Saltwater & Reef

_brokenglass_ · 05-27-2005, 04:19 PM

so 2 weeks until college is over, and i'm left wondering how i'm possibly going to get my fish and my tank back up to alaska (i'm in washington right now). the problem is this -- we have to be checked out of our rooms before we can leave, and nothing can be in the room at the time. last time i went home, i had my fish (2 bala sharks, and i've gotten a pleco since then) in a 10-gallon, so that was a lot easier to deal with. took me about an hour to get it emptied out, cleaned, and packed up. i left my 10-gallon at home, and bought a 30-gallon when i got back down here, that's what they're in now. there's no way i can get that cleaned and everything the morning i have to leave without leaving my poor fish in their little "travel tupperware" (it's about 7x7x3... works quite nicely =) ) for a lot longer than i'd like. what i'm curious to know, i've got a tub thats probably... 3-4 gallons? somewhere around there. would it be bad to transfer them to that for a couple days before i leave to go home? or what else would you all suggest? for the tank, i'm going to the pet store to see if they have a box to put it in, then check it at the airport (they took good care of my other one... hopefully they do the same this time!) sorry, this is a really long post for a short question =) any help would be very much appreciated.

Andos99 · 05-29-2005, 04:00 AM

You might want to just sell everything, donate the fish and consider starting over when you get home. That sounds like an awful lot of work and headache. JMO

Frank_the_Tank · 05-29-2005, 04:45 AM

I had to move a 10 gallon home an hour away from college back home and it was a big enough pain. Good luck with your task 8O

Fishyfanatic · 05-29-2005, 09:52 AM

I would give the fish to the lfs. OR, you could take the gravel out of the tank prior to the day you have to move. Just leave a couple plants and decor in there. That way, the morning you move, all you have to do is empty water, take care of the little stuff (filter, heater, thermometer) and then net the fish and off you go. But if that will be too much of a pain, I'd say just give the fish to the lfs.

qwertie · 05-29-2005, 10:56 AM

awwww, he/she loves his fish though he cant flush them- can he??

Kari · 05-29-2005, 12:35 PM

I don't think anyone said anything about flushing them, I think they were just telling them to give the fish to the local fish store. Personally, I'd take FishyFanatic's advice about removing the gravel the day before, and then breaking the rest of the tank down quickly the morning they leave for home. I couldn't part with my fishes either, unless there were extenuating circumstances.

Lepomis · 05-29-2005, 12:58 PM

I had always just used the trusty beer cooler. I filled it with 2/3 to 3/4 of the way with tank water and transferred the fish. Drained the rest of the water down so it covered the gravel and moved the tank at that point. Head to your local fishing section and buy a battery operated airator for bait buckets and run into your cooler. I had kept fish for weeks in the cooler sucessfully, generally tetras, platies, and guppies. I did transfer convicts and oscars on a couple occasions with no problems also but didn't leave them in the cooler set up for more than a few days. We also used rubbermaid trashcans for larger moves.