Hi,
I'm studying some other ways to transport larger fish. Clearly cooler air temps and keeping the water cool around the fish (ice) is a plus.
I was wondering about 2 other things.
1. If you could apply a higher oxygen source to a sample of pond water ahead of time and then immediately freeze the water, would the higher oxygen dissolved in the water STAY in the water and then when you transported (or mailed fish in a bag inside a box) would the blocks of ice help release a slow supply of higher oxygen to the contents of the water? I'm aware keeping the water cold longer will keep the oxygen dissolved longer, but it is all about bringing MORE O2 with the fish as they travel.
2. I've read about O tabs and there are a few other variants of this. The company that makes them in WI is still making them and it is nearly 70 years later. I can't find anywhere what is actually in these 'grey tablets that bubble'. It is crazy that even today they are not required to list what is in the tabs.
I see another option online for a whitish tab that bubbles and is marketed for keeping shrimp alive and for the aquarium trade, but these are shipped from china.
Here is an interesting 'experiment' on which of these tabs works the best and it sounds like the O tabs work BETTER than putting pure oxygen in the bag above the water.
O tab trial Some of the reviews on Amazon suggest that when they get the tins open that are sold online that there is just useless degraded powder in them. So it might be hard to get a fresh supply of product?
Anyone have any ideas? If we knew the chemical make up of these O tabs we might be able to source the 'bubbling' agent that release oxygen. It must be a common substance, a salt that in solution ends up as oxygen gas?
Fisheries biologists or budding chemists?
