Can a fish survive In a bag for 48 hours?

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WowieM

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Mar 30, 2008
35
0
36
Philippines
Hello Everyone I just want to know how long can a fish survive being bagged given that it is properly oxygenated with pure oxygen and packed by an experienced Shipper.

Recently i Imported fish from Germany and experienced massive deaths only a fourth of the fishes survived, the fishes stayed in the bag for at least 40 hours.

So now I'm getting the replacement Fishes for the DOa and will be having the same dilemma again since the shipper wont ship in a flight that is convenient to both of us and safe for the fishes. So the fish would stay bagged again for 48 hours more or less. the fishes are Tanganyikan Cichlids.

I really want to know as taxes and shipping cost really hurts my pocket also the stress of loosing the fishes takes its toll as a hobbyist.

Also if ever they arrive what is the best thing to do? Drip or Dump them
Both with squirt of Anti Ammonia

Sorry for the extra long post i really just want to be sure this time as there are stories here that fish survive more than 2 days in Transit.
 
there are so many factors to take into consideration.

its not all about the oxygen.

they can get chilled in transit, the ammonia can build up if ammo lock not added, or the fish were not fasted prior to shipping etc.

generally, fish can live longer than 48h with oxygen alone if bagged properly.

hell, here in Ontario no south american fish has probably ever made it here quicker than that. there are usually transfer flights and they are often the next day etc.

its hard to say why the fish died.

generally, the pH in the bag will be quite low from waste buildup in transit, so what most LFS's do is pH down the tanks before adding the new fish.

then the pH slowly rises over the next 24h and its all good.

what we used to do was float the bag to get it up to temperature, open, add ammo lock and release. you can add some tank water to the bag if you want, but it probably doesn't matter much. the fish are better off swimming around in the tank than in the dirty bag assuming the pH and temp are similar.

there are many methods for acclimation and most of them work fine.
 
U would have to accim ur fish in the right manner.. openning the bag and dripping anti ammonia.. the moment u open ur bag.. judging that the fish has been in the bag for more den 40 hours.. contact with the outside air would mean skin burn for ur fishes.. u would have to accim it properly.. u could check with xander for proper accim techniques..:D
 
Thanks For all the glimmer of hope :D

Have experienced fish being left in a warehouse myself but with minimal flying time.
Thats why i never thought that i would incur so many losses in my German Import but i did so I really want to make sure this time as seeing so much death is such a sad sight.
So really want to make sure what i did wrong or what went wrong.
Im thinking if its the flying time or the tranquilizers that might have caused the deaths.

So Ammonia REmovers really helps in Shipping might ask the shipper to add some in the bags as an extra precaution.
 
Tanganyikan Cichlids
F0 trophs, F1 Kitumba F0 Calvus Multies and MEleagris where the dead in the last shipment
and i have a shipment coming in next week so im pretty scared to experience another tragedy, BEcause getting your fish and not having a chance to enjoy them even for a little while is the worst experience i had as a fishkeeper as i imported them for my personal Collection so it was really disheartening and a very sad day for me.
 
I had a shipment of 6 plecos make it 8 days in transit.
if they are properly packed,they can make it.
 
Thanks for the replies Maybe i was just really unlucky that day,

Have another question Im planning to do the Squirt then dump Method But the parameters
of my tanks are 8.5 is that still ok to the fishes isnce the length of the travel might lower the pH in the bags?
 
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