Hauling fish in a cooler?

I will be hauling some fish in a 120 qt. cooler in the back of my SUV in the future using oxygen and possibly an agitator. I have a much larger tank on a trailer but the number of these fish will be too small to justify the gas guzzling trailer and tank. I will be moving 36 six inch or larger pumpkinseeds I want to use for broodstock in the spring.

Anyone have any creative solutions to preventing or dealing with water splashing out between the lid and tank during stops and starts in my approximately 8 hour trip?

I have some ideas but thought some of you may have come up with solutions I have not thought of.

Edited by az9, 17 October 2009 - 11:46 PM.

I've hauled fish in a cooler before, but for like 45 minutes, not a 8 hour ride. Perhaps you could use a little duct tape on the lid?

Edited by catfish_hunter, 18 October 2009 - 02:51 AM.

Can you drill a hole in the top of the cooler for an air line? Then the lid can be shut tightly.

even if the lid is shut all the way water may still get out as coolers aren't airtight.

you may want to put an empty water bottle in there, floating on the surface. i don't know how or why this works, but i've heard this works in reducing the amount of splashing.

i'd also tape around the lid.

I just hauled a bunch of pygmy sunnies from north Florida to Atlanta in a cooler. Drilling a hole in the lid is a good option, several people I know have done that, and it works well. I just close the lid lightly enough and don't pinch the airline. I also don't fill the cooler slap full of water. I leave 4" or so (sometimes more if I don't have that many fish) of the cooler wall proud of the water, and I've had no problems with water or fish getting out. If the terrain is going to be really rough, forego the bubbler and just clamp the lid down. They'll be fine for a few hours without the aerator running as long as they don't get too hot or are overstocked.

The two keys to hauling fish in a cooler: don't pack 'em in too tight, and keep 'em cool.

I just hauled a bunch of pygmy sunnies from north Florida to Atlanta in a cooler. Drilling a hole in the lid is a good option, several people I know have done that, and it works well. I just close the lid lightly enough and don't pinch the airline. I also don't fill the cooler slap full of water. I leave 4" or so (sometimes more if I don't have that many fish) of the cooler wall proud of the water, and I've had no problems with water or fish getting out. If the terrain is going to be really rough, forego the bubbler and just clamp the lid down. They'll be fine for a few hours without the aerator running as long as they don't get too hot or are overstocked.

The two keys to hauling fish in a cooler: don't pack 'em in too tight, and keep 'em cool.

I have used coolers for years hauling fish from the different NANFA Conventions. I have had no problems with water splashing out. I tend to fill the coolers half full and add a PVC frame covered with fiberglass window screen. The frame is made to fit in diagonally and the theory is that the screem will keep the water from sloshing around so much. Hopefully it keeps the fish from being jostled so much too. I have hauled fish for two days in the van with no problems. I did drill a hole on the side that will let an airline in snugly. This will let me run aerate the water. This also works well when you get home. Bring the cooler in and plug into your air system indoors and then relax.


Bill F.

Thank you for your responses! Good ideas!

What about the following idea? Place a large plastic bag into the cooler filled one some water and after the fish are added, put in an oxygen probe, inflate the bag with pure oxygen, and secure the end of the plastic bag without a lid on the cooler? (Similar to transporting fish in bags with oxygen in five gallon buckets.)

Any ideas how long it would take for oxygen to get low enough to have to deflate and pump back up again? As I indicated early I will be transporting 36 adult pumpkinseeds probably not much more than 6 inches in length. I realize the probe should be moving to get an accurate reading but it should still be able to tell when oxygen is getting low.

Thoughts?

I once transported smallmouth bass fingerlings in plastic bags in five gallon buckets about 9 hours with no ill effects. I believe I did stop once or twice and deflate the bags and reinflate them with oxygen.

Edited by az9, 19 October 2009 - 10:23 PM.

Anyone have any creative solutions to preventing or dealing with water splashing out between the lid and tank during stops and starts in my approximately 8 hour trip?

(1) In my more paranoid youth ... i.e., when the fishicle was 200,000 miles younger ... I would sometimes put down an old (but intact) waterbed liner in the back, and use clips on rubber cords to keep the walls upright.

(2) I have re-discovered several times that long coolers positioned perpendicular to the direction of travel have a tendency to tip over if there is a need to make an especially rapid stop. I have a couple of coolers more or less shaped like a 20-L tank that love to turn turtle. If possible, "block the cargo" from front to back to reduce that risk, or at least position long coolers short-edge to the front.

(3) Drive as carefully as possible to avoid rapid stops !!!

(4) Not directly related to the question ... but have you considered how much a 120 qt cooler weighs when 1/2 filled (or more) with water ??? Smaller coolers are MUCH safer to move around when loaded. The +/- 28-qt size, with "over the top handles", can be carried two at a time, like briefcases, without breaking your back.

(5) Belated thought ... packing the fish individually in largish bags, filled with oxygen, solves a lot of problems if you just have a one day trip. Know anybody with an oxygen tank?

HTH

d.d.

Thank you for your responses! Good ideas!

What about the following idea? Place a large plastic bag into the cooler filled one some water and after the fish are added, put in an oxygen probe, inflate the bag with pure oxygen, and secure the end of the plastic bag without a lid on the cooler? (Similar to transporting fish in bags with oxygen in five gallon buckets.)

Any ideas how long it would take for oxygen to get low enough to have to deflate and pump back up again? As I indicated early I will be transporting 36 adult pumpkinseeds probably not much more than 6 inches in length. I realize the probe should be moving to get an accurate reading but it should still be able to tell when oxygen is getting low.

Thoughts?

I once transported smallmouth bass fingerlings in plastic bags in five gallon buckets about 9 hours with no ill effects. I believe I did stop once or twice and deflate the bags and reinflate them with oxygen.

Thanks for the imput.

I have an oxygen tank and and a regulator and everything needed to pump bags and even a banding tool.

Did a test of using a large piece of 4 mil plastic to make a large bag in a cooler and fill with oxygen. Doesn't work as well as it seems it would. Too much plastic to bunch up and it's very difficult to keep a seal due to that.

A friend that was in R & D for an automotive company before he got laid off has a product called aquaseal tape under the lid of his cooler and swears there is little if any spill out. It's a kind of compressable gasket tape that seems to create a good seal.