Q: Traveling Fish

Answered by Vickey on 5/9/02, 8:23 pm

A: Traveling Fish

> What is the best way to move a Siamese Fighting
> fish from one destination to another? This will
> be an hour drive.
>

A one hour drive will produce some stress, but not too much.

You should go to your local fish store and get a traveling bag. It will be the exact same type of bag you brought your fish home in.

Fill it with tank water and place your betta in it with the top open for oxygen until you are ready to leave. You can set it down inside of a pitcher so it sits upright until you are ready to leave.

If at all possible, save about 1/2 of your aquarium water in sealed containers. Drain out the rest except for enough to keep the gravel barely covered and the filter media wet. Leave the rocks and filter intact, which will preserve your beneficial bacterial colony.

When ready to leave, you can add about a teaspoon of StressCoat to the bag if you wish. Tie the bag tight and load the fish, aquarium, and water in sealed containers in the car.

At the new lcoation, set up your tank just as it was. Use the saved tank water and add the rest with dechlorinated tap water. Over an hour, the water will not lose to much heat - maybe only one or two degrees. The tap water you add should be adjusted to bring the tank temp. back to where it was. (should be 74-78F).

You can safely add your fish and the water in his bag back to the tank. Be aware that the betta may quit eating for a couple of days because of the change. This is nothing to worry about as long as he returns to normal within about 3 days.