how long is a long ride

[BigDaddy420]

my LFS guy is kinda hm, no nice way to say it..a goof in nice terms. although he does have great fish and he knows hes the best lfs around. i guess i got on his bad side early cuz he doesnt like biospira and apparently doesnt like when people have their own opinion on things, but anyway. i want a tiretrack eel and he keps giving me a run around story saying theyre out of season one day, next time i go, he just got an order, cant get anything right now, just a different excuse everytime. so i know i can get them at a petsmart about 1.5 hours away. how long is to long to keep your fish in the bag they give you at the pet store?

 

[rhoymand]

I usually go straight home when I get new fish. they spend no more than 45 mins in the bag including acclimation. for a long trip like that I'd bring a larger bag for them to put the fish in. better yet, just bring a 2 or 5 gal bucket.

 

[Lotus]

A fish will be fine for several hours in a bag. If it's either very hot or cold out, a cooler is a good idea (no ice, just for the insulation). I don't think a bucket is a good idea, as it's easier for fish to panic and jump out or damage themselves. We've driven 5 hours with fish in bags, and they were fine. Fish also get shipped overnight in bags all the time, although that's a little more stressful.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I've done quite a while with fish in bags, never had a problem with "too" long in a bag. Just don't stop for dinner or something, but if the car is comfortable for you they'll be fine in a bag (in a cooler is extra good).

The bucket isn't really great, they probably won't give you that much water unless it is a seriously big eel. Plus it'll jostle around more and allow the fish to jump out.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

The drive should be fine.

Think of all the fish getting shipped TO the LFS with overnight air spending more than a few hours in the bags. Or even having fish sent to your house, always more than a few hours. (Edit, oh lotus already said this, didn't see)

I'd echo above, you should look into taking a styro cooler or small cooler to put the bag in. I don't know to much about the eels and their temprature preference, but a heat pack might be a good thing to take too.

 

[hyunelan2]

Fish are in bags for a long time at auctions/swap meets. They're bagged for 4-5 horus usually, plus travel to the new owners place. I'd say you'd be fine to get it from petsmart... just ask them to put it in one of their larger bags that they have, then put the bag in a cooler, and take him home.

 

[twoluvcats]

all my fish take a 2hr trip in a bag when I travel to get them...and by the time they've been acclimated they've been in the bag for 4-5hrs at least. I just have them bagged and then stick them in a cooler for the trip home, and cover it with a towel to de-stress them a bit.

When i had a betta shipped from Thailand he was in a teeny bag for 4 days! EEP!! The ammonia was pretty high in that bag by the time I got it.

 

[BigDaddy420]

thanks, ill bring him home without worry now.

 

[Chazwick]

A fish will be fine for several hours in a bag. If it's either very hot or cold out, a cooler is a good idea (no ice, just for the insulation). I don't think a bucket is a good idea, as it's easier for fish to panic and jump out or damage themselves. We've driven 5 hours with fish in bags, and they were fine. Fish also get shipped overnight in bags all the time, although that's a little more stressful.

Really? Wow.. and there's me getting worried with keeping them in for a 20min walk home, then 20mins to adapt to the water from my tank.

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast WITH all of my fish. There is a sticky thread about it here on MFT.

They travel WAY more getting from their native habitat to our LFS than they ever will once we own them.