Transporting live fish requires maximum care to avoid fish losses. In transport, fish are crowded into a relatively small amount of water. Agitators, blowers, compressed oxygen, compressed air, or liquid oxygen can be used individually or in combination to keep the fish alive. Transport containers are usually made of wood, fiberglass, or aluminum. Many types are commercially available.
Generally, the dissolved oxygen content in the water is the factor that determines whether the fish live or die. Fish should not be fed for at least 24 hours before transport so that excessive fish wastes do not accumulate during transport. Fish wastes and regurgitated feed consume large quantities of oxygen and can produce ammonia and carbon dioxide problems.
Transporting fish in cool weather or in cool well water increases fish survival. Cool water holds more oxygen than warm water, and fish consume less oxygen at lower temperatures. Also, large fish consume less oxygen by weight than small fish. It is a good practice to have an oxygen probe in the hauling tank and the meter in the cab of the truck to monitor oxygen concentrations during transport.
Fish health and survival depends on your ability to limit stress. Stress from netting, loading, hauling, and stocking weakens the fish and makes them more susceptible to disease and water-quality problems. The more you limit stress factors, the healthier the fish will be.
Table 12 shows some guidelines for hauling live catfish. The numbers are in pounds of fish per gallons of water in tanks using agitators or blowers for aeration. Assume that the water temperature is 65 degrees F and fish begin the haul in good condition.
| Size of Fish | Duration of Transport | |||
1 Hr. |
6 Hr. |
12 Hr. |
24 Hr. | |
pounds of fish per gallon of water | ||||
| 2-inch fingerlings | 2 |
1 1/2 |
1 |
1 |
| 8-inch fingerlings | 3 |
3 |
2 |
1 1/2 |
| 14-inch adult fish | 4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
| * Adapted from Transport fo Live Fish by S. K. Johnson, Texas A&M University. | ||||
As water temperature rises, decrease the load by 25 percent for each increase of 10 degrees F. The same calculation can be used for increasing the load as temperature decrease. Loads can be increased by about 25 percent when pure oxygen is used for aeration. Ice can be used to cool the water in hauling tanks. Be sure to temper the fish before stocking or loading them into water of a different temperature (refer to the Water Quality section for the tempering procedure).