Im moving in a month. whats the best way i can keep my fish and bacteria alive? what should i do?
movin!!!!
- Thread starter convicts94
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how far do you have to travel? if it is only a couple hours then good ol' buckets will be just fine, if its longer than that then you will need to stop and do little water changes to their buckets to make sure the water stays as clean as possible, as for the bacteria you will definitely lose some of it but you should be able to preserve most of it by just transporting it like you do the fish, just keep it submerged in tankwater and dont let it dry out. also when i had to move my fish, i went and bought enough cycle for just one dose and did a dose of that after setting everything back up just to re kickstart the cycle and replenish any bacteria that was lost and i didnt have an ammonia spike at all
I've moved across town many times with fish... across state a coupel of times with fish... and 12 hours away once with fish... In every one of those moves I had many fish in several (or more) tanks...
I move the same way regardless of distance...
I do water changes and clean filters leading up to the move to ensure everything is clean and healthy when the actual move day comes...
I get as many 18 gal Rubbermaid tubs needed to accomodate my fish... I stock each tub sparingly understanding that during such stressful events aggression levels often rise...
I spread all of the substrate between the tubs...
I spread all the decor between the tubs...
I fill each tub half way up with water...
I spread the fish out between the tubs...
I spread the media up between the tubs...
I break down the tanks, load everything up and move to the new location...
I do not use battery powered air pumps. During transport the water will slosh around plenty to keep the water oxygenated...
I plan the move carefully to avoid temperature swings during the move. Time of year, time of day traveling, time in transit, etc all need to be considered.
If you are moving to a whole new town, it's best to try to learn about water quality/parameters and plan for an acclimation period/process if needed. Using the above method I found it very easy to use a standard drip acclimation process with water from the new location topping off the half full rubbermaids.
I move the same way regardless of distance...
I do water changes and clean filters leading up to the move to ensure everything is clean and healthy when the actual move day comes...
I get as many 18 gal Rubbermaid tubs needed to accomodate my fish... I stock each tub sparingly understanding that during such stressful events aggression levels often rise...
I spread all of the substrate between the tubs...
I spread all the decor between the tubs...
I fill each tub half way up with water...
I spread the fish out between the tubs...
I spread the media up between the tubs...
I break down the tanks, load everything up and move to the new location...
I do not use battery powered air pumps. During transport the water will slosh around plenty to keep the water oxygenated...
I plan the move carefully to avoid temperature swings during the move. Time of year, time of day traveling, time in transit, etc all need to be considered.
If you are moving to a whole new town, it's best to try to learn about water quality/parameters and plan for an acclimation period/process if needed. Using the above method I found it very easy to use a standard drip acclimation process with water from the new location topping off the half full rubbermaids.
I moved once over four days (car broke down halfway there x_x), I did it very similarly to nc_nutcasehttp://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/member.php?u=21423 except I used air stones because of the distance and coolers because I was driving during the summer in a car without air conditioning. I kept all the filter media in its own cooler (with tank water, of course), without an air stone. Bacteria caught on just fine when I reset my tank at its new destination.
Have a tank (s) set up at the new location if possible. You don't have to worry about it being cycled, when you add your cycled filters it will be.
If your traveling long distance you can use an inverter to power your filter and heater. It will turn your cars DC electric into house AC electric. How much your equipment draws will dictate the size of inverter you need.
It would also be beneficial to not feed your fish for a day before moving to reduce the amount of waste produced in the small environment.
If your traveling long distance you can use an inverter to power your filter and heater. It will turn your cars DC electric into house AC electric. How much your equipment draws will dictate the size of inverter you need.
It would also be beneficial to not feed your fish for a day before moving to reduce the amount of waste produced in the small environment.
I pretty much do it the same as nc. I make sure to have a few buckets of extra tank/treated tap water w/ me from my old place to drip acclimate/do any water changes that might come up. I'de had buckets tip over, styrafoam containers leak ect. extra buckets of water/containers are all good insurance for an "oops" that may happen. Also recomend if possible seperateing each fish into it's own container if possible, or at least keeping fish such as plecos and catfish or anything with spines seperated. I have lost fish due to not seperateing out such types of fish, a solid spook can cause these fish to rip themselves up and anyone else w/ them by accident. I also personally put all my bio-media in one bucket w/ water, and avoid putting objects w/ the fish that can smush/poke,ect. floating plants seem to help w/ anxiety in many fish though.
Just use abit of common sense and you should be fine.
also avoid feeding them 24-48 hours prior to moving them. and a day or 2 after acclimation to the new place. I've had some fish take food right away, and others refuse for days.
Just use abit of common sense and you should be fine.
also avoid feeding them 24-48 hours prior to moving them. and a day or 2 after acclimation to the new place. I've had some fish take food right away, and others refuse for days.
Extra day in the buckets....kinda worried about my EBJDs now lol