VTDrew
New Member
Simple questions. Can I transport fish in a new-clean standard beer cooler with no lining. I am moving 3000 miles, I think I can build a better life support system that way without bags.
Transporting Fish In A Cooler
- Thread starter VTDrew
- Start date
thefishnoob
Fish Fanatic
Yeah, I agree with a bag. Maybe add some plants? Or use an airstone with a sponge filter.
I once traveled with my fish in a ten gallon plastic tub. I just filled it with water and put my fish in it. Now that I know more about fish, I would do the same thing, except I would use a battery powered air pump connected to either a sponge filter or an air stone for extra oxygen, and I would add heat packs. Of course, if you wanted to do heat packs, you'd need to at least line the cooler with some kind of plastic, or just bag everyone up in the same big bag and add the stone/filter, line the cooler with newspaper and heat packs, and then close it up.
I moved some goldfish and dojo loaches in a cooler last year. Just get one of those DC power inverters that you can plug a regular plug into, and plug an air pump in so you can power am air stone and they will be fine.
VTDrew
New Member
OK, already got the battery pump. Let me re-phrase. Is there anything in the plastic of a brand new, cleaned, beer cooler that could hurt my fish.
Here is the plan, in detail.
1. Get two coolers. 15 gallons each. One has 4 Rainbows, 1 pictus cat, 1 lg pleco, 1 sm pleco. The other has my pissed off Venustus who is peacful, but has become aggressive lately because of moving stress and I'm afraid she will be a ***** in the cooler.
2. Add hot packs via a partially submerged bag. I got the logistics here covered.
3. Have small heaters in each cooler.
4. Drill a hole for the air stone lines through the top.
Why is this better. Cooler on wheels = fish get to go to the hotel room and I can plug in to let the heaters work. There is no affordable way to get enough amperage to the back of the box for real heaters. Hot packs will hold temp during drive. Also, more water=more safety. Its more like a plastic tank then anything else. Without a bag, I can also tend to any stressed fish. I will have a styro-box-bag cooler on hand for quarentine/emergencies.
Here is the plan, in detail.
1. Get two coolers. 15 gallons each. One has 4 Rainbows, 1 pictus cat, 1 lg pleco, 1 sm pleco. The other has my pissed off Venustus who is peacful, but has become aggressive lately because of moving stress and I'm afraid she will be a ***** in the cooler.
2. Add hot packs via a partially submerged bag. I got the logistics here covered.
3. Have small heaters in each cooler.
4. Drill a hole for the air stone lines through the top.
Why is this better. Cooler on wheels = fish get to go to the hotel room and I can plug in to let the heaters work. There is no affordable way to get enough amperage to the back of the box for real heaters. Hot packs will hold temp during drive. Also, more water=more safety. Its more like a plastic tank then anything else. Without a bag, I can also tend to any stressed fish. I will have a styro-box-bag cooler on hand for quarentine/emergencies.
The plastic in the coolers shouldnt be a threat, as their naturally supposed to hold water with out leaching chemicals, my suggestion is every day or other day do about 50% water change to the coolers with dechlorinated water, and make sure its clean water as well. The air air line should keep the water well oxygenated, and the heat packs should help keep the cooler warm but unless your moving up north this really shouldnt be a problem. I suggest if you can put the pleco with the other fish, they have large bio loads and the other will have stressed fish as well, so a lot more ammonia is being produced.
SouthernCross
Fish Addict
I used coolers when I moved house (including a huge one metre one), once they were all caught and in the coolers with some plants I put heaters and airstones in while the tank was broken down. they were then loaded in the car, and once we got to the new house again in went the heaters and air until the tank was set up. I think the coolers insulate the temp a little bit and the fish are relatively calm because when the lid is down it is dark.
Worked well for me with no losses.
Worked well for me with no losses.
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
I always transport fish bagged, never in coolers etc. Ask yourself what will be happening in that cooler of you have to hit the breaks hard r you accidentally take a corner a bit on the fats side. The fish can be jerked around and slammed into into the sides of the containers. Properly packed in bag and then placed in a styro or cooler with packing material which cushions such blows is a better choice, imo.
Bear in mind that most fish in peoples tanks have traveled great distances to get there, they have been bagged and shipped a few times. No oxygen is added during transport(for some fish it may beput into the bag before its closed up), heat or cold packs are used as needed. I have sent fish from New York to Alaska in early April, had them delayed and take 4+ days to arrive alive. When packing fish to ship them the goal is to use the least amount of water possible since one is not really paying to ship the tiny weight of the fish but rather the heavy weight of the water. But if one is merely moving their own fish and not shipping them, one can over bag them. One can use larger bags and more water which makes it a safe situation.
One last reason for bagging- in a cooler a dead fish pollutes the water for all. In bags fish can be packed individually or in smaller numbers which minimizes this type of issue.
A few hints:
1. Do not feed the fish for at least 24 hours and as much as 3 days prior to moving. It depends on the size/maturity of the fish.
2. You want a 50/50 mix of air and water in the bags and you want to double bag them.
3. You can add a very small amount of an ammonia detoxifier to the bag water. This is not a requirement. I use Amquel. Prime would work too.
4. Have extra bags and some extra dechlorinated water on hand for the trip in case anything goes wrong. Otherwise make sure you have dechlor with you so if you must use water obtained along the way, you can.
5. If you have some big fish to move, you may want to consider adding a mild sedative to the bag water.
If you are uncertain of anything, ask people who regularly ship fish for help and advice.
Bear in mind that most fish in peoples tanks have traveled great distances to get there, they have been bagged and shipped a few times. No oxygen is added during transport(for some fish it may beput into the bag before its closed up), heat or cold packs are used as needed. I have sent fish from New York to Alaska in early April, had them delayed and take 4+ days to arrive alive. When packing fish to ship them the goal is to use the least amount of water possible since one is not really paying to ship the tiny weight of the fish but rather the heavy weight of the water. But if one is merely moving their own fish and not shipping them, one can over bag them. One can use larger bags and more water which makes it a safe situation.
One last reason for bagging- in a cooler a dead fish pollutes the water for all. In bags fish can be packed individually or in smaller numbers which minimizes this type of issue.
A few hints:
1. Do not feed the fish for at least 24 hours and as much as 3 days prior to moving. It depends on the size/maturity of the fish.
2. You want a 50/50 mix of air and water in the bags and you want to double bag them.
3. You can add a very small amount of an ammonia detoxifier to the bag water. This is not a requirement. I use Amquel. Prime would work too.
4. Have extra bags and some extra dechlorinated water on hand for the trip in case anything goes wrong. Otherwise make sure you have dechlor with you so if you must use water obtained along the way, you can.
5. If you have some big fish to move, you may want to consider adding a mild sedative to the bag water.
If you are uncertain of anything, ask people who regularly ship fish for help and advice.
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