How long goldfish live in a bag

I was only meant to be at work for an hour this morning, so I got the fish on the way into work, but its been busy and I cant leave to go home. They have been in the clear plastic bag pet shops put fish in for over 3 hours now, and i feel soooo sorry for them, and really really guilty for keeping them in a teeny bag.

Put my mind at rest and tell me they will be ok! O, and I called the fish fred and barney. RoseForTheDead Guest. Hi, it depends on the bag I think, some can be ok for a few hours if there is enough oxygen inside, I've kept mine in for over 3 hours I think once before as I floated the bag in the new tank, as they have to get used to the new water temp.

Hope they are ok and congrats on the new fish hehe. Also if you're at work and the fish are with you? Maybe this would help them if there isnt much oxgyen in the bag? Joined: Feb 24, Messages: 17, Likes Received: If i am right and remember when i worked in the pet shop they can live in the bag fine for hours I dont know anything about fish other than when I was a kid. The bro in law has a big massive tropical tank, so he got me liking fish I knwo goldfish are a lot different lol One is just regualr gold, witha whiteish tail which, I have noticed, has been chewed a bit The other one the pet shop guy told me its a koi?

I think? But he told me it is fine for my tank, as it will only grow as much as its surroundings let it or soemthing. JPG looks a bit like that one, but more black in it. Quite simialr, not identical. There was a black one I wanted, but he told me it wasnt for tanks. It was so lovely though. Kept on swimming up to look at me I thinks so anyways lol The koi one just looked like a fred, so I went for barney to match just.

OH what a lovly fish! It doesnt actually! Is it meant to? I dont mind, he is cute the way he is. Work is cold, and the bag they are in is extremly cold. Really hope they will be ok.

Calling into dogstrust on the way home too, which closes at 4, arghhh! Hope i can get there in time. Close Menu. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Sorry for such a rookie question that has probably been asked several times on this forum, but I couldn't seem to find a consistent answer.

I am buying fish for an aquarium I have at my job I teach and there's no pet store in the town I work at. I have to buy them from my local pet store which is almost an hour away from my school. Therefore, I'd be buying them after work, holding onto them, and introducing them into a cycled tank the next day.

Do you think the fish will be okay in the store bag for about hours? Someone else may be able to speak more authoritatively about this.

In my opinion that is much too long for the fish to be kept in the bag. Some fish stores can add extra oxygen to the bag if you have a long drive home. There's a fish store 45 minutes from me, with traffic it can be minutes, and I always ask them to add Oxygen to the bag. Even then I go straight home, float the bag , and add the fish to the tank as soon as is safe. I would not wait hours with the fish in the bag.

Is there any way that you could buy the fish on the way to your school? Get a container with a lid that has some hole, pop in an airstone they have portable battery operated pumps and it would really help to have a minI heater in there too, or some heat packs surrounding the container. No sorry after 12hrs the build up of co2 ammonia and every thing else will cause a ph swing when you open the bag. Breather bags can hold fish for up to 7 days! It all depends on the type of bags they use.

You could always take the fish out and put it in a bowl over night and put it back in in the morning. I have had fish shipped to me and they survived 2 full days in the mail. I don't know if the fish shop added oxygen or not. I have also gone to fish auctions where the fish are usually bagged the night before or hours before the auction and then I have transported them for more then 4hrs by car and then set them up in their new homes and just about all have survived.

You have to remember that fish are transported over great distances before they are even in a store mostly by bag and then are rebagged for your trip home. It would be best if you got some oxygen added if available or as stated above added an airstone to the container or even the bag.

Have to ask what kind of fish are wanting to get? If you want more then say six small fish per bag ask for them to be bagged separately. If getting larger fish ask for them to be bagged separately this minimizes the chance that they will attack each other which causes damage that can become infected.

Good luck with your new fish. I am looking to get about 3 tetras Unfortunately there is no way for me to get to the store on my way to work, I get there at am.

Is the main concern the Oxygen? I can always put them in a bowl overnight, my biggest concern was waste buildup over that period of time. I am hoping that when I go there, this is not an uncommon concern and they'll have practical solutions.

Thanks for your continued input, everyone! This is just what I would do.. Bring home a large container of tank water from school. After you get fish, put each into their own container the larger the better. Get 3 air stones and one air pump. Then use a no clue what real name is multI check valve thingy and airline tubing. When you go to leave the next morning, put each fish into a mason jar with fresh tank water and drive to school. Acclimate when ready. This can also be done using just 1 container, but in my opinion, the amount of waste will be less if in 3 separate.

If using bubblers, prime will also help a lot here. When I got my 29 gal, she had 11 guppies and 1 harlequin rasbora. This took about 6 or so hours, only had bubbler in for about 4 hrs 1 hour off, 3 or so on, 1 off, 1 on hope this helps!!

Good luck!!! Maybe I'll sound like the odd man out, but if fish can be shipped in a plastic baggy and spend three days in the mail, arrive alive, acclimate, and show no signs of illness when added to a tank, there is no reason at all you can't keep a fish in a bag overnight. If you're concerned, open the bag when you get home, then tie it up before you leave for work the next morning. Usually when people ship fish they use kordon breather bags. These have been specially designed to allow oxygen to enter the bag and CO2 to exit.

Most fish stores do not use these bags as they are more expensive. So the bag will need to be opened somehow. I would also suggest putting a few drops of Prime in the bag once you got home and again in the morning, this would help bind the ammonia until you can get them situated. Some of the other ideas about temporary homes would probably be ideal, but the OP may not have access to all the equipment that would entail.

Maybe transfer them into a clean and rinsed Tupperware so you can remove the lid easily to allow the oxygen exchange at surface of water. But the fish must be prepared before hand. It must not consume food prior to bagging for 2 days in advance and then new water must be swapped with aged aquarium water.

But if you are purchasing from a store, most likely they have poor water quality before hand and the fish would be over fed. Best way to transport fish would be a battery operated bubbler in a closed bucket and not be left out.

Cant you just go in on a Saturday or Sunday or other off from school day? It is not recommended to put a fish into a bag unless it has been without food for 48 hours, and the water used is directly from the tank.

If you put a fish into the bag that has recently eaten, they will expel waste into the water. Fish waste contains bacteria that can change the pH of the water and will ultimately harm your fish. Because most plastic bags are not made to allow carbon dioxide to escape, the fish will eventually run out of oxygen and will become ill. If the fish is fortunate to be in a breathing bag, they will receive enough oxygen for at least 48 hours.

Source: The Fish Site. The bag is handy as you are attempting to acclimate the fish to its new home. You will need to float the bag in the bowl or aquarium the fish will live in. The purpose of doing this is to help the fish regulate its body temperature before being transferred over to the new location. Source: Hartz. If you have spent any time looking at a fish in a bag, you may notice they do not always look like they are the healthiest. This is a definite concern if you are gazing at a fish that was won at a carnival, but not as likely with a fish you are purchasing from a pet store.