How to transport fish???

[K]

Hello looking for advice on how best to unhook and store fish for a few hours. Thing is i do a good bit of fishing and at the moment if i catch nice stuff that would fit in my tank, i try to unhook them with wet hands and minimal handling and put them in 5 gallon buckets with a battery air pump.
Would be grateful for any suggestions on how to improve on this.

 

[Anonymous]

Add a bit of Stress Coat to your bucket. Then q-tank them in some Melafix. Not sure if either of these steps are necessary. It depends on how the fish react. For example, if you have caught fish before, put them in your tank and have seen no sign of physical trauma, then neither of those two steps are needed. If the fish are dying on you after appearing healthy for a while, then I would check water parameters, and temperature.
Keep in mind that locally caught fish may not have resistance to diseases/parasites transmitted within our tanks by tropical residents.
I'm assuming any fish caught off the shores of Ireland would need some pretty cold water..
Buy a chiller?

 

[justletmein]

Instead of the air pump, perhaps a water-recirculating device would be handy.

 

[K]

Good idea justletmain, anybody know of a powerhead/ internal filter that can be powered by batteries

 

[Anonymous]

Hey K. I would grind the barb off of the hook. It does a little less damage this way. I have heard you can add a couple of drops af hydrogen peroxide per gallon to add some extra o2. I have never tried this though.

 

[Anonymous]

Good idea justletmain, anybody know of a powerhead/ internal filter that can be powered by batteries

Look in the fishing department of your local sporting goods or megga store. They have a couple of different modeles used for transporting and keeping live bait.