Fish auctions are wonderful events. You get to visit with old friends and make new ones. You get to buy fish and plants - usually at bargain prices. You get the opportunity to meet the person who raised your new prized possession and can get tips on care and breeding. As you wander from table to table looking at potential purchases, you might notice that some of the bags are tight as a balloon but some are getting limp. They may even be leaking water. You might wonder what makes for a nice tight bag versus a saggy leaking one.

The first thing to consider is the bag itself. It seems pretty clear that a brown paper bag won't work. (Yucky, soggy mess plus dead fish.) What about some other types of bags? A small trash bag might work, but they are usually opaque and you won't be able to see what is inside. That isn't a good choice. Some people seem to think a zip lock bag is okay. Wrong! It is very hard to get the right ratio of air to water in these bags. They also tend to pop open easily, spilling water and fish all over. The plastic they are made of is thin and easy to puncture, either by someone's finger or the fish's spines. The only good choice is to get some fish bags.

Fish bags are ideal. They are clear, they come in many sizes, they are made with a thicker plastic, and they are non-toxic to the fish. They are also easy to come by. Jen Kruckenberg, the bag lady, (Sorry Jen, I couldn't resist. Okay, the Microworm Queen.) sells many sizes of bags for the club at each monthly MAS meeting. Most of the bags cost a dollar for 14 to 24 bags, depending on the size. You can probably get bags from your favorite fish store, but I won't hazard a guess as to what they will charge. If you aren't sure what size bags to get remember: bigger is better (Up to a point.)

The small amount of water in the bag is all that is available to hold fish waste once you catch your fish and put them in the bag. The main waste product is ammonia. I like to add something to the water that will neutralize the ammonia: Amquel, NovAqua, Stress Coat, etc. My favorite is Poly-filter. I add a cube to each bag. The bigger the fish, the bigger the piece of Poly-filter I add.

Now that the ammonia problem is taken care of, we need to worry about the oxygen content of the water. Air is 21 percent oxygen. Water only holds a fraction of that amount. As the fish use up the oxygen in the water, oxygen from the air diffuses in to replace it. To make sure there is enough oxygen available you want to have about 2/3 air to 1/3 water in the bag. That amount of air should be enough for many hours. Some people actually put pure oxygen in the fish bags. Unless the fish will be in the bag for days, this isn't really needed.

Now that the fish have plenty of oxygen, the last thing we need to consider is the size of the bag. The fish should fit comfortably in the bag. It is nice if the fish has room to turn around and even better if it is able to swim. This last point isn't as easy to judge as you might think. An 8-inch Whiptail catfish might be just fine in a 10 or 12-inch bag. An 8-inch Plecostomus has much more body mass and would be too big for the same bag. My preference for those really big fish - plecos, South American cichlids, large catfish, etc - is to put them in a clean, covered bucket. You can give them lots of water and unlimited oxygen. The cover will also give the fish more security when not being viewed. The other reason I might use a bucket is if the fish is so spiny that it will almost certainly puncture the bag. Something like a Synodontus cat, that has wicked dorsal and pectoral spines. Anyway, back to the bags. If you have six 1/2-inch fry, you might not want to use a monster 12-inch bag. A four or six inch bag would better fit the fish. The fish will be happier with a little room to swim, but the buyer needs to be able to find them.

Now you have your fish in the right size bag and are ready to close it up. The technique that works best for me is to stand the bag up in a pail that is about the same size as the bag and quickly grab the top and twist it shut. It should be plump with air like a balloon. If it doesn't work the first time, try it again. Sometimes it takes one or two tries until I'm happy with the way the bag is. I usually use two rubber bands together to hold the bag closed. If one breaks the other will still keep the bag closed. Double bagging is also a good idea. Most fish have hard rays in their dorsal and pectoral fins. When all the people looking at them frighten the fish, they dash around the bag and may put holes in it. It is very rare for a fish to be able to put a hole through two bags.

Take your sealed bag and label it with the contents. Now, tip it upside down, and slide it into another bag of the same size. Tighten the top of the second bag and secure it with more rubber bands. Double bagging also has the benefit of rounding out the corners so small fish are less likely to become trapped. (Some fish are more determined than others.)

Bagging fish correctly is an important step in taking them to auction.

Use fish bags of the correct size with 2/3 air and 1/3 water and double bag.

That way all the fish and the people who buy them will be happy.