Long way home - how to carry loaches?

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ankelikuu
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Long way home - how to carry loaches?

Post by ankelikuu » Thu Jan 02, 2014 3:05 am

How long time can I keep my loaches (B. histrionica) in a plastic bag or a transit case?

Which one is better for transporting loaches, an acrylic case or bag? Maybe an acrylic transit case (like this http://bit.ly/1dbTWbg) so their spikes would'nt do harm? If I'll wear some plastic film on the top of the box, under the cover, so the water doesn't spill. Any other ideas?

That's because they might be hard to get in this part of Finland and I might have to drive a few hours to get them.

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Re: Long way home - how to carry loaches?

Post by bookpage » Thu Jan 02, 2014 10:19 am

how big or the fish and how many are there? They should not be very big for that small of container. If you are only going to have them in the plastic box for 2-4 hours they should be fine. Would be better if you could get a battery air pump and put a air stone in with them.
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NancyD
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Re: Long way home - how to carry loaches?

Post by NancyD » Thu Jan 02, 2014 3:12 pm

I've had small (5cm) loaches shipped in double plastic bags, 1 or 2 fish in each. They were in there for 3 days & all were fine. I have also transported them in large plastic (fish only) buckets ~20 liters with either a lid or big towel over the top.. I had ~12-15 cm of water. The bucket fit on the car floor so it didn't tip. Another consideration in winter is keeping them warm. I had the car heater turned up warmer than I liked, lol, but the fish were ok. The big bucket also allowed room for slowly acclimating the fish to their new water.
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arny
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Re: Long way home - how to carry loaches?

Post by arny » Thu Jan 02, 2014 4:31 pm

Try calling the shop you intend to get the fish from and tell them that you're coming from far away. Some shops that I go to will provide styrofoam boxes and heat pads (or sell them to you) to transport the fish in. They'll also put less water in the bags and sometimes fill the remaining space with pure oxygen (though for a couple of hours this probably wouldn't be necessary).

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Re: Long way home - how to carry loaches?

Post by Bas Pels » Fri Jan 03, 2014 3:06 am

NancyD wrote:. I had the car heater turned up warmer than I liked, lol, but the fish were ok. The big bucket also allowed room for slowly acclimating the fish to their new water.
When transporting fish I always have the car heater on an uncomfortable position.

With regard to the water, a bucket does not allow the use pure oxygen, so therefore the water will have to be changed every now and then. I myself would change it after 4, 8 and another 8 hours if nesesary.

I have taken fresh water along, from my home, when picking up fishes. The first period is in the old water, then 50 % is changed. This allows the fish to get used to my water while going home. Obviously, the waste water is best disposed modestly - in the case of Finland, in winter, it will freeze, for instance

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ankelikuu
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Re: Long way home - how to carry loaches?

Post by ankelikuu » Fri Jan 03, 2014 3:59 pm

NancyD wrote:I have also transported them in large plastic (fish only) buckets ~20 liters with either a lid or big towel over the top.
Nice! That's clever! Also battery working air pumps sound great - have to check if I could buy one or two. :) There could be a warm water bottle in the bucket, too, or next to it, but in fact, the heater of our car is always set at minimum 22 centigrades in the winter, so the fish will not freeze anyway. The transfer time will be approximately max. 4 hours, more likely 2,5-3 hours (this is a small country - you can drive whole Finland thru in 12 hours) even if I have a "long" drive. So maybe they would manage even with simple (double!) plastic bags. But I want the best for my fish. :D

Thank you for your advice!

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