Question by Fisholicious: How to transport live tropical fish for 4 days.?
My family has decided to move and I was wondering and I was wondering how to transport a 55 gallon aquarium and live tropical fish for 4 days? I have 12 tetras, 2 killifish, 3 corydora catfish, and 1 plecostomus(5 inches). We will be traveling by car and I would like to keep all of my fish alive. Thanks for the Help.

Best answer:

Answer by Abbie;
local fish shop and get some pond bags, probably give you some, put small amounts of these fish in the bags and put them in a dark place, buy a heater pack to keep the temperature around 24. keep the filter running on your journey as the bacteria will die and you wont be able to cycle your tank when you get there with all those sensitive fish such as corys. 1 third water to 2 third of air. i would probably rebag on day two and have some spare water as i assume ammonia levels will rise in the bag.

pet stores have them pumped with oxygen and i assume they would add some beneficial bacteria to their bags

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2 Responses to “Q&A: How to transport live tropical fish for 4 days.?”

1. BYBs kill dogs and puppies says:

   January 1, 2011 at 12:42 pm

   The ideal way to transport fish, and the only way to do it if the journey is a long one, is using a special transport tank. These are metal containers with valves for cycling oxygen. They can be expensive, but they will keep your fish in good condition, minimising stress, and they’re re-usable.

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2. Wet Whiskers o_O says:

   January 1, 2011 at 1:22 pm

   Your best bet is a cooler with an air bubbler, or an air bubbler in the transport container. You could also talk to a fish store who is familiar with shipping fish, and they can bag them with Oxygen for you and also help you with more info. Don’t feed them for at least 1-2 days before moving to avoid the ammonia that will be produced from eating. You don’t want them swimming in that during the move.

   Also, assuming that you are going to be stopping somewhere to rest, bring an extra hang on back filter to set up when you have access to a plug. That will get the surface agitation and create more oxygen into the water than a bubbler, but the bubbler helps in the car.

   Reply