fish and corals in bags for 24 hours - OK?

rwb500 · 05/09/2013, 11:57 PM

I'm moving soon, and planning on bagging everything up the night before the big drive, and not unpacking until probably 24 hours later. Do i need to follow any special precautions regarding oxygen?

I was just going to single bag all corals and fish, and then put like 3-6 bags into a bigger bag. pack these bags into coolers, keep them in the passenger area of my car, and drive for 12 hours. sound good?

Shaun v · 05/10/2013, 12:13 AM

I would think you would need to oxygenate the bags like they do with online fish purchases.

greg1786 · 05/10/2013, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun v

I would think you would need to oxygenate the bags like they do with online fish purchases.

+1 to this. I would stop by your lfs before you leave and ask them if they will bag them and oxygenate them for you if you pay for the bags. Even if you have to give them 5-10 bucks the piece of mind is worth it. Better to be precatious rather than risk the lives of your animals not to mention what im sure is a good bit of money you have invested in them. Good luck

anbosu · 05/10/2013, 05:20 AM

Your corals will be fine. I would recommend keeping the fish in buckets or something though. How many fish and how big are they?

screamingibis · 05/10/2013, 05:31 AM

you can get the bait oxygenators that run off D batteries at Wally World for a couple bucks.

Patroklos · 05/10/2013, 06:56 AM

+1 on the buckets for the fish. Drop in some PVC pipe sections for their mental health.

cakemanPA · 05/10/2013, 07:59 AM

how big and how many fish? I have used coleman/igloo coolers for that purpose in the past.

rwb500 · 05/10/2013, 08:18 AM

Hey guys, the fish are all pretty small. Biggest one is a 4" wrasse.

I would rather not use an open container with an air pump, but that is a good backup plan if I cant get bags to work. If I go that route, can I keep all of the fish in the same bucket? All are peaceful and get along fine currently.

NeilFox · 05/10/2013, 08:43 AM

Good advice from all above. Coral should be fine. I drove from Detroit to Seattle (A long WAY!!). I had about 10 fish in a Rubbermaid Roughneck container with a battery powered air pump. I brought some old "Reef" water from their home in jerry cans (plastic). I changed out the water (+ - 15%) and brought the fish and coral into my hotel at night (4 x I think). Not a single casualty...

rwb500 · 05/10/2013, 12:50 PM

hmmm...

maybe i should bag the corals and put the fish all in some type of container with lid, with a hole for an airstone and another hole for exhaust.

PikkaGTR · 05/10/2013, 01:11 PM

you can use a clean 5gal salt bucket with a heater and airstone
proly best bet

slief · 05/10/2013, 02:26 PM

I'd use 5 gallon buckets with a few fish each. Poke a couple holes in the lids and fill 1/3 the way with water. You can give the bucket a couple of tips every few hours to get some additional O2 in the water. Another alternative would be a couple battery operated air pumps and run the lines through the lid of the bucket. The good thing is that this will also give you a good means of transporting some of your water to use in the system when you set it back up. During your drive, there should be plenty of sloshing of the water which will aerate the water just fine if you don't use the battery powered air pump.

For the corals, I would gently wrap them in a plastic fish bag and set them in the bottom of a bucket filled with water. The plastic bag should help to keep the corals from getting their skin/membranes damaged. The idea is to kind of cover but not wrap them tight. Alternatively, you could place them in open bags inside the bucket or even closed bags for that matter.

Last time I moved 15 years ago, I set up kitty pools in a UHaul truck. I had another kitty pool at my new house in the garage and transferred everything to the pool in the garage when I got the Uhaul home. The fish stayed in the kitty pools for a couple days while I got the tank up and running. In my case I was moving a well stocked 480 Gallon reef tank plus the sump and my plumbing was fairly complicated and had to be completely redone. I had no casualties as a result of the move either.

thallone · 05/10/2013, 04:09 PM

another option is a regular air pump and use a cigarette-lighter type inverter. they only draw a couple watts (air pumps). Depending on where and how far you're driving though, I'd consider a 50-watt heater for the bucket. You could run both off a cheap inverter.

for example: http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-inverte...words=inverter

05/09/2013, 11:57 PM	#1
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,694	fish and corals in bags for 24 hours - OK? I'm moving soon, and planning on bagging everything up the night before the big drive, and not unpacking until probably 24 hours later. Do i need to follow any special precautions regarding oxygen? I was just going to single bag all corals and fish, and then put like 3-6 bags into a bigger bag. pack these bags into coolers, keep them in the passenger area of my car, and drive for 12 hours. sound good?

05/10/2013, 12:13 AM	#2
Shaun v Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Bailey, Colorado Posts: 207	I would think you would need to oxygenate the bags like they do with online fish purchases. __________________ "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." ~Jacques Yves Cousteau Current Tank Info: 16.75 gallon rimless star fire glass tank. 3 koralia 425 power heads, 30lbs LS, 22lbs LR. Kessil Tuna Blue 350w light. No sump, no filter, no refugium. Started on March 3, 2012

05/10/2013, 02:26 PM	#12
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	I'd use 5 gallon buckets with a few fish each. Poke a couple holes in the lids and fill 1/3 the way with water. You can give the bucket a couple of tips every few hours to get some additional O2 in the water. Another alternative would be a couple battery operated air pumps and run the lines through the lid of the bucket. The good thing is that this will also give you a good means of transporting some of your water to use in the system when you set it back up. During your drive, there should be plenty of sloshing of the water which will aerate the water just fine if you don't use the battery powered air pump. For the corals, I would gently wrap them in a plastic fish bag and set them in the bottom of a bucket filled with water. The plastic bag should help to keep the corals from getting their skin/membranes damaged. The idea is to kind of cover but not wrap them tight. Alternatively, you could place them in open bags inside the bucket or even closed bags for that matter. Last time I moved 15 years ago, I set up kitty pools in a UHaul truck. I had another kitty pool at my new house in the garage and transferred everything to the pool in the garage when I got the Uhaul home. The fish stayed in the kitty pools for a couple days while I got the tank up and running. In my case I was moving a well stocked 480 Gallon reef tank plus the sump and my plumbing was fairly complicated and had to be completely redone. I had no casualties as a result of the move either. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

05/10/2013, 05:20 AM	#4
anbosu Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Mount Juliet, TN Posts: 4,528	Your corals will be fine. I would recommend keeping the fish in buckets or something though. How many fish and how big are they?

05/10/2013, 05:31 AM	#5
screamingibis Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Maysville, GA Posts: 375	you can get the bait oxygenators that run off D batteries at Wally World for a couple bucks.

05/10/2013, 06:56 AM	#6
Patroklos Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 272	+1 on the buckets for the fish. Drop in some PVC pipe sections for their mental health.

05/10/2013, 07:59 AM	#7
cakemanPA Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hummelstown, PA Posts: 2,353	how big and how many fish? I have used coleman/igloo coolers for that purpose in the past.

05/10/2013, 08:18 AM	#8
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,694	Hey guys, the fish are all pretty small. Biggest one is a 4" wrasse. I would rather not use an open container with an air pump, but that is a good backup plan if I cant get bags to work. If I go that route, can I keep all of the fish in the same bucket? All are peaceful and get along fine currently.

05/10/2013, 08:43 AM	#9
NeilFox Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: DuPont, WA Posts: 947	Good advice from all above. Coral should be fine. I drove from Detroit to Seattle (A long WAY!!). I had about 10 fish in a Rubbermaid Roughneck container with a battery powered air pump. I brought some old "Reef" water from their home in jerry cans (plastic). I changed out the water (+ - 15%) and brought the fish and coral into my hotel at night (4 x I think). Not a single casualty...

05/10/2013, 12:50 PM	#10
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,694	hmmm... maybe i should bag the corals and put the fish all in some type of container with lid, with a hole for an airstone and another hole for exhaust.

05/10/2013, 01:11 PM	#11
PikkaGTR Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 50	you can use a clean 5gal salt bucket with a heater and airstone proly best bet

05/10/2013, 04:09 PM	#13
thallone Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Des Moines, Ia Posts: 218	another option is a regular air pump and use a cigarette-lighter type inverter. they only draw a couple watts (air pumps). Depending on where and how far you're driving though, I'd consider a 50-watt heater for the bucket. You could run both off a cheap inverter. for example: http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-inverte...words=inverter