How long can fish temporarily survive in a sealed environment?

A

A Creature Of Habit

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Many times, when you buy a fish, they put it in this bag with water (until you get home). And when you get home, you have to put it in a jar/tank, and keep an eye on the water, etc.

But how long until you do?
1 hour?
3 hours?
8 hours?

BTW, I plan on inheriting a Goldfish. But the distance I have to travel to get it, then bring it home, is VERY far (possibly 8 hours).

Besides the questions above. Any hints or suggestions, as to what is the best way to travel with a Goldfish?
According to the movie "What about Bob?", Bill Murray just puts his fish in a small jar half filled with water, seals it, then has a rope around the jar to carry it around his neck.


"Good morning Gill....... i said GOOD MORNING *GILL*....."
 
When you purchase a fish, they will be put in a sealed bag of water, yes. There is only a certain amount of oxygen in that bag, so one must go straight home with the new purchase. Fish shouldn't be kept in jars, by the way.

The proper way to do it, is to float the bag on top of the tank water, presuming that it has been properly established beforehand, for about 15 minutes in order to get the fish acclimated with the temperature of their new home. After that amount of time, one should pour about a cup of water from the tank into the bag and wait another fifteen minutes. This step should be performed twice at minimum, always waiting fifteen minutes. Then, the fish should be scooped out with a net, and placed in the tank.

You don't want to follow what Bill Murray did - it's a movie. Are you sure that goldfish can't stay at home? I, myself have traveled with two small goldfish in a plastic water bottle on a plane ride from Europe to Canada, they lived for almost ten years in total.

If you're flying, it's harder, but if you're driving, then you should get the biggest container/plastic box possible, and fill it with the tank water from the tank that he lives in. It's going to be a long journey, but it might be worthwhile, depending on how long the fish lives and if you're planning on giving him a good home or not.
 
Fish get shipped overnight. So as long as you get someone to fill the bag with oxygen, or you get someone oxygen tabs. You are good!
 
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