How to Move With Large Fish

Intro: How to Move With Large Fish

Moving to a new home is especially challenging when you own large fish like pond fish; such as koi. They are large, heavy, and very strong.  But a few simple steps can make the move less stressful for your valued fish.

STEP 1: What You Need

1. A 30 gallon clean rubbermaid tub with lid

2. Stress Coat

3. Water

4. An aquarium bubbler with air hose (aquarium pump)

5. A 50 watt or 100 watt power inverter to plug into your car cigarrette lighter

6. A large fishing net and extra help

STEP 2:

Placed the fish in a clean 30 gallon Rubbermaid tub filled with water. A clean ice chest will also work. Make sure no chemcials were used to store in the container or used to clean the container.

STEP 3: Add Stress Coat

Add stress coat drops. This will help calm down your fish for the ride.  It can be purchased from any pet or fish store.

STEP 4:

Set up an aquarium bubbler with an air hose to add oxygen to the water. Make sure the air hose is secure and the hose remains submerged in the water. Check the line every few hours to make sure the air hose does not slip out of the water.

Cover container with the fitted Rubbermaid lid.

STEP 5: Plug in Power Inverter

Plug a power inverter into the car cigarette lighter and plug in the electric bubbler. I purchased my converter from Radio Shack.

When you drive, be careful of bumps and turns... drive carefully and your fish should do just fine!

STEP 6:

Just a Note:

Koi are very strong creatures. If you are moving large koi you will need a large fishing net and at least 2 people to move the fish. They will struggle and fight as you transfer them over to the container and then back again to their new home. Between me and my husband, it was a BIG task trying to move Champlain the Koi.

Comments

[valhallas_end]

Wow. How long was the drive to your new home? We had enough trouble just moving our koi (the largest probably of comparable size to the fella in your last image, but the others all about half the size or smaller, so they were easy) to a large bin when we needed to completely drain and clean our pond. I can't imagine trying to keep them "calm" in a moving (often bouncing or swaying) car...

[gailgates]

It was a 7 hour drive. The air hose popped out and the fish went who-knows-how-long without any oxygen. I had a 5+ inch goldfish that was buddy to Chaplain the koi. He was handicapped with a disformed mouth. When we got to our new home, he was floating. Mom wanted to flush him, but I gave him fishy CPR instead. I ordinarily do not name my goldfish, but when he came back to life I had to name him Lazarus. Lazarus lived for one more year!

[MarcioWilges]

Thanks for the practical tips which actually seem so easy. However, I do not have that full confidence yet to move such a complex setup including that of a carefully constructed backyard garden. Hence, I always entrust their removal to the hands of professional removalists. They have the necessary tools and experience to ensure every single drop of pond water gets moved safely over.

[samalert]

how can one do fish CPR........... :?

[ghmagm]

http://s641.photobucket.com/user/Spanettie/media/Yellowstone%202009/Yellowstone2009027.jpg.html

Lol. Maybe this? Haha

[taria]

I see your fish are in a tank, just how big is that tank?

[EmilyMeier]

It is much easier to transport the fish, using a special pill that when immersed in water begin to release oxygen.