moving from il. to tx. what about my fish?

Question
hi my name is sabrina. i am moving in september from chicago il. to san antonio tx. i have cichlid that are about 6 to 8 inches long i've had for about 3 years. is it possible i could take them with me or should i sell them or give them away? the movers will take the tank but not the fish. i thought about getting a large rubbermaid tote putting holes in the top and taking them in the car with us. it maybe a 2 day trip thought do you think they would make it or what should i do?  

Answer
Hi Sabrina,
  You can definitely take them with you in the car.  It isn't that hard.  Putting them in the Rubbermaid tub would work very well.  

 Put some holes in the lid and put the lid on the tub so that water doesn't splash.  If you have some plastic plants, put those in the tub as well to give the fish something to hide in and to feel a little less exposed.  I've done the same thing but for much longer trips of many days.

 The only big issue is oxygen.  If it is hot out, the fish might run low on oxygen if you put a lot of them in there (you didn't say how many you had).   One solution is to buy a bait-bucket bubbler.  It is a $10 device that fisherman use to bubble air into bait buckets to keep minnows alive. Basically, it is a small battery operated air pump.  It doesn't make a ton of air, but it is enough to help alot if you were to put say 5 or 6 fish in the tub.  You can buy them either at a good fish store or at a fishing supply store.  They typically use 2 D-cells.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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