Im looking at moving from California to Arizona in the next couple months and Im not sure how to go about moving my fish. Im going to be in both places for a little bit, so i have time to get situated and set up tanks in AZ. Then I will move my fish and sell the tanks I have here in California. Im thinking of putting them in a tank in the back of my xterra and running a airstone off of an inverter while I drive really fast. Would really like to know how others have successfully done this.
Have you had to move your fish?
- Thread starter SemperFish
- Start date
I think there's a thread in articles about moving with monsters, hang on i'll see if i can find it.
followed the link and there was nothing there. Is this a diabolical plot?
maybe if i keep trying the search tool. what search parameters did you use?
maybe if i keep trying the search tool. what search parameters did you use?
SemperFish;3735924; said:
Click the 'articles' tab at the top (it's just to the right of the 'forums' tab) and it's in there. there's only 15 or so articles so shoud be easy to find.
Hey Semper, without reading the thread mentioned, I've moved fish several times with pretty good success. I've had good success with using fish shipping boxes. Your LFS likely will give you all you can handle. Large cardboard boxes with styrofoam lining. Use large plastic bags and be sure to trap lots of air inside. I'v never used any airpumps or warmers. I've had good success with "bait buddies" or similar type oxygen tablets. Just stick one in each bag each day. Re: temp, the styrofoam keeps things pretty constant and I keep the boxes in with me, if i'm comfortable likely the fish are fine. Your trip is short so you shouldn't need to do water changes. However, I would usually change 50% of the water in the bags with drinking water. Of course no feeding. That's all that comes to mind right now, good luck, you'll be fine.
I took a bunch of fish on a 12 hour roadtrip.
I preserved as much BB as possible by putting the filters in buckets with water, put this fish in buckets with holes in the lid, and bought battery run airpumps. I kept the water level at about 2/3rds of the bucket. Seatbelted em up and off we went!
You probably don't have to worry about cold down there, but we ran the heat in the car to keep a somewhat consistent temp.
Got the tanks set up, let em run for 12 hours, and placed the fish.
The piranha took a little damage to it's tailfin and jaw, due to him being as big as his bucket.
Otherwise, out of 20+ only one died due to being harassed in the bucket.
One other loss, too. a 55 gallon tank. Something was unsecured in the back of the uhaul and fell on it, cracking it in several places.
I preserved as much BB as possible by putting the filters in buckets with water, put this fish in buckets with holes in the lid, and bought battery run airpumps. I kept the water level at about 2/3rds of the bucket. Seatbelted em up and off we went!
You probably don't have to worry about cold down there, but we ran the heat in the car to keep a somewhat consistent temp.
Got the tanks set up, let em run for 12 hours, and placed the fish.
The piranha took a little damage to it's tailfin and jaw, due to him being as big as his bucket.
Otherwise, out of 20+ only one died due to being harassed in the bucket.
One other loss, too. a 55 gallon tank. Something was unsecured in the back of the uhaul and fell on it, cracking it in several places.
I've moved some fish from San Diego to Los Angeles, not very far I know. What I did was get one of those water cooler things for insulation and put a bag in it, then filled with aquarium water and put the fish in. It worked well, no losses.
I've also transported fish from Los Angeles to Seattle, about 1200 miles. These were koi and shubunkins. For this move I got a large plastic bin and filled it with pond water and ran an air pump w/ stone off of a converter. I also brought several buckets of pond water and did water changes along the way. I made the trip overnight, in one shot, 16 hours. No losses.
The key is to give the fish plenty of room so they aren't bumping into anything during transport. Round tanks or at least rounded corners are best.
I've also transported fish from Los Angeles to Seattle, about 1200 miles. These were koi and shubunkins. For this move I got a large plastic bin and filled it with pond water and ran an air pump w/ stone off of a converter. I also brought several buckets of pond water and did water changes along the way. I made the trip overnight, in one shot, 16 hours. No losses.
The key is to give the fish plenty of room so they aren't bumping into anything during transport. Round tanks or at least rounded corners are best.