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Moving Saltwater Fish and Tank Both Near and Far

Packing The Critters

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Packing

This is where all your planning and preparation pays off. You have all your bags made up, your boxes standing by, your packing water made up and well aerated, the fish are cleaned out, your tape and rubber bands (Size 64) are nearby.

Open one of the trash bags and put it in the box, folding the bag down over the sides of the box to get it out of the way. Put some of your packing water into the bags and stand them up in the box. Rolling the top edges of the bags down makes it a lot easier to get water and fish into the bags and the taped bag bottom helps the bag "stand up" in the box. We found that it was easier to put all the bags in the boxes, prior to catching the fish and putting them in the bags.

After catching the fish out of our system, we always gave them a 3 - 4 minute fresh water (dechlorinated) bath before putting them in the bags. This was just extra insurance against shipping some extra "critters" that we want didn't to ship. You don't have to do this, but it is an easy way to help ship only "clean stock".

Take a look at all the fish in the bags. Make sure that they are "comfortable" and can move around in the bags. If they look too crowded, move them into a larger bag. You can also "spotlight" them at this time, using a flashlight. This will let you know exactly what they looked like (no torn fins, parasites, etc.) before they were shipped.

Now you have to "gas" the bags. Unroll the top edge of the bag, then gather it together, like you were going to blow it up and pop it. Push down on the top of the bag, squeezing all the air out. Insert the O2 line into the bag and inflate it, leaving about three inches of extra bag to seal with the rubber band. Take out the O2 line, holding the gas in the bag, then twist the bag top several times. Using the rubber band, seal the bag top. Pull the rubber band tight as you do this.& You can use several rubber bands if you like.

Make sure that the height of the bag is low enough that it will fit comfortable into the box after the lid is on. Tie off the rubbish bag with a rubber band and put the lid on. If you are using a liner, close it and tape it shut.

If you are shipping your substrate, place it in the bags with just enough water to cover it, then inflate and seal the bags as above. For corals and live rock, roll them in a layer or two of newspaper, place them in a bag with about 1/2" of water and gas the bag before sealing. The newspaper will help keep them from drying out. Or, you can ship them immersed in water, which is much more expensive, if you are shipping via the airlines.

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