I'm moving my fish between states?

[gweninwestfield]

Hi all,
I've got a 30 gallon tall tank with 6 fish in it. A huge angel (it's really grown in the years it's been with us), some clown loach, an angelica catfish. And in the next month I have to move between New Jersey and Massachusetts. I don't know what to do: should I leave the fish in a small depth of water and put the whole thing in my car (it won't have filtering, heat or light for a 5 hour drive), or should I do something drastic like give the fish away?
Thanks for any suggestions, especially from anyone who's been through a move like this,
gweninwestfield

[justDIY]

just put the fish in 5 gal buckets (with lids), if you have some plants, put them in the buckets too, I'd think the fish would like the decoration

aerate the water before putting the fish in, and as long as you can before "packing" them up ... I wouldn't worry about providing aeration while in the car

I moved 20+ fish this way, 3.5 hour drive with a few stops, they were "pissed off" for a few days (my angel especially), but most resumed eating the day after being put back in their tank.

the thing that will get them isn't the move, but rebuilding the moved tank ... so you need to do daily water changes while the tank's bacteria and filter(s) reestablish themselves and get ammonia and nitrites back under control

Even with help, I didn't want to lift my 29 gal with 80 lbs of gravel in it, so that meant a tear down ... if you do want to move your tank with gravel in it, build a travel carrier for it using two pieces of 1" plywood layered, screwed down into two 2x4s which work as handles and additional bracing, this will allow the entire tank to continue receiving support without any extra stress on one point ... getting it onto and off of it's carrier is tricky though

good luck!

[mendhigirl]

There are also battery operated air pumps,if you want to keep aerateing the water during the drive.You can easily cut a small slit in the plastic lid of a 5g bucket for an airline.
Good luck!