Moving Fish

[Dayvydp]

Hi MFK, it's been a while since I've been on here, or even posted anything.

Just Need.

I need to know how to move fish on 3 day trip, what do i need to do?

I'm moving them from SoCal to the state of Texas, It's a day drive, but may be a 2 day drive due to pit stops. Its also hot through the those in between states. So if its not possible, then i need to get rid of these fish before this weekend, I know its last minute, but this is a last minute thing. Please help me out MFKers

 

[Owain4]

I just had 4 coldwater native fish in a bucket for 3 days, i kept a battery powered aerator in the water to provide them with oxygen, and i added and removed water every day to keep the water slightly clean. what kind of fish are you moving??

 

[brich999]

Lots of water changes, prime, def a battery powered aerator or two. Lots of luck, maybe some ice if it gets too hot, and lots of checking. What fish and size are you moving?

 

[brich999]

Also don't feed before you go more fish poo, worse water, ideally power converter(or inverter?) and underwater filter

 

[Dayvydp]

Most of the are South American catfish/cichlids/ characin

All range frm about 8in to 20in

 

[PostalPenguin]

I just moved across country from PA to CO and here was what I did. We drove a Uhaul towing a car so we loaded the fish into the car. We put all our fish in 5 gallon Lowes buckets(grey = dark) with lids. In each lid I punched two holes just big enough for an air line to fit through. The lids are secure enough that no water sloshed out even though they each had about 4 gallons in them. In each bucket went an airstone and a piece of seeded filter sponge. Each tank also got some PVC pipe for the fish to hide in.

To power the air pump I bought a power inverter. Air pumps don't use all that much electricity(mine used 4W) so a car battery will run them for a long time without draining. As insurance my inverter has a low battery cut-off.

All fish were fasted for 3 days prior to the move to reduce fish waste and each bucket was over-dosed with prime to neutralize any ammonia buildup. The water movement created by the airstones also pushed some water through the filter sponge creating some filtration.

To manage temperatures we bought a reflective metal windshield shade which kept the car quite dark and much cooler. Buy several and you can make the car pitch black. However, even then we still had to turn the car on and run the AC during the day to keep the car temps down.

If you are planning pit stops, collect a box of filters that can fit on each bucket. That way if you stop at a hotel you can quickly slap on a filter, stick the media in and give the fish some filtration. I wouldn't suggest a water change because the water may be vastly different than they are used to. Also, since Prime dissipates after 24 hours, think about adding another dose of prime at the 24 hour mark if you haven't made it to your destination.

I do not recommend getting the big tupperware tubs that you can buy at Walmart type stores. The lids do not seal therefore you cannot fill them all that much before water starts to slosh out. Though you may be forced to for your larger fish. In that case I suggest figuring out how to seal the lids. The lids on the 5gal buckets are very tight and we had no water leakage.

The fish will be shaken and stressed but all my fish survived.

 

[Dayvydp]

I know this may sound dumb, but where do i get a sponge filter? Or did you make your own? I've never used sponge filters, so I'm a bit green in that sense

 

[brich999]

I'd try for maybe a couple big coolers, since buckets mat be small

 

[PostalPenguin]

I know this may sound dumb, but where do i get a sponge filter? Or did you make your own? I've never used sponge filters, so I'm a bit green in that sense

I see them at my LFS. I think Petco/Petsmart may also carry them. However, they do need to be seeded to be effective as filters so you will have to run them in the tank for a few weeks first.