Fishes travel in plastic bags (individually in the case of discus) closed and filled to 1/3 with water and 2/3 with oxygen.  In this environment fishes must remain for 24 to 48 hours without anything to compromise their health. This is a very precarious situation because, inside the bag, there are no means to help maintain good condition in the environment:

 

 

• there is not a filter system that eliminates the toxic metabolite of fishes

• there is not a heater that maintains a constant temperature

 

Oxygen, essential for fish life, is present only for the amount needed to inflate the bag.

  

 In this closed system all elements of waste remain:

• the carbon dioxide produced by the respiration

• substances of ammonia produced by metabolism

 

Carbon dioxide prevents correct breathing and at the same time lowers the pH value.

 

Substances ammonia remain in the form of ammonia and are very toxic for fishes, this is due to the absence of the bacteria nitrification.

Fortunately, Discus love soft and acid water and so the decrease in pH there is not a  problem for them until it is within the range 5-6.8. This could be an advantage because the ammonia, in an acid environment, turns into ammonia in proportion to the value of pH. This substance is not toxic and until the ammonia concentration remains below 0.1 mg/l, fishes will not suffer stress.

 

Temperature may up and down too much, creating too serious metabolic disorders.

Another important factor, especially for the discus, is the bacterial concentration which inside the bag rises exponentially: even if that is tempered by the acidity of the water.

 

Ultimately to make a good shipment is important to  keep under control these factors:

 

• increase of ammoniacal substances

• decrease of pH

• lack of oxygen

• increase or decrease of temperature

 

Increase of ammoniacal substances

 

These substances are produced by metabolic processes of fish which comes from residues of foods and, in part, from the processes of consumption of tissue proteins. It is possible to limit residues of foods interrupting their feeding 24-36 hours before shipment. In this way fishes will not produce excrements during  the period will be closed in the bag.

 

Decrease of pH

 

The production of carbon dioxide during the breathing process, cause a reduction of pH. If  the water of packaging is too soft and free of carbonates, the pH may fall below the tolerance value of fishes: so it is always best to use new water (without organic acids) with KH 3-4 ° dH values.

 

Lack of oxygen

 

Oxygen is released in water from the gas part that inflates the bag. Generally the liquid part is 1/3  of the bag volume and the remaining 2/3 are a mixture of oxygen and air to a percentage of 90%. This allows fishes to breathe inside the closed bag even for 72-96 hours (3-4 days).

 

We add a few drops of base solution of methylene blue to the transport water. It has a very good antibacterial activity because it prevents the excessive growth of these organisms in water transport and protect the mucus and gills from a possible pathogenic action. In addition it help fishes to promote the employment of oxygen and so  to breathe better.