Fish in a ziplock bag

TexAgReefer

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I need to take a fish to the LFS for store credit. I leave for work about 5:30 and the store doesn’t even open until 10.

Will the fish be ok in about 1/2 gallon of water? Obviously they spend a lot more time in as much or even less water when shipped from online vendors but I won’t be pumping any extra oxygen in the bag.

Should be ok though right? It’s a very fat and healthy clownfish.
 

MERKEY

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I'm not an expert...I believe the fish will be ok if it has the right amount of oxygen in the bag with water. Please dont blow into the bag that's co2.
 

Peace River

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Based on what you described the fish should be fine. My concern is the ziplock coming open.
 

AdamB

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Ziplock should be okay . I’ve seen the commercial lol! My LFS double bags all the coral and fish I buy I will save the outer bag just in case .
 

SDK

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Also don't feed the fish for 48 hours (or as much time as you have if less). Fish waste will be what fouls the water quickly, although it's probably just an extra layer of certainty if you are talking about only a few hours.

A big Tupperware with a lid will be more manageable and less likely to pop open. If your work environment allows you to keep it inside with you, you can pop the lid off every hour or so and fan some fresh air in...
 

Old Fritz

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I'm not an expert...I believe the fish will be ok if it has the right amount of oxygen in the bag with water. Please dont blow into the bag that's co2.
Actually interesting thing about that. Unless you're holding your breath most of the air you exhale will be oxygen. Human lungs are really inefficient and studies found that if we breath in air that is 20% oxygen the air we expire is about 15% oxygen and 4% carbon dioxide (obviously the carbon dioxide isn't good as in average air co2 levels are 0.04% so that extra co2 isn't ideal). However I believe fish have a more efficient system to extract oxygen. This part will be paraphrasing since I can't remember the source. But I think water only holds like 8% dissolved oxygen however fish are able to extract 80% of that whereas humans can only extract 25% of the oxygen from the air.

Anyways long story short just because you breath into a bag doesn't mean you'll kill your fish

Source: https://www.normalbreathing.org/patterns-oxygen-extraction/
 

MERKEY

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Actually interesting thing about that. Unless you're holding your breath most of the air you exhale will be oxygen. Human lungs are really inefficient and studies found that if we breath in air that is 20% oxygen the air we expire is about 15% oxygen and 4% carbon dioxide (obviously the carbon dioxide isn't good as in average air co2 levels are 0.04% so that extra co2 isn't ideal). However I believe fish have a more efficient system to extract oxygen. This part will be paraphrasing since I can't remember the source. But I think water only holds like 8% dissolved oxygen however fish are able to extract 80% of that whereas humans can only extract 25% of the oxygen from the air.

Anyways long story short just because you breath into a bag doesn't mean you'll kill your fish

Source: https://www.normalbreathing.org/patterns-oxygen-extraction/
The issue isn't just oxygen it is the nitrogen in the release which is in the %70 percentile. That is the harmful stuff to fish and in an enclosed area it can be deadly.

No breathing into the bag wont kill your fish but in an extended period of time could do harm.
 
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KStatefan

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The issue isn't just oxygen it is the nitrogen in the release which is in the %70 percentile. That is the harmful stuff to fish and in an enclosed area it can be deadly.

No breathing into the bag wont kill your fish but in an extended period of time could do harm.

Earths atmosphere is about 78% Nitrogen
 

MrWheelock

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I would do a tupperware in a cooler, peek in now and then if the fish looks like it needs air scoop the water and pour back into the container to oxygenate the water.
 

MERKEY

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I would do a tupperware in a cooler, peek in now and then if the fish looks like it needs air scoop the water and pour back into the container to oxygenate the water.
He is leaving it for hours so wont be able to oxygenate it. But yes good idea!
 

MERKEY

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In his original post sounds like he is dropping it off to his LFS at 530 and it doesnt open until 10.

I could have misunderstood tho...
 

MrWheelock

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:eek: I wouldn't advise that, at least not unless the neighborhood is nice and the temperature isnt crazy different from what the fish is typically kept at.
 

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