I was curious as to what would be the best way to transport my only fish? I go to school in a different state, so when I have to go home for longer breaks, I have to drive about 2 hours away. I'm going to have to take him with me because there will be no way for anybody to feed him during the breaks. He's only about 1 inch long as of now, so would it be ok just to keep him in some type of container/bowl for the journey? Or is there some other way?
Transporting Fish
- Thread starter BigFish322
- Start date
I've got an hour drive from reno back from the petstore. I just ask them to use a bigger bag with more air. I've never gone 2 hours but I doubt it would be a big problem.
Make sure not to stress the fish (shake 'em up, drop 'em etc. have someone hold him)
Make sure not to stress the fish (shake 'em up, drop 'em etc. have someone hold him)
Okay, since we're talking colder climate once winter hits, you can package it up in a bag with some tank water and put in in a small box surrounded with those styrofoam packing peanuts and on the very bottom seperated by newpaper a disposable handwarmer.
If you are going to be making the trip rather frequently I would invest in a smaller bait type cooler, about the size they sell for a "6 pack", with top. Usually made of styrofoam but have seen them in the sporting goods sections of stores (Wal-Mart, K-Mart etc) out of your standard insulated hard plastic.
Either way you go you should use a heat source, with the second type of cooler you can go so far as buying the smallest heater possible and running it from your car cig lighter with one of those adapters. Since it's only two hours you likely won't need a battery operated air pump. No bag in this more durable cooler if you decide to leave it in as a temp home while you are gone.
The benefit of the harder but more expensive cooler vs the bag/box is that you could leave the fish in there when at home/vacation until you return to where it's tank is.
One thing... if it's tank is small enough (10 gallons)... you could take the tank along too with a small supply of water from school, if the destination water differs too greatly from your source, to refill once you get to your destination. If you keep the filter media wet, for the two hour drive and warm, with tank water you shouldn't have a problem with any die off of your bio. Not sure how starved the established tank will be and how it will handle the re-introduction of the gourami once you return if it's left without food for the bio (fish food, waste, etc) for a week though.
Think heat source, insulation, housing, filtration, and your bio, for the time you will be gone and you should beable to come up with a good plan for your trips.
Hope this helps.. not confuses.
If you are going to be making the trip rather frequently I would invest in a smaller bait type cooler, about the size they sell for a "6 pack", with top. Usually made of styrofoam but have seen them in the sporting goods sections of stores (Wal-Mart, K-Mart etc) out of your standard insulated hard plastic.
Either way you go you should use a heat source, with the second type of cooler you can go so far as buying the smallest heater possible and running it from your car cig lighter with one of those adapters. Since it's only two hours you likely won't need a battery operated air pump. No bag in this more durable cooler if you decide to leave it in as a temp home while you are gone.
The benefit of the harder but more expensive cooler vs the bag/box is that you could leave the fish in there when at home/vacation until you return to where it's tank is.
One thing... if it's tank is small enough (10 gallons)... you could take the tank along too with a small supply of water from school, if the destination water differs too greatly from your source, to refill once you get to your destination. If you keep the filter media wet, for the two hour drive and warm, with tank water you shouldn't have a problem with any die off of your bio. Not sure how starved the established tank will be and how it will handle the re-introduction of the gourami once you return if it's left without food for the bio (fish food, waste, etc) for a week though.
Think heat source, insulation, housing, filtration, and your bio, for the time you will be gone and you should beable to come up with a good plan for your trips.
Hope this helps.. not confuses.
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I've used a cheap plastic cooler to transport fish and its worked great. For a two hour drive I wouldn't worry about a heater unless you like to take frequent breaks with the car (read:heater) off.
The nice things about a cooler are that its a good size so you're not talking about a little plastic bag, they have a handle so they're easy to carry, they're pretty well insulated so as long as the heater in your car works you shouldn't need additional heat, they're not airtight like a bag to there's air exchange going on, and they close leaving a nice dark environment for the fish to chill out.
I'd guess you can get one of those small, igloo, construction lunch type coolers for under $20 at Walmart.
The nice things about a cooler are that its a good size so you're not talking about a little plastic bag, they have a handle so they're easy to carry, they're pretty well insulated so as long as the heater in your car works you shouldn't need additional heat, they're not airtight like a bag to there's air exchange going on, and they close leaving a nice dark environment for the fish to chill out.
I'd guess you can get one of those small, igloo, construction lunch type coolers for under $20 at Walmart.
Just don't put a whole bunch of water in the cooler, it tends to slosh through the lid all over the vehicle. Definitely don't use a heater if you are going to leave the cooler in your vehicle. Only use a heater if you are shipping a fish. I transported mine about five hours with a basic cooler setup.