au01st

Well, it seems no one in my area carries loaches or Cardinal Tetras (only neon, black neon, etc). I'll be in Atlanta this weekend, Fri-Sun, and wonder if I could pick up some on the way out of town; it's only about a 2 hour drive back home. I have a little plastic tank with a lid, and I have a spare air pump and stone, and I also have a power inverter in my truck, so I could at least have that if need be. Any thoughts? I just really like the Cardinals over the neons.

Dino

If you have the fish bagged, and place them in a regular picnic cooler, in a car that is at human comfort level, they should be good for a few DAYS.
We have shipping for 6 years now, and only lose fish when the air transport screws up.
I have had fish in transit for up to 3 days, with no problems.

sirdarksol

They should do that well. Personally, I wouldn't put them in the tank for the ride. Hard sides can be harsh on the fish. I'd bring a cooler to help keep them in a stable temp for the duration of the ride. Just make sure they're well bagged (I usually ask for a double-bag if I'm more than half an hour away).

Fishies-for-me

I have moved with fish in a small picnic cooler...( it insulates against heat loss better) and it was a 4-5 hr drive with arriving at a relatives house and unpacking the next day....fish stayed in there travel coolers overnight at the relatives house so were in the coolers at least 24 hrs with no airation and were fine. I can't see a prob with a couple of hours with the airation as long as there is no major temp change....good luck.

Allie

It all depend on how warm it is that day & how many you plan on buying. Stress coat is a good thing to have too.
Do you have a bucket with a lid? We use a 5g bucket to transport fish we deliver to people around the province. Sometimes 2 hr drives...never lost a fish that way.

au01st

I do have a 5gallon bucket with a lid that has been used exclusively for water changes, no chemicals. I can put the bucket in the back seat (4 door truck) and I'm a larger guy, so I like my a/c comfortable (though when I make this drive it's usually with windows down and music blaring, I can make an exception for the fish). I feel much better knowing how long they can last, and I had always wondered how they were shipped, lol. I can't wait to see my school of Cardinals going around (should I get a few, 2-3 extra, in case something happens? I have no problem modifying another amount of fish I plan to get if they happen to live, but I really want the Cardinals and it would be a major bummer to lose a few due to stress. My last 7" is for a Rainbow Shark, and I suppose if the extra Cardinals make it, I will just hold off on the shark).

MissMTS

I would get a few extra cardinals just because they are know to be very delicate. They will probably be fine on the ride home, but lots of people on the forum have lost a few after acclimating them to their tank.

Ghostfish

Yeah, if the fish are healthy then you should not have a problem. I bought 2 gold gouramais the other day and one died on a 20 minute drive. The fish was obviously sick before.

MissMTS

Cardinals are just really sensitive to water chemistry and water quality in general. They can perish in a new tank even if they are perfectly healthy.

COBettaCouple

We transport the fish in the Kordon breathable bags with a tiny bit on diluted methylene blue and some fish protector in the water. The bags go in a soft-sided cooler and are cushioned by big towels. You won't need to go that far for a 2-hour drive, but the main thing is to keep their stress levels down and keep them from hitting anything.