Transporting ATF

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SePPii

SePPii

Dovii
MFK Member
May 21, 2011
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Chesapeake, OH
Ive never dealt with ATF before and I've heard they can be hard to transport as they stress easy. I am picking up the GATF I showed in my last post for a friend and taking it to him 3 hours away. What would you ATF guys suggest the best way to catch him? What would be an ideal way of transporting him without stressing him out. Will a tote and a bubbler be good enough or should I run some sort of filtration? Any advice will help, thanks!


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I'd pack it just like shipping it. I've only attempted to move 1 ATF once, and I definitely did it WRONG, now the fish will never be the same.

I picked up a Gatf and had a 2 hour car ride, and I'm pretty sure the damage suffered during transport is permanent. Just destroyed itself smashing into the sides, top, and bottom on the way home.

Bag it up, O2, bag buddies, and a styro box. Just like you were dropping it off at the airport to ship. I'd think that would minimize the damage they can inflict on themselves compared to say a tote with a bubbler or water pump that will likely just make it even flightyier.
 
Well I have a styrofoam box and I have a big enough bag. But I have no O2 and I don't know where I would get any bag buddies by Wednesday morning


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Get one of those 12v car compressors and pump air in the bag during transport. 3 hrs is quite a long time depending on the size of the fish. The larger the fish the more O2 they use.

Also the faster you catch him the less stress. If you have to chase him around for 10 mins he will be really exhausted and more stressed. There were times after I caught my ATF and put him in the bucket he flipped over on his back and almost died because I had such a hard time catching him.
 
My plan is to leave the lights off and try to just sneak attack and catch him as quick as possible. He's about 8-10" and I have 2 battery operated air bubblers that have never died on me on this same trip up and back with fish so I'm confident they would be ok. Basically I just need to make sure not to stress it out.


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SePPii said:
My plan is to leave the lights off and try to just sneak attack and catch him as quick as possible. He's about 8-10" and I have 2 battery operated air bubblers that have never died on me on this same trip up and back with fish so I'm confident they would be ok. Basically I just need to make sure not to stress it out.


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Haha, if you can see him he can see the net. :nilly:

Be prepared they will jump when cornered. The best is to have two big nets and corral him.

If you can drain the tank that's the best way to stress them the least. Even when I drained my tank down to 2 inches of water they still manage to get a foot of air jumping.
 
8-10" fish, 3 hour drive, with no O2? Good luck.....

Post pics after the trip!!!
 
SePPii said:
Is air stones in bag with him not oxygen?


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Not the same as pure O2. When properly packed fish should be able to push 48 hours in a bag..... I only push packing in a bag cause of how they damage themselves in totes. You could bag up and use a pump to run air in there, but that's just more stuff in the bag with them and just seems like it would be more room for error then just packing up in a dark, quiet, box...... In a filled bag it should just bounce off without damaging itself like it would in a hard tote, but with them teeth, how long is a filled bag gonna last? Just doesn't sound like an easy task, no matter what way you look at it...... :(

This is just my thoughts, like I've said I've only tried once, and am still learning about ATF.....

Should be able to score O2 from a LFS, or even any place that would have a torch like an auto repair shop. I'm told O2 is O2, I'm willing to bet any shop would fill a bag for you for a few bucks if you can't get it from a LFS.

My GATF's face is "F"ed from a 2 hr drive, I'm just saying how I'd do it IF I had to do it over knowing what I know after toting one. In the end it's up to you, but I wouldn't wish what happened to mine on anyone's. And he was just 6", and the drive was straight interstate, very stress free drive.
 
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