Moving house

[Misha111]

So the good news is that I am only moving 30 minutes away. i just need to know people's experiences of moving a tank and how they did it.

I have a well established 200 litre tall tank. It contains cardinals, harlequins, rummynose and a dwarf plec that has been in there for so long I have forgotten the name of it!! My main worry is I also have a large Angelfish who I have no idea how to catch, let alone how to move safely. Oh and there is a pair of electric blue Rams. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Eggheadfish]

Hi Misha
I am by no means an expert, but I have moved fish when I first got the tank, adopted some from a friend, and changed out my substrate. I have a number of different sized nets for different types of fish. I find that removing decor first can be helpful so that if fish start getting stressed they don't bang into anything. I drained water into either five gallon buckets or a large cooler, then netted fish and put them into the buckets. I started with the top dwellers and moved my way down through the tank. Once they are in buckets, put a lid on (especially if transporting) and don't overload with fish...use multiple if needed. Try to keep the light and movement minimal. When I set back up, I filled about half the tank with new water, put the fish in, and then dump the old tank water in the buckets in so that there's not a drastic change in parameters. I would also suggest moving decor and substrate in buckets of tank water to maintain as much beneficial bacteria as possible, same with filter pads.
I did transport an angel using a giant net, a five gallons bucket, and patience and he made it just fine.
Go slow and keep stress levels as low as you can.
I hope others can provide more tips!