Fishing Adventure,
I have "helped" Snipe do a pond-to-pond transfer and short haul to a pond 30 minutes away. (Mostly I went to help because I got to meet three great Pond Boss members.
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They way he handled the fish was just one step short of the way the nurses handle premature babies in the NICU ward!
No touching fish with our bare hands, minimize the time the fish are touching the nets or the seine, etc. It was like a tutorial on "best practices".
The most enlightening thing to me was watching the fish calm down when placed in the tanks with the salt solution.
It may not always be feasible to copy the professional best practices in all circumstances. However, I certainly like to learn how the pros do things - whether it is fish handling and transportation or felling a blown down tree with my chainsaw when it is hung up in the crown of an adjacent tree.
When I can't copy the pros exactly (frequently due to cost and/or time constraints) then I like to get as close as I can.
Since you are doing fine with your already purchased galvanized tanks, that is probably the best practice for all of your cost versus fish mortality trade offs. However, the next time you have to purchase an additional tank, perhaps try a different tank material that would allow you to use salt in your transport water when justified?
(Literally everyone in this thread is more expert than I am! I am just rooting for your fishing ponds to be a huge success because I think teaching kids to enjoy fishing is a noble calling that could be a positive factor in the lives of hundreds of kids.)
