Getting out of dodge...

[jlennon]

I will be moving in December and I am looking for input on the best way to move my fish.
My obvious concern is my Oscar. She is 13 inches long and feisty.
I am trying to get into the house before hand so I can at least set up holding tanks to move my fish to. It looks like I will be moving on the fly as of now.
Current set up:
75 gallon 13"Oscar and 10" pleco
55 gallon 2-6"Oscars
45 gallon 4" blue azure, rainbow shark, cherry barbs, corys, bristle nose, and class cat.
This tank is also planted and has full growth.
10 gallon 3 corys, and three neon tetras.
This tank is also planted and has pretty full growth.

Any input would be great. These guys will not be traveling far but I am interested in what kind of input you guys might have.

 

[aclockworkorange]

If it's an in town move I'd break down one tank at a time and move the fish in large Tupperware containers. Basically, catch fish, move to contain, drain tank, load tank, unload tank, fill tank, acclimate fish to new tap water, put fish back in tank. Keep your filter media wet.

 

[Ash]

I ve done in town moves and out of town/same state moves. My fish during the moves have been 12" and under. I get a lot of cheap new buckets and fill them half way with water - and have a small hole to slip a air tube in and then attach the airstone.. I got a bunch of the battery powered air box from the fishing section in walmart (much cheaper then the ones from the aquarium section). I divide the fish by who gets along and size into each bucket and go. I transported my LR and corals in a large plastic tub - filled it with water and put the lid on it. I would say those large plastic storage bins or buckets should be fine, if its a good distance I suggest getting the battery powered air boxes (name escapes my mind right now for some reason) the one time I did not do this I lost a fish =\ . If you can get into the place early and set up one tank to hold them until you move the rest in that would be great - if not I suggest getting some large tubs in your car with as much water in them as you can lift (and not spill while driving) and use those as holders untill you get the tanks set up. This is how I have done it. I ve done a 2 hour move a 5 minute move and 25 minute move this way. I only lost the one fish moving them this way and that was by my stupidity.

 

[boldtogether]

Buckets with lids, drill small hole for airline/stone and small air pump. I use regular air pumps with a DC to AC inverter in the car so I dont waste batteries and the pumps are quieter. You can go a long way with that setup.

 

[knifegill]

I transported my 13" oscar in a normal bucket. OMG, it sucked. He was curled tightly and very stressed. I'd recommend the rubbermaid container for sure. And always use an airstone when moving large fish.