Hi - I just signed on as a new member, since I am jumping back in to the freshwater tank arena after several years. But I also have an immediate problem regarding Koi, and could certainly use some suggestions. (I sort of blocked this issue right out of my head when I did an introduction note a few minutes ago, then I saw that there is a Koi forum, and here I am.)

Problem: I have 12 very large koi that are from 6 to 10 years old, and from 10 inches to 18+ inches in size, which I am going to need to move back to Dallas from farther up north very soon. About 300 miles. I was successful taking 6 of them north a few years ago, in December, in the back of a pick-up truck, in large plastic tubs with an oxygen tank feeding air stones, with two koi in each tub. But they are soooo much bigger now. And very beautiful and probably somewhat valuable (although I would never sell them). They have spent the past several years living and growing in a 20,000 gallon rubber-lined pond fed continuously by a cold underwater spring. And now they are coming back to Dallas water. Ugh.

My pond here will have lots of great filtration and aeration, so I am not worried about that so much .... but GETTING them here safely is my great worry. Has anyone here ever moved Koi this size by truck over 300 miles, or similar move? I am wondering about the "sedatives" that I think some shippers use. Is that a good idea? Bad idea? If good, what do I use? And would it be a good idea to buy some large clear plastic transport bags to fit inside of the large plastic tubs in which the koi will travel .... and if so, where can I buy such transport bags safe for big Koi? And is the oxygen really a good idea in January or February, or is there maybe some danger there, like too much oxygen in the transport bags causing embolisms? Any suggestions would be greatly and sincerely appreciated. - AliceInDallas

How long are you figuring the trip to take. I think if it won't be longer than 24 hours you might be able to put 2 into a big tub with lids. I wouldn't use oxygen this time of year though, but get a few battery powered airstones for each tub. You might also consider taking some extra bottles of water so if need be you can change out part of the water during the trip.

As for sedating them, that can be a touchy situation. Some shippers do it when they ship in mass but they don't worry about loss. I know some will use a little clove oil for sedation, but you would have to know how much or you can permanantly put them to sleep. I would think though they should be ok without it.

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Thanks, Susan. Thanks for the good information about the dangers of sedation. I will skip that idea. And thanks for your confidence that this time of year they will do OK without the oxygen bottle - when I did that last time I was concerned about the resulting explosion of someone rear-ended our truck. Will go with the air stones. Two in a big tub seems about right. And given the social creatures that these 12 have grown to be over many years, they would probably be calmed by the presence of a pond-mate in their tub. I can just hear them now ... "well, Thelma, she's doing it again - but this time I think she's going south instead of North .... remember that yucky Dallas water?"

Many thanks. Any and all ideas are very welcome! Alice

I haven't really a clue, the longest I transport my fish is the 3 miles to the LFS but I found this online How to move your fish safely. Moving koi goldfish & stress it may be some help.

Thank you so much, verdifer, for this excellent article on moving koi safely. It's very comprehensive and includes so much important stuff! I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to locate this article - after reading it, I can see several bases that I need to cover that had not occurred to me. The floating cage net is nothing short of brilliant. I was dreading the idea of netting them one at a time, lifting them individually into the transport bags or tubs, and then panicking if I couldn't catch those last two extra strong/fast koi in a reasonable amount of time. This approach takes the pressure off of that aspect of it. Many thanks, again! Alice