It is probably a ridiculous idea, but I am on tour this coming March with my band. We will be all over the south-east coast and I would love to do some collecting when we have down time as I never get to go down south otherwise.
I once brought a bunch of African cichlids beck from Arizona in a 20 gallon cooler and am thinking of trying to do the same thing with natives, probably darters (oxygen being an issue) and topminnows. It would probably be during the last 4-5 days of our tour that I would do this, so what would be the best way to keep them alive and healthy?

Are you playing in Mississippi? Maybe we can net some fish and pick a tune or two.

March is a good time to collect. I have had success transporting fish in a cooler with an airstone passed through a hole in the top. Run an air pump off an invertor (battery-powered pumps have been unreliable for me). A little salt or baitsaver helps a lot. A second option is to bag the fish in Kordon breather bags and pack them in a box with cardboard or other breatheable material separating them. These bags allow gas exchange with the atmosphere.

If you have an accomplice back home, you could pack up the fish in Kordon bags and express mail them home so they spend less time in transit. Likewise, if you have a helpful friend in the collecting area, he could hang onto your fish until you get back home and then mail them to you. The less time the fish spend between the collection site and your aquarium, the better.

Are you playing in Mississippi? Maybe we can net some fish and pick a tune or two.

That would be great, but we are sticking to the Atlantic coast for this one.

March is a good time to collect. I have had success transporting fish in a cooler with an airstone passed through a hole in the top. Run an air pump off an invertor (battery-powered pumps have been unreliable for me). A little salt or baitsaver helps a lot. A second option is to bag the fish in Kordon breather bags and pack them in a box with cardboard or other breatheable material separating them. These bags allow gas exchange with the atmosphere.
If you have an accomplice back home, you could pack up the fish in Kordon bags and express mail them home so they spend less time in transit. Likewise, if you have a helpful friend in the collecting area, he could hang onto your fish until you get back home and then mail them to you. The less time the fish spend between the collection site and your aquarium, the better.

Thanks!
I did not use an airstone with my cichlids, but would probably need on with darters.

Bring a pre-cycled air-powered sponge filter or box filter. Run it in a fairly crowded tank for a month before your trip so it's charged up with plenty of ammonia-hungry bacteria. If you can run it continuously in the cooler (in vehicle) that's great, but if you can only run it at hotels then drain out the water and put it in a fishbag when not running. You don't want it to sit submerged in still water for several hours with no flow through it; nitrifying bacteria may suffocate.

Also you can toss in some well-used killifish-spawning yarn mops. They get colonized with nitrifying bacteria and can just slosh around in the cooler with the fish, providing both nitrification and shelter.

Any gigs around Raleigh-Durham area?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApKhddK0TI4&feature=related
http://www.cabelas.c...r:referralID=NA

http://www.basspro.c...r:referralID=NA

here is a link for a diy setup and a brick and mortar place to get one from.
i agree get some shad keeper to help your new fish in route home.
i would do a 20% water change every day as well.


http://www.tinboats.....php?f=3&t=6725
this is one of the setup designs we use it work well and keeps shad alive in summer months for days on end.

Edited by CATfishTONY, 22 September 2010 - 03:40 PM.

Bring a pre-cycled air-powered sponge filter or box filter. Run it in a fairly crowded tank for a month before your trip so it's charged up with plenty of ammonia-hungry bacteria. If you can run it continuously in the cooler (in vehicle) that's great, but if you can only run it at hotels then drain out the water and put it in a fishbag when not running. You don't want it to sit submerged in still water for several hours with no flow through it; nitrifying bacteria may suffocate.

Also you can toss in some well-used killifish-spawning yarn mops. They get colonized with nitrifying bacteria and can just slosh around in the cooler with the fish, providing both nitrification and shelter.

Any gigs around Raleigh-Durham area?

I believe we will be in Raleigh. Tour is just coming together, so not all firmed up yet.

Thanks everyone for the awesome info, I am about as excited for the possible collecting as I am the tour!
Don't tell my band. LOL

If you come through Columbia, Charleston or Greenville, SC, let me know.

Small bands love to perform in Athens, GA... I can take you out around here... or maybe even if you are down in the ATL... we have a couple of nice places that a couple of us could take you ans show you some fish.

I believe we will be playing Charlston SC. Possibly Atlanta and def Athens. I will probably only have a few hours here and there to collect, but hopefully I can meet up. That would be great!