Transporting Catfish

I have a pond behind my house with a few catfish. I have a friend with a
well stocked pond and am in the process of taking some fish from his pond
and putting them in mine. I usually transport 20-25 at a time at a
distance of 35 miles (takes about 45 minutes). The are transported in the
back of my SUV. These fish are caught with a rod and reel, I only keep the
ones hooked in the mouth.

The fish are 1, 2 and 3 pound fish. Currently I have a small 20-60 gallon
Aquarium Air Pump with dual hoses that I run on a battery pack into a 45
gallon plastic storage container with a lid. I put some ice, but not very
much to cool the water.

Today, I moved about 20 fish, but three died in transit (not a real
problem, I will eat them tonight!). I am worried about the others I put in
the water though. They swam off pretty good, but I want to give them the
best chance to survive.

Can anyone give me hints on the best way to keep these fish alive? Should
I use more ice to cool the water more? Do I need a bigger container?
Anyone have any suggestions for a bigger container? Do I need more airflow
than the small aerator I have?

Any hints would be appreciated.

Thanks!

JMH wrote:

Can anyone give me hints on the best way to keep these fish alive? Should
I use more ice to cool the water more? Do I need a bigger container?
Anyone have any suggestions for a bigger container? Do I need more airflow
than the small aerator I have?

Any hints would be appreciated.

Thanks!

More air,, just one of those cats uses more than a whole tank full of
tropical fish


--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Long Shot "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, Decoy Activator
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com

I forgot sorry
the best air pump would be a 12 volt blower used to inflate swimming
floats or inflatable boats,, you can find these at Wal-Mart for under 20
bucks, just get some plastic hose to run from the pump to the bottom of
the container, you will need to weigh down the end of the hose, to keep
it down

--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Long Shot "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, Decoy Activator
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com

Rodney wrote in :

Thanks Rodney, I knew they had to be something out there that would work
great. I never thought of a 12 volt air pump. I'll pick one up for my
next trip.

Jay


I forgot sorry
the best air pump would be a 12 volt blower used to inflate swimming
floats or inflatable boats,, you can find these at Wal-Mart for under 20
bucks, just get some plastic hose to run from the pump to the bottom of
the container, you will need to weigh down the end of the hose, to keep
it down

JMH wrote:
Rodney wrote in :

Thanks Rodney, I knew they had to be something out there that would work
great. I never thought of a 12 volt air pump. I'll pick one up for my
next trip.


It just popped in my head as a solution,, I guess it's the inventor in
me :=), remember you don't want a compressor, you want a blower (high
volume, little pressure)





--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Long Shot "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, Decoy Activator
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com

I will give you my take.
More air is helpful, but most likely not your first problem. Try these
1. Fewer fish, (maybe 10). Overcrowding fish, no mater the O2 content, will
stress fish.
2. NO ICE. two problems, a rapid change to the cold of even a few degrees
can cause problems, in this case warm is better then cold. Second, it would
be almost impossible (almost) to get ice without chlorine, and that will
kill them quick.
3. to reduce stress, cover them with a blanket or something like that, the
dark will calm them, reduce their activity and stress and cause them to use
far less O2.

Good luck

"JMH" wrote in message
.. .

I have a pond behind my house with a few catfish. I have a friend with a
well stocked pond and am in the process of taking some fish from his pond
and putting them in mine. I usually transport 20-25 at a time at a
distance of 35 miles (takes about 45 minutes). The are transported in the
back of my SUV. These fish are caught with a rod and reel, I only keep
the
ones hooked in the mouth.

The fish are 1, 2 and 3 pound fish. Currently I have a small 20-60 gallon
Aquarium Air Pump with dual hoses that I run on a battery pack into a 45
gallon plastic storage container with a lid. I put some ice, but not very
much to cool the water.

Today, I moved about 20 fish, but three died in transit (not a real
problem, I will eat them tonight!). I am worried about the others I put
in
the water though. They swam off pretty good, but I want to give them the
best chance to survive.

Can anyone give me hints on the best way to keep these fish alive? Should
I use more ice to cool the water more? Do I need a bigger container?
Anyone have any suggestions for a bigger container? Do I need more
airflow
than the small aerator I have?

Any hints would be appreciated.

Thanks!

If you use city water it may have chlorine in it. Bass people use a
product like this to add oxyen, control Ph level, tranquilize the fish
and remove chlorine.

http://www.sure-life.com/products/probass.htm

just throw them in the back of the truck and haul ass. we caught 40 cats out of a local lake threw them in the back of my friend's truck then took them home and put them in my pond. took 40 minutes and all of the fish survived. these were small bullheads all under 1 lb. dont know how they do it but they are amazing.

The best air pump will be a 12-volt blower for inflatable boats or inflatable swim float, you can find these in Wal-Mart under 20 dollars, only to get some plastic hose to run the pump at the bottom of the container, you Need to weigh down the end of the hose to keep down

The angle are 1, 2 and 3 batter fish. Currently I accept a baby 20-60 gallon Aquarium Air Pump with bifold hoses that I run on a array backpack into a 45 gallon artificial accumulator alembic with a lid. I put some ice, but not very much to air-conditioned the water.