Will be moving shortly and have to break down the tank. My concern is a 3+ hour drive. Want to transport the fish but don't know if any will make the trip. Any advice would be most appreciated.
You have a few options:
#1) you can put your fish in a bucket or cooler with a battery operated airpump (usually can be bought in a bait and tackle store for live bait) and this will keep the water aerated for your trip. ( drive carefully so you don't spill the water )
#2) You can take your fish to a local pet store and ask if they would bag the fish and use oxygen in the bag for your transit. ( The fish then should have about 48 hours to be in the bag(s).
#3) You can put the fish in a bucket or cooler with no air pump and haul butt to your new place and if the fish start to look stressed or are coming up to the surface for air, use your hand and splash the water surface to help reoxygenate the water for the fish.
Any one of these 3 choices will work. I would just make sure that the fish tank is set up and running for a day or so in the new location to make sure it doesn't leak from the relocation before adding the fish back in. (This is why I prefer the pump method.)
FYI: I am about to embark on driving fish from NJ to FL. I did it before just reoxing the bags every few hours so I know this method works for a 3 day trip so you should have no problem with 3 hours.
I transported 30 Tanganyikan Cichlids 8 hrs using two coolers and a battery powered aerator. The biggest fish was my 11" Frontosa. The rest were in the 3-8" range. I did lose one fish, but overall, I can't complain. I set up the tank right away and moved them in with no problems. The one fish that died was survived the trip, but was floating next day in the tank. I was very nervous about it, but anyone that knows how long it takes for Tanganyikans to grow should realize I didn't want to start all over and wait two-three years for them to mature. I wish you luck!!!
The move went great! Because of all the great advice received here, every single fish made to to their new home and are doing really well. I never thought i could transport them and have them all survive. I got a large plastic container which I rinsed with plain water, then filled it with water from my tank. I pumped a lot of air into the water it before I transferred the fish into it. I then put a top on the container (love the fish but didn't want water splashing about with every turn and bump), then put it on the floor of the car. I would occasionally scoop and dump water into the container to add a little air and it worked just fine.Thank you all!
You have a few options:
#1) you can put your fish in a bucket or cooler with a battery operated airpump (usually can be bought in a bait and tackle store for live bait) and this will keep the water aerated for your trip. ( drive carefully so you don't spill the water )
#2) You can take your fish to a local pet store and ask if they would bag the fish and use oxygen in the bag for your transit. ( The fish then should have about 48 hours to be in the bag(s).
#3) You can put the fish in a bucket or cooler with no air pump and haul butt to your new place and if the fish start to look stressed or are coming up to the surface for air, use your hand and splash the water surface to help reoxygenate the water for the fish.
Any one of these 3 choices will work. I would just make sure that the fish tank is set up and running for a day or so in the new location to make sure it doesn't leak from the relocation before adding the fish back in. (This is why I prefer the pump method.)
FYI: I am about to embark on driving fish from NJ to FL. I did it before just reoxing the bags every few hours so I know this method works for a 3 day trip so you should have no problem with 3 hours.