once about half way, or 6 hours. I was quite unhappy about that, but I appreciated she at least did it, and well, they survived! In fact, I asked her to stop at a PetsMart or Petco in Amarillo and have some of the aquatics peeps do it! That would have been easiest, but no, she chose a rest stop to disband, treat several bags, and re-band by herself. Ugh. Oh well, it worked 

6) Filter media from the fishies original home (healthy and non-diseased) was brought in a separate bag as well. Sealed to keep it from drying out. One never knows when you may need some good ol' healthy nitrogenous base!

Whatever the case, there are many options for transporting and re-homing fish. It's done beyond frequently and quite successfully. Given the appropriate critical care, you should have a happy ending.

All the best.


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## cchardwick (Feb 9, 2004)

I just transported a dozen medium sized Mainganos from the pet store to my house, it was about 1.5 hours in a car during a rain storm so they stayed cool. They were in a huge bag half full of water. I drained half the water and when I floated them in my tank they were all gasping for air in the bag after just a few minutes, good thing I was watching them. I realized that when I bought them they guy exhaled into the bag to fill it with 'air'. I'm guessing that was the killer. I'm betting if you used pure bottled oxygen they would have lasted for many hours with no problems.

I've transported fish across state lines over several days of travel in five gallon buckets. I brought the buckets into the hotel room and used heaters and battery powered air pumps and had no problems at all, of course we had nice weather so they didn't get too hot or too cold during tranport. You could probably hook up an inverter in your vehicle and run the heaters in the buckets while you go down the road. No need for air, the sloshing around from driving is good enough.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I'm transporting 25 fish, ranging from about 2" to 5", to a pet store about 20 minutes away that will take good care of them. I was thinking of putting them in this 20 gallon tub I have that already has some gravel in it, sound like a good idea?


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