Shipping
fish from one hobbyist to another has become one of the best ways
to acquire new fish that one might never otherwise have the opportunity
to obtain. Also, shipping quantities of fish to wholesalers is a
way to lower the inventory in the fish room to make way for more.
Many a hobbyist has raised large batches of fry, only to flood the
pet shops in his or her area with them and then wonder what they
were going to do with the remainder. Shipping them to a wholesaler
or to fish farms is a way to take care of the problem. Of course
the hobbyist, wholesaler, or fish farm likes to receive their stock
in good condition.
Tranquilizing the fish, when done properly, is a way to help ensure
that the fish arrive in good health and not stressed by the move.
In most cases the hobbyist's fish have had a lot of good food, water
changes, and by the time they are ready to sell they are in pretty
good shape. When the time comes to ship, you get your water ready
first, as the quality and condition of the shipping water plays
a very important part of the shipping. We ship several times a week,
and no matter what fish we are sending, all get treated the same.
We have a large 30gallon container into which we put fresh tap water.
A good water conditioner is added, such as Holdex (blue), Novaqua,
or Stress Coat. We use a commercial product called "Protec."
It is different than the forenamed products because it has an ad
W antibacterial agent as well as an antibiotic. This water is then
allowed to set a couple of days. On shipping day I fill a 5-gallon
bucket with this prepared and aged water and to this I add "AmQuel,"
a Kordon product. When added to the shipping water it will remain
stable; when fish are put into the water, as ammonia becomes present
it is neutralized. Now it is time for the tranquilizer to be added.
Why tranquilizer? Well, I guess fish who have been kept in a large
aquarium and suddenly find themselves cooped up in a small bag with
lots of company, they panic and dart against the sides. Also they
are frightened because there is no apparent bottom and probably
too much light. All of this stresses them and many times Lamprologus
species will die of fright. Rainbows like to swim and they will
dash about wildly. So after I have the water all mixed in the 5
gallon pail, I put just enough to use in the shipping bag into a
small holding bucket, catch the fish and let them set in the little
bucket for 5 minutes. Now they have settled down so that you can
pour them into the bag, fill it with air, or preferably oxygen,
tie the bag and put them into your shipping box, ready to go.
The best known tranquilizer and the easiest to obtain is "Hypno"
fish calmer by Jungle. It is 3.5 percent dimethylketone alphamethylquinoline
acetone and carmosine red, in aqueous solution. When the fish reach
their destination they are relaxed and once put into their new tank
become very active and in good shape. Tranquilizing fish helps!
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