Anyone else have some advice or see something we're missing? Our fish are pets, we'd be really sad to lose one.
advice pls. Moving about 45 minutes away
- Thread starter kallmond
- Start date
I use Bag-Buddies, 5 gallon buckets and battery powered air stones when moving. I put everything in buckets and bring as much old tank water as possible. I just leave the water and media in the filters. I drill holes in the lids of the fish buckets the same size as the air line. The Bag-Buddies calm the fish slow respiration and add some O2. I have done moves from 5 blocks to 500 miles this way with no losses. You are on a tight time line with this move. Having moved a 4 bedroom and fish a couple of times, I don't think I could do it on your time line. At least not anymore, maybe when i was 20.
I'm way closer to 40 than I am to 20.. But no outcome other than getting it done is possible, so I guess I'll try and sleep a lot Thursday night, 'cause it sounds like i'm going to be moving the fish instead of sleeping.
What are bag buddies? Are they tablets that dissolve?
What are bag buddies? Are they tablets that dissolve?
kallmond;4100233; said:
Yes they are tablets. I ordered them on the net. Can't remember what site it was. One bottle is probably almost a life time supply. I also take them to the fish store with me and drop one in the bag before they close it.
Chaz88;4102759; said:
I understand, but I've had success in both local moves as well as interstate moves (12 hours) moving over 100 fish and over 12 large tanks with far less...
Why add airstones? the two benefits that airstones provide is surface agitation and water circulation. The surface will be well agitated by the vibration of the truck and bumps in the road. The water will be circulated well enough by the momentum of each turn the vehicle makes, the fish themselves swimming in the relativesly small container and other vibrations/movements of the truck...
Rubbermaid tubs have a larger footprint than a 5 gallon bucket thus are far less likely to tip over...
Rubbermaid tubs have a greater volume than 5 gallon buckets thus offer more dillution to any pollutants the fish create during transit.
It is important to match water parameters such as PH, KH & GH. But in most cases our tanks match our tap unless we use additives (buffers, etc) and in that case we know how to dose our tap to match our tank. Therefore I suggest using fresh clean pollutant free water as opposed to tank water.
I'm not saying your way won't work Chaz... Nor am I saying it's bad advice... I'm just saying I think it can be done a lot simplier with equal success...
I've also not seen precautions for termperature, and on long moves (not as important in this case) maintaining temperature is of critical importance. A moving van in direct sunlight gets very hot over the course of a long day...
If moving just a few fish, I suggest keeping them in the car with you aid maintain the car's inside temp to a suitable level for the fish (mid 70s for most tropicals). Just be cautious not to allow the heat nor AC to blow directly on the fish's container.
I'm open to all advice, and I specifically asked for "What worked and didn't work for you".
I'm only going 40 minutes or so, so I doubt I'll use dissolving O2 tabs, plus I have 4 power outlets off the inverter in my truck, so I can run airstones. But someone down the line may be moving 2 or 3 hours away and not know about them. So I'm grateful for everyone's experience
Nutcase, you and I agree on a lot of things, chief among them simple is almost always better than complex.
I'm only going 40 minutes or so, so I doubt I'll use dissolving O2 tabs, plus I have 4 power outlets off the inverter in my truck, so I can run airstones. But someone down the line may be moving 2 or 3 hours away and not know about them. So I'm grateful for everyone's experience
Nutcase, you and I agree on a lot of things, chief among them simple is almost always better than complex.
