MOVING.. and need advise
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William
Aquarium Advice Addict
You get everything loaded to move first, Then when theres nothing else to do you break down your tank.
Depending on the size of teh tank [ dosn't sound like its that big with only 4 fish, unless their HUGE fish ], you put some, or all of the gravel/sand in the bottom of a 5gal clean, chemical free 5gal bucket, one that has a tight snapon lid. Like a bait bucket.
Drain tank water into the bucket, put your fish in, break down the rest of your tank and put it all in your truck, and go.
When you get to your new location, the first thing you do is set up the tank. Check the water for pH, hardness, nitrates and what not. Because across country your tap pH may be drasticly different then your home's tap.
If its spot n or within .1 of your home tap, then you can just fill the tank up, Set it all back up, let the heater get the tank to the temp required, then gently put your fish back into the tank and put the gravel in the bottom once more.
Depending on the size of teh tank [ dosn't sound like its that big with only 4 fish, unless their HUGE fish ], you put some, or all of the gravel/sand in the bottom of a 5gal clean, chemical free 5gal bucket, one that has a tight snapon lid. Like a bait bucket.
Drain tank water into the bucket, put your fish in, break down the rest of your tank and put it all in your truck, and go.
When you get to your new location, the first thing you do is set up the tank. Check the water for pH, hardness, nitrates and what not. Because across country your tap pH may be drasticly different then your home's tap.
If its spot n or within .1 of your home tap, then you can just fill the tank up, Set it all back up, let the heater get the tank to the temp required, then gently put your fish back into the tank and put the gravel in the bottom once more.
Christmasfish
Aquarium Advice Addict
If it is more than a 1000 miles (so a delay of a day can come up)
I'd get a second bucket to switch them to at the third day and
a battery air pump ( in case it gets warmer where you are going or it takes more time than you expect to set up the new tank)
take a small bottle of a non aloe based de-chlor product (like Kent detox or such) and a emergency pack handwarmer form a camping or auto store (and put it in a ziplock to throw in bucket if needed. They are similar to the heat packs for fish shipping though they last only a day).
Oh and if you have any rather aggressive types..(dwarf gourami/betta/a cichlid/many botia) put a decoration in the bucket that is lite (fake plants, ,plant mats..etc) or stable(fit in the bucket where it wont tip of move much)
This is if you are a paranoid like me, or if you have an suspicion whatsoever that the trip is hard for the car or for the driver.
I'd get a second bucket to switch them to at the third day and
a battery air pump ( in case it gets warmer where you are going or it takes more time than you expect to set up the new tank)
take a small bottle of a non aloe based de-chlor product (like Kent detox or such) and a emergency pack handwarmer form a camping or auto store (and put it in a ziplock to throw in bucket if needed. They are similar to the heat packs for fish shipping though they last only a day).
Oh and if you have any rather aggressive types..(dwarf gourami/betta/a cichlid/many botia) put a decoration in the bucket that is lite (fake plants, ,plant mats..etc) or stable(fit in the bucket where it wont tip of move much)
This is if you are a paranoid like me, or if you have an suspicion whatsoever that the trip is hard for the car or for the driver.
Moving that far sounds very stressful for you and the fish. I might get flogged for saying this but if you are not too attached to your fish and if they are not rare/expensive you might want to give them away and start over at your new location. If water conditions are very different there you might want different fish anyway. Just my 2 cents.
Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
I moved over a two day period in the dead of winter. It can be done and you and the fish will probably be fine. Definitely get a battery operated air pump. We had coolers lined with two black plastic bags and put the fish in there. The fish were not fed two days prior to the move. Good luck and if you need more help--ASK!
krap101
Aquarium Advice Addict
oh are the coolers so their metabolism goes dowN?
Yup, I was just gonna suggest cooler. Yes, it slows down their processes so they get less worked up. That way they use up less oxygen, produce less ammonia. It may be helpful to adjust them slowly to a cooler temperature, too, so it's not a huge shock. The other thing the cooler would do is keep them in the dark. Bright lights would definitely not be good. Also cushion the inside of the cooler to minimize movement of the bags (e.g. prevent sloshing).
Yeah, don't feed them beforehand, either, because if they have food they need to digest, that leaves less energy to deal with stress. You should also keep the water from your tank as much as possible so that you can do water changes. Those bags are small, so waste products build up fast! If the trip will take you more than a few hours, this will definitely help.
Did anyone suggest separating the fish, too? If they can be aggressive, definitely don't allow them to get overcrowded and start biting. Unless if they are schooling fish. If they're the type that would get even more stressed by being apart from their buddies, then keep them together.
A last thing (that I can think of right now) is to add a little salt to their water. It reduces the difference in salt concentrations inside and outside their bodies. That means they don't spend as much energy on balancing ions. The name of the game is: help them conserve energy. The more they have in reserve, the better they'll deal with the whole thing and new location.
Yeah, don't feed them beforehand, either, because if they have food they need to digest, that leaves less energy to deal with stress. You should also keep the water from your tank as much as possible so that you can do water changes. Those bags are small, so waste products build up fast! If the trip will take you more than a few hours, this will definitely help.
Did anyone suggest separating the fish, too? If they can be aggressive, definitely don't allow them to get overcrowded and start biting. Unless if they are schooling fish. If they're the type that would get even more stressed by being apart from their buddies, then keep them together.
A last thing (that I can think of right now) is to add a little salt to their water. It reduces the difference in salt concentrations inside and outside their bodies. That means they don't spend as much energy on balancing ions. The name of the game is: help them conserve energy. The more they have in reserve, the better they'll deal with the whole thing and new location.
Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
I didn't cool the fish using coolers, although, it was the dead of winter. The coolers were used to insulate the fish against the cold and preserve the warmth of the water. As for aggressive fish--we moved all the Mbuna cichlids in one cooler.
Yeah, in the end, take the steps that you are willing to do. You, of course, do not have to take all the precautions I posted. The final decision will be yours based on how much effort you want to put into it and how much the fishies mean to you.
Those were suggestions based on my preparations to transport some valuable fish for research. So many may find a lot of that unnecessary. But at least the info is at your disposal should you need it.
In addition to moving research fish, I will be moving to a new city, too, in a little while. The trip will be at least three hours, not nearly as long as yours, but I had been worrying about it for a long time. I like all my fish, but my albino dojo loach is my baby. He (I think he's male) is almost mammal-like in the way he is inquisitive and playful. A real cute trick of his is to rest on a surface but have just his chin propped up on something. He even likes to be touched and will often seek out my hand! I love this little guy so I want to do everything I can to keep him around.
Luckily, it was right about then that the handy-dandy "Short-term Holding of Fishes" guide came into my life.
So that's my story. I hope your move and cross-country adventure go well! That will probably more stressful for you than for your fish! Good luck!
Those were suggestions based on my preparations to transport some valuable fish for research. So many may find a lot of that unnecessary. But at least the info is at your disposal should you need it.
In addition to moving research fish, I will be moving to a new city, too, in a little while. The trip will be at least three hours, not nearly as long as yours, but I had been worrying about it for a long time. I like all my fish, but my albino dojo loach is my baby. He (I think he's male) is almost mammal-like in the way he is inquisitive and playful. A real cute trick of his is to rest on a surface but have just his chin propped up on something. He even likes to be touched and will often seek out my hand! I love this little guy so I want to do everything I can to keep him around.
Luckily, it was right about then that the handy-dandy "Short-term Holding of Fishes" guide came into my life.
So that's my story. I hope your move and cross-country adventure go well! That will probably more stressful for you than for your fish! Good luck!
I just moved 850 miles over 4 days.
Don't sweat it ! It can be done and your fish should be fine if you :
1) withhold food - 5 days is not a problem for the fish
2) Keep the temp from varying drastically - use a cooler and heater if needed
3) use an air pump - I used an ac one with a dc-ac converter
4) put some cheap stem plant in the cooler to hold the NH4 to a minimum
5) Used Amquel+ to detox as much NH4 as possible
6) water changes when possible - about one every two days
I also did not break down my 29 gal tank. I built a carrying frame out of 2X4s and drained the water down to 5 inches depth. With the carrying frame it was very easy for two people to move the aquarium down a flight of stairs. I also covered the tank with plastic wrap to keep water from sloshing out too much. (I wouldn't attempt this in a car...) BTW a small feeder guppy I couldn't catch and a FW shrimp I thought had previously died, survived in the tank!
The fish were fine and survived 6 days in the cooler! No casualties.
I think sometimes we read all the bad things that can happen on this forum and start thinking that our fish are oh so delicate and we forget that *most* fish are quite tough and will survive just fine. Ask the fish store how fish are shipped sometime....
J
Don't sweat it ! It can be done and your fish should be fine if you :
1) withhold food - 5 days is not a problem for the fish
2) Keep the temp from varying drastically - use a cooler and heater if needed
3) use an air pump - I used an ac one with a dc-ac converter
4) put some cheap stem plant in the cooler to hold the NH4 to a minimum
5) Used Amquel+ to detox as much NH4 as possible
6) water changes when possible - about one every two days
I also did not break down my 29 gal tank. I built a carrying frame out of 2X4s and drained the water down to 5 inches depth. With the carrying frame it was very easy for two people to move the aquarium down a flight of stairs. I also covered the tank with plastic wrap to keep water from sloshing out too much. (I wouldn't attempt this in a car...) BTW a small feeder guppy I couldn't catch and a FW shrimp I thought had previously died, survived in the tank!
The fish were fine and survived 6 days in the cooler! No casualties.
I think sometimes we read all the bad things that can happen on this forum and start thinking that our fish are oh so delicate and we forget that *most* fish are quite tough and will survive just fine. Ask the fish store how fish are shipped sometime....
J
Ahh, Amquel! I didn't even think of that one. I'm used to letting the biological filter take care of it, rather than relying on chemicals. But for short term, that is not a bad idea at all.
I second the over-thinking fish sensitivity thing. I'm probably the most guilty of all. Those Operating Procedures provided me with so much information, some of which was helpful, some of which fed my worries. But I thought I'd share the wealth. But the price I've paid is the lost of innocence.
Thanks for not shunning me for being a neurotic fish-lady.
I second the over-thinking fish sensitivity thing. I'm probably the most guilty of all. Those Operating Procedures provided me with so much information, some of which was helpful, some of which fed my worries. But I thought I'd share the wealth. But the price I've paid is the lost of innocence.
Thanks for not shunning me for being a neurotic fish-lady.
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