With my limited fish bagging knowledge you can do 4-5 bags for the catfish, 5-6 bags for the bluegill, 3-4 bags for the stripers, and 2-3 bags for the minnows. Talk with your supplier and see what they have to say.
I am getting a dock from them too and they said they could bring the fish when they bring the dock but that may be 2 months.... I want the fish yesterday
They said they didn't recommend the bags for that far. They said they have a tank thing I could use but that it has to be returned the next day.
Not sure I want to drive 12 hours there and back only to have to do it again the next day.
That is what I was trying to rig something up.
We have a ton of oxygen bottles for welding. Seems like it wouldn't be too hard to make something. Maybe a couple 275 gallon totes and some oxygen ran to them?
Chris Steelman....would outside temps also play a part? Wouldn't hauling fish for 6 hours in bags in July and August in Texas be a bit more dangerous? I suppose they could be cooled in some manner?
I'd rethink the fish truck option. Your supplier buys their fish from the same sources as the fish trucks.
For the risk of bagging fish, compared to the risk of rigging up a way to use welding oxygen, I'd also rethink what their delivery charge would be, should you choose to try to haul them. To rig up oxygen, you'll need containers, flowmeters for each container, a regulator for the oxygen bottle, and splitters to go to each flow meter (or a valve for each container, should you choose that route.) If you buy the regulator and all the rigging, you'll be around $300, not counting diffuser hoses and their connections. To set up a rig to haul 4 different types of fish, that's a sizable investment.
Another idea is to use 48 quart coolers with Aquarium air pumps and air stones. With 120 volt converters in lots of today's vehicles, that might be a better choice. You could haul the minnows at two pounds per bag, kept cool, and they'll do fine. Then you need to rig up for the catfish, hybrid sunfish, and hybrid stripers. If you have two coolers, put the catfish in one, sunfish and hybrid stripers in another, and bag your minnows. One other thing about bagging the minnows. Put each bag into a five gallon bucket. That way, if they spring a leak, you don't have a mess.
Teach a man to grow fish... He can teach to catch fish...
My concern on this fish truck stems from horror stories I have read on here about mismatched fish and them being so small it is hard to tell. The fish truck coming here has nothing but 2-3" except for the catfish and they have no HSB which happens to be the fish I am most excited about. I am worried about introducing other varieties of fish to my pond and having a problem on my hands. Since it is so small I figure with the hybrids I will control the population.
As to the hauling I have several oxygen bottles and regulators. We do a lot of welding. I also have a several flow meters we use on our MIG and TIG rigs with Argon and C02. I think they will fit O2 bottles. I have access to IBC 275 gallon totes. I was thinking maybe two of them - put the minnows in one and all the other fish in the other?
Their delivery fee isn't bad really it is the $2,000 minimum order to go over 300 miles that stings.
I'd rethink the fish truck option. Your supplier buys their fish from the same sources as the fish trucks.
For the risk of bagging fish, compared to the risk of rigging up a way to use welding oxygen, I'd also rethink what their delivery charge would be, should you choose to try to haul them. To rig up oxygen, you'll need containers, flowmeters for each container, a regulator for the oxygen bottle, and splitters to go to each flow meter (or a valve for each container, should you choose that route.) If you buy the regulator and all the rigging, you'll be around $300, not counting diffuser hoses and their connections. To set up a rig to haul 4 different types of fish, that's a sizable investment.
Another idea is to use 48 quart coolers with Aquarium air pumps and air stones. With 120 volt converters in lots of today's vehicles, that might be a better choice. You could haul the minnows at two pounds per bag, kept cool, and they'll do fine. Then you need to rig up for the catfish, hybrid sunfish, and hybrid stripers. If you have two coolers, put the catfish in one, sunfish and hybrid stripers in another, and bag your minnows. One other thing about bagging the minnows. Put each bag into a five gallon bucket. That way, if they spring a leak, you don't have a mess.
I believe that somewhere here on the PB site are photos, and exactly what Bob discusses above.
I have very successfully moved a lot of trout, hybrid striped bass, and many much-hardier fish like bluegill and channel cats, from fish trucks to my ponds and a number of other ponds.
I have a rather old 12 VDC to 120 VDC converter that plugs into the the the cigarette lighter sockets in my truck. It operates about an inexpensive dual-output 120 VAC aquarium aeration pump. The aeration pump pushes air through two 12-inch long air stones.
If I'm going for an hour or longer, I usually drop a five pound bag of ice into the aerated cooler.
I've never lost a fish moving fish from a hatchery or fish truck with this rig.
I do add some non-iodized salt to the water in the cooler, but that is a different discussion.
Some thoughts from someone who has done both - or all 3 really; I've had fish delivered in a fish truck, I've had fish shipped FedEx overnight, and I've picked fish up and drove them myself.
1) If you haul the fish yourself consider all the variables; if your vehicle breaks down, if you're involved in an accident, if you have the fish in the cab and that fish water leaks into the cab on seats and carpets, traffic delays, suitable containers for holding the water and the fish and not leaking, leak proofing the inside of your vehicle, oxygen for the fish.
All of these above are reasons that even as frugal as I am, I will almost always pony up for delivery.
Fish transport water out of the container and into the car on the seats and carpet? Check. Done that. What a bad smell for weeks thereafter. This is very stinky water. So double up on your commercial grade tarp, get strong plastic totes, seal the lids with electrical tape, and put your oxygen though a small hole in the lid.
If you are involved in an accident, if your vehicle breaks down, if there is a delay in your route you and likely you alone are responsible for the dead or dying fish. I wonder, and I think it likely, that if the fish hauler breaks down or stuck in traffic etc. they will make it right and bring you new fish. Seems like that is responsible thing to do.
2) If you think you're saving money by not paying $1/mile delivery, think again. Add up the tarps, the totes, the tape, the gas, the time involved in driving to the pick up location, the time to transfer the fish to your totes, time to seal lids, etc etc etc. Then the stress of hauling those live fish to your body of water. And then acclimating those fish in your totes. Getting those heavy totes off your vehicle, etc. You may find that your expenses equal the delivery expense. Or maybe delivery is $100 or $200 more.
Man, I've been down this road and if you don't have a pick up truck or flatbed trail and the right totes and oxygen source seriously consider paying for delivery. Just sit and wait for them to show up and they acclimate and they transfer and you just realize that $100 or $200 more is SO worth it.
I do not recommend hauling fish inside a vehicle with seats and carpet. Period. Utility van with no carpet or Uhaul is fine. But not in a vehicle your misses rides in.
I am a worker. I hand saw trees to fell them. We grow veggies from seeds inside before transferring outside. But I really see the benefit of allowing the professional to deliver the fish.
If delivery was just $1 a mile I would be all over it. Quick math tells me the delivery would cost me around $1500 when I figure in the delivery fee at $1.75 a mile plus the minimum order requirement which is $2,000 and I am only looking at maybe $1,000 of fish. I could very likely go get them twice for what it would cost to have them delivered.
I have several trucks on of which has one of those sliding bed covers. I could put coolers under it and close the cover to keep the sun off them. Or we have trailers and flatbed trucks if we wanted to take big totes to get the fish. And by totes I don't mean rubber made totes I meant the big 275 gallon IBC totes that are plastic with a metal cage around them.
Paying $2,500 to get them isn't really a deal breaker it is relatively cheap in the grand scheme of everything else I am spending on the pond it just seems crazy spending 1.5 times what the fish actually cost to get them here.
You will need air stones specifically designed for O2 and not "air". They are $50-$75 each. You will have to stop and check the fish periodically to make sure they are getting enough O2, but not too much or you could burn their gills.
The biggest thing is that if you are hauling the fish, they are yours and you take responsibility for them once you leave their facility. If they deliver them, they are responsible for them until they are in your pond. (and good haulers will stand behind the fish for a few days past that).
I use several extra large ice chests. For diffusers I use weep hose. Hook to oxygen. Set regulator to put out a steady flow of bubbles. Too much oxygen is not good. I run the weep hose around the inside perimeter of the ice chest. I silicone short pieces of pvc pipe inside the ice chest to run the weep hose thru to hold the hose in place. Be sure to drill a couple of holes in top of ice chest. I put the holes where the drink holders are. Not hard to set up and works great.
You may call Pond Boss member and Pond Boss Conference speaker Steve Bardin at Texas Pro Lake Management who is about halfway between Fort Worth and Abilene and ask for his advice on how best to accomplish your goals on fish stocking in Lubbock.
If you hit a dead-end heck I'd call these folks that will be in Lubbock next week. Maybe inquire about HSB and if they can be special ordered and brought to Lubbock for you. Of course we all prefer to not buy from a fish truck, but with the situation you are in with hatcheries being so far away you may go with these guys this year even with all the "doom and gloom" comments about buying fish off a truck. I've done it twice and I saw no "end of the world" harm.
I had the same thought as far as using a reputable source for my fish. I chose Overton's which is about 3 to 3 1/2 hours from my place. The trip turned out to be 4 due to traffic but I only had one RES casualty out of 250 and zero casualties from my 50 LMB and 750 CNBG. I know this isn't the same as your trip but it was still a decent trip. This was during the fall however.
Stockmypond truck comes around here usually three times in spring and twice in fall. They are generally OK. Check your bags before you leave and if anything's amiss they always make it right. I ordered 30 CC this spring and ended up with 47 in the bag.
Well guys I went to Academy today and bought four 152 quart coolers and four 12 volt aerators rated for 35 gallons each. Total cost was $114 for each cooler / aerator combo. The kids and I assembled all four in about an hour. Cost me about $450 but was cheaper than delivery and I will have them for future use.
I was planning on going to get the fish Monday but the ten day forecast is showing 90-100 degrees every day. The fish place is open 8-5 and is about 5 hours away. Should I be there at 8AM and try to get back before the peak heat of the afternoon or should I get there at 5PM and get home in the dark? Should I be adding some ice to keep them cool?
bdog, I would add ice. We've used both frozen milk jugs, and water bottles. It just depends on the size of the tank.
When we move fish, I tend to stop every few hours and recheck the tanks. We've never had a problem, but I credit that to carrying extra hose, clamps, flowmeters, etc. It seems like nothing fails if it's something I can fix on the side of the road. A backup bubbler might be a good investment.
How many pounds of fish? Ice always helps, but be VERY sure to acclimate and temper the fish at home with your pond water. Frozen Ice jugs are a good idea, but once melted, pour the water empty the jugs into the cooler, for the fresh water (make sure it's chlorine/chloramine free water), because ammonia build up is a bigger danger to fish than the water temps are.
Using coolers, I'd travel in the daylight when places are open, should anything go wrong.
