Moving soon

[Trainer_Ruby_]

Alright so my family is moving in about 4 months and I want to be ready to move the aquariums as easily as possible. We aren't moving far it's only around 40 miles or so and only a 30 minute car ride. I know the Walmart near where I live sells 5g minnow buckets for about $10 and they come with a battery powered air pump would the best way to do it be get one bucket per tank or go to my lfs and see if I can get a bag per species and plant? If I get one bag per species it's about 21 bags or so. If I get buckets its 6 buckets. The buckets will cost more but I could use them for other things as well. And how would I go about moving the tanks? Would I just drain the water out and wrap them up or should I keep some water in to preserve what bacteria I can?


Keep calm and drum on

 

[Shadow Bass]

The plants are not an issue, just bag them in tank water. And the battery powered system is a great way to move fish, although i always just used a large cooler and tank water.

 

[gzeiger]

Assuming at this range you will make multiple trips during the move, this shouldn't be a big deal. 5 gallon buckets with good lids are under $5 at Walmart or any hardware store. I have drilled the lids and run sponge filters off batteries, and had no issues with cross-country moves. For a 30 minute trip I would not even bother with the battery - just move one tank and get it set up, then start moving fish on the next trip.

Plants are likely better off sandwiched between wet paper towels, because they actually can suffer from abrasion when water sloshes around. For such a short trip, minimal risk though. The important thing is that you're careful not to damage roots when removing them from their tanks.

Move the filter media in tank water in a bucket and you will be fine - no need for special precautions with the tanks. Drain them and set them in the U-Haul. If I were moving myself I would not even bother wrapping them really, although it's been a while since I've done this. Obviously you do need to make sure they aren't impacted by anything hard, but as long as they are placed with the long dimension perpendicular to the vehicle they are very stable.

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

Filter media I'm not worried about as I use primarily canister filters so I can keep the water in them. Should I keep the fish in a bucket and set up a tank and move them up the same day or should I leave them in a bucket overnight and add them after it's been set up for a day?


Keep calm and drum on

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi. The problem I have found with setting up a tank from existing contents is the quality of the water is initially very cloudy and full of debris. If I had a choice I would allow the tank to settle for a day and let the filters do their stuff. Dose the buckets with Prime to protect the fish from a rise in ammonia and don't feed the fish for two days before the move. They will be fine but will will produce less waste polluting the buckets. If you have cycled sponge filters then run them in the buckets or if not then run a bubbler. Keeping the buckets at the correct temp is usually the biggest problem. There is no sure fire way of relocating tanks without stressing the fish but at least you appreciate the problems and can try to minimise the stress on the fish. Not so sure about the stress on you?
Good luck with the move. ?


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[gzeiger]

Scott's advice is the 100% approach that I have used for cross-country moves. A two-day fast is absolutely not required for a journey as short as you are describing. Fish waste will not decompose into ammonia in that time. There's some in the urine and some passed out of the gills, but not enough to hurt.

The exact details of the move depend on how many and how large the tanks are, and what fish are involved. For neon tetras or discus, maybe the water temperature is very critical. For the fish I keep I just tried to minimize the time a bucket was sitting on snow and that was fine. If your fish are all guppies, mollies, cories and kuhli loaches, throw them all in one bucket; I've had to make detailed plans to segregate predators.

Scott's point about turbidity is really the only consideration in letting the new tank run overnight. Few fish will be harmed by cloudy water though.

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

The fish moving are
2 10g tanks
A 20g tank
A 25g tank
And a 55g tank
3 betta
1 gourami
5 serpae tetra
3 neon tetra
5 harlequin rasbora
1 zebra danio
3 Molly
2 guppy
2 nerite snails
1 dragon fish
5 bumblebee goby
1 knight goby
1 freshwater flounder(possibly)
3 kuhli loach
1 gold weather loach
6 Cory cats
2 Siamese algae eaters
And a handful of assassin snails



Keep calm and drum on

 

[gzeiger]

You're running canister filters on 20 gallon tanks?

The fish that I'm familiar with there are all very peaceful. "Dragon fish" seems to be ambiguous, and I'm not familiar with the gobies, but my impression is that you could empty everything into the 55, move the smaller tanks and set them up, then move the fish, and then move the big tank.

Before you go spending the money on battery powered air pumps, consider that it would be just as cost effective to buy one or two extra ten gallon tanks to set up in advance. Neither option is necessary, but if you were going to waste money at least get some extra tanks

This is a very easy move. You'll be fine.

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

You're running canister filters on 20 gallon tanks?



The fish that I'm familiar with there are all very peaceful. "Dragon fish" seems to be ambiguous, and I'm not familiar with the gobies, but my impression is that you could empty everything into the 55, move the smaller tanks and set them up, then move the fish, and then move the big tank.



Before you go spending the money on battery powered air pumps, consider that it would be just as cost effective to buy one or two extra ten gallon tanks to set up in advance. Neither option is necessary, but if you were going to waste money at least get some extra tanks



This is a very easy move. You'll be fine.

If by empty everything into the 55g you mean move all the fish into that tank that won't work as the 55 has gobies which are brackish fish and catfish and loaches wouldn't survive long in that water. I could combine the two 10g tanks and move one of them as well as combine the 20 and 25 and move one of them.
Dragon fish is another name for dragon goby which is a brackish fish.

Gobies can spend a short amount of time in freshwater can't they? Or am I mistaken?


Keep calm and drum on

 

[gzeiger]

Thanks - told you I wasn't familiar with them

I would not take brackish fish and put them in freshwater. Most can survive for an extended time, but it is stressful for them and the situation will already be stressful. Their organs have to work harder to eliminate water (picked up osmotically) than they normally would. Just use two buckets and move them separately.

That said, the balance of those fish probably all fit in the 25 for the limited time we're talking about.

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

Would you suggest moving the fish from the 20 to the 25 and making the 20 brackish whale I set up the 55? The 20 only has corys a betta and neons the 25 has a betta a gourami and harlequins as well as the weather loach. I have a breeder net that I can hold one of the Bettas in


Keep calm and drum on

 

[gzeiger]

That's a reasonable approach, among several that will work. The limiting factor here would be how elaborate the brackish setup is. If everything you need to keep wet fits in the 20 or the 25, go for it.

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

Would you suggest moving the fish from the 20 to the 25 and making the 20 brackish whale I set up the 55? The 20 only has corys a betta and neons the 25 has a betta a gourami and harlequins as well as the weather loach. I have a breeder net that I can hold one of the Bettas in


Keep calm and drum on

 

[jamie_lynn]

Hi GZeiger,
It sounds like you have experience with moving tank inhabitants cross country. Please bear with me, because I am very new to the hobby. But how far/ how many days can freshwater shrimp travel safely? Is there any way for me to move my shrimp with me cross country? It will take me 4 days to make it from point A to point B.
Thank you for any advice you can give!

 

[gzeiger]

Four days is not too long, but it certainly requires some care. As with fish, many of the tropical will be sensitive to cold. If they are traveling with you in a car, just pay attention to bring their bucket inside with you promptly when you stop for the night and they should be fine. Palaemonetes shrimps will be more tolerant in this regard than others.

The best way to do this is to get a basic 5 gallon bucket ($2.99 at any hardware store) and drill a hole in the lid to accommodate an airline tube. Condition a sponge filter, if you're not already using one, before the move. If you have little time, even just squeezing the filter pad from your other filter onto the sponge will be a big help. Some filters have a detachable base which can be glued into the bottom of the bucket (Gorilla glue works well and is inert in water). This keeps the filter from moving around and crushing shrimp, but this is not as big a problem as it may seem and you'll be fine if you don't take that extra step.

Battery powered air pumps to run the filter are about $10. You'll find these in the fishing section of a sporting goods store, for bait, not at a pet store.

The biggest thing is that shrimp are good to eat and can't travel with fish, even small ones.

Food should be withheld for the duration of the trip to maintain water quality. If the filter is well seasoned they will be eating anyway, but they can make it 4 days.

 

[jamie_lynn]

Thank you! This is super helpful.

I do have some super newbie questions, so thank you for your patience.

First, do you know if my Amanos are classified as Palaemonetes? I tried to look it up just now, but just brought up a long list of scientific names...

Second, I think I found a few of the battery operated pumps you are referencing on Amazon; they seem to come with airline and an airstone. Do you think that with a good supply of backup batteries, one of these would work:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002QFXUDG...TF8&colid=2BBXIAHC9LN45&coliid=I3465S5KNC6JNS

or:

http://www.amazon.com/Marine-Metal-...C_UL160_SR85,160_&refRID=057AYM307K1JENB26H7V

Okay, now this is where the level of my naïveté may really show, but about the sponge filter... I always hear these mentioned, but must confess I am a little unclear. Is the idea to hook the airline tubing up to a sponge filter like the one I found below rather than to the air stone, so that I should buy something like this for the inside of the bucket:

http://www.amazon.com/XINYOU-XY-2835-Aquarium-Cylinder-Sponge/dp/B005LMQCW2/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1461977762&sr=1-4&keywords=sponge+filter

I have three months still before the move, so I am thinking that is plenty of time to season the sponge... do I just plop it in the tank after ordering it? How long does it need to be there for proper seasoning? I'm assuming that the purpose is to provide some good bacteria and aeration/filtration so as to reduce shrimp stress on my way across the country...

Given the length of the drive, do I need to have my shrimps fasting for a day or two prior to departure as well? Or will just having them fast for the length of the trip suffice? Also, should I toss one of their moss balls into the bucket, or just keep all the plant life separate? I know they will probably munch off of the moss ball if I include it... ...but I also know they love resting on those little things.

Finally, regarding water: how much room (if any) should be left at the top of the bucket? I'm assuming I should fill from my tank...?

Thanks again for your help! I am super excited that I may actually be able to keep my shrimps with a little planning/care!!