Help! Anyone moved long distance with their fish?

[Ang]

I might be moving to Colorado. But not for at least several months. Well... maybe at the soonest 4 months.

I have a 125g. And I have at least 3 fish I would be heartbroken to part with. The rest i can re-home, but 3 of them I want to keep at all costs.

So question is...

From San Diego to Colorado moving a 125g with filters and 3 fish (none bigger than 13")

I know to put the fish in coolers with aerators plugged into an adaptor for the car...

But has anyone gone this far? Or farther??

Any advice

I've transported my tank and fish and filters with no problems twice before. But it was only a 45 minute car ride.

 

[cichlid2006]

ive transported fish on an 8hr drive using coolers with a hole drilled in the top to let the air line for my battery powered pumps get in. i also added the air driven box filters filled with my bio media so each cooler had its own bio filter. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Air-Driven-Bo...QQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item3caaba69e3 any bio that didnt fit in the filters was just poured between all the coolers so it was sitting on the bottom like a substrate.

i also got some heat packs, activated one and wrapped in newspaper. then double bagged that in a fish bag which i let hang in the air gap above the water in the cooler.

 

[Ang]

ive transported fish on an 8hr drive using coolers with a hole drilled in the top to let the air line for my battery powered pumps get in. i also added the air driven box filters filled with my bio media so each cooler had its own bio filter. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Air-Driven-Bo...QQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item3caaba69e3 any bio that didnt fit in the filters was just poured between all the coolers so it was sitting on the bottom like a substrate.

i also got some heat packs, activated one and wrapped in newspaper. then double bagged that in a fish bag which i let hang in the air gap above the water in the cooler.

Thanks!! Good ideas.

Would have never thought of the heating thing.

And I like the air driven box filter idea too.


What about my filters? Will my bacteria die off before I get them hooked up again? How long do the bacteria survive with the circulation off?
I have 3 canister filters.
(the drive time google says is around 20 hours!!!)

 

[cichlid2006]

the box filters are proper old school filtration. used more for fry tanks now because they are not very powerful.

i would add your media to its own cooler with a couple of battery powered pumps to keep the air going. movement of the car will ensure the water gets moved around the media.

ive had bacteria survive for about 12 hours once when i accidently switched the power to the tank off. i had no cycle, mini or otherwise, to indicate that all my bacteria died. however, i prefer the idea mentioned above to my mistake.

 

[Ang]

the box filters are proper old school filtration. used more for fry tanks now because they are not very powerful.

i would add your media to its own cooler with a couple of battery powered pumps to keep the air going. movement of the car will ensure the water gets moved around the media.

ive had bacteria survive for about 12 hours once when i accidently switched the power to the tank off. i had no cycle, mini or otherwise, to indicate that all my bacteria died. however, i prefer the idea mentioned above to my mistake.

Oh yeah. Ok. See, that's why I come here. Would not have thought of putting the media in its own cooler.

So simple, but for some reason, it didnt cross my mind.

Thanks a lot!!

 

[Ang]

Here's another question.
The 3 fish i'm talking about are a 13" Oscar, 10" Johanna, and 5" Flyer Cichlid. (I know, not rare by any means, but I love these guys)

They are all very peaceful, but should I put them in separate coolers for the trip since its so long or maybe the Johanna and the flyer in one cooler and the Oscar in a separate cooler or all of them in one.

I would probably use the syrafoam coolers you can get from the supermarket sincd you can cut holes in the lids. They are cheap, so I suppose one cooler for each fish would be safest huh?

 

[cichlid2006]

if your going with styrofoam then it may be worth looking into how they hold water over a period of time. test one for 24 hours, see if it leaks. you may need a liner of some sort.
i put all my cichlids seperate from each other and from my other fish.

 

[Bderick67]

You may consider shipping them. Either ship them to a MFKer in Colorado before you come out. Or you could have someone in SD hold and then ship your fish once you get to Colo.

 

[DrownedFishonFire]

the only concern is the length of the trip- I moved fish from college with me from New York to Illinois and live fish from florida to illinois in a day or two of driving and hotel stops.

I did aerator with alot battery switchouts- they dont last long....to keep the water oxygenated and kept the car at the constant temperature not too cold not too hot. the only thing I regret not doing is bringing a bottle of amquel with me from the florida trip.

 

[Triton]

I had to travel from San Diego to New Jersey (5 day trip) with my blind goldfish, sharkie. I put min in a 5 gallon bucket half filled with water and thats it. Small water changes at each hotel. He made it across, no problem and no complaints. I know its very different when dealing with tropical fish, but when it comes to hardy fish, goldfish can't be beat!