Prologue:
I had bought a 480L tank earlier this summer when I was on a visit at my parent's house in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. I bought it from an old lady for 50 euros (about 50 US dollars); this included 4 huge Oscars, 2 other huge cichlids, 1 15-year-old giant pleco, and some other fish. My dad promised me to watch after these fishies until I could get a car or van to transport it back to my country.
I live in Kristiansand, Norway, which is about 1000 km/621.4 US miles from Rotterdam. In addition there is a 6-hour boat trip. And the car we used (a Volkswagen Caravelle Minivan) had no heating in the compartment where the fish would be.
A tricky situation, but I had promised my dad to collect the aquarium before Christmas and time was running out (23. Nov.). The only alternative for the fish besides coming with me, were to an LFS or give away to someone. The LFS didn't want them and I didn't know anybody with an aquarium big enough, so they were coming with me. Even if it meant risking their lives
The 12" Silver I had bought the day before we left and this guy turned out to be the one who would make the longest trip (more on that later on)
This is how it went down:
Materials
1. 5 Styrofoam boxes 44cm x 44cm x 30cm
2. 5 Best quality garbage bags (be sure to get those who are clean inside and don't rub off black colour)
3. 1 Compressor that is power by the 12Volt cigarette lighter in the car.
4. 5 Air-pump hoses and splitters to connect to the compressor to give oxygen during the journey.
5. Duck-tape to seal the boxes.
The Plan:
We would put the empty aquarium in the car the day before we would leave because we didn't have anybody to help us carry it to the car in the morning. That meant the fish had to be put in their boxes on Wednesday evening, and spend an extra night in their Styrofoam box in addition to their long journey.
Wednesday
14:00 hours - I bought the Silver Aro in a LFS 3 hours with train from Rotterdam.
In the living room Wednesday 2100 hrs
In the living room Wednesday 2100 hrs
18:00 hrs - I was home and we were already starting to prepare ourselves to empty the aquarium
I put the Arowana in with the others so he could be in a larger space before going back into a box
20:00 hrs - We put the plastic garbage bags in the Styrofoam boxes and filled them all with aquarium water.
When all five boxes were filled we started deciding on who gets to join box with whom.
Make sure there is enough oxygen left in the plastic bags (who are placed in the boxes)
Half full is ok.
Important note: I turned off the light in the aquarium 2 days prior to the moving, also turned of the heater and no food.
This is to slow them down into a calm state.
This is how we divided them per box:
Box 1: 2 Oscars
Box 2: 2 Oscars
Box 3: 2 large cichlids
Box 4: 1 Striped Raphael + 1 Silver Arowana
Box 5: 1 Huge Panaque + 2 Jewel cichlids
21:00 hrs - We lifted the empty aquarium (took out the gravel and rocks) into the car along with the stand and pumps and equipment. The main goal was that we only had to put the fish in the car and drive in the morning - so everything except the fish were packed and finished. I connected an old air pump I had to the boxes who were now in the living room so the would get aeration throughout the night.
I went to bed - doubting they'd even survive the night in my living room in these "small" boxes.
Thursday
09:00 hrs - We lifted the 5 boxes into the car, connected the hoses to the 12V compressor and headed towards Norway. It was cold and I was worried they would freeze to death in the back of the van, but it was too late to have any doubts now. During the trip in the car I turned on the compressor 15 minutes every 1,5 hrs by plugging it in the cigarette lighter in the car.
Packed in the car halfway there
22:00 hrs - We were in Denmark and waited for the boat connection to Kristiansand, which was leaving at 01:00 (Friday morning). On the 6-hour boat-trip we couldn't start the car because it's not allowed to access the car-deck during the taxi - that meant no oxygen injects for a long time.
I went to sleep on the boat, once again sure that they could not survive the cold in the back and the long, long trip.
Friday
08:00 hrs - The boat had arrived Kristiansand and we drove to my house that is 5 minutes by car from the harbour.
When we arrived I filled up my spare 220L with relatively cold water (because I assumed the water in the boxes also would be cold, and I didn't want to give them a hot-shock)
When this was done. I stared carrying the boxes into the living room next to the 220L I was sure they were ALL dead. Suddenly I heard noises from the 2 box while I was carrying it.. I was thrilled. "At least some are alive I yelled through the house.."
I started packing up the boxes and gently pouring one by one into the aquarium
To my great surprise ALL were alive they had lost some colour, they were a little dazed.
And my Silver Arowana had 2 cloudy eyes.. But I was just so happy they were alive!
Packed in the car... halfway there...
Epilogue
They had been packed down from Wednesday 21:00 hrs to Friday 08:30 hrs.
That's a total of 35 and a half hour!
And the Arowana had been in another transport for additional 7 hrs, that's a total of 42,5 hrs in a 60L plastic bag. What a hardcore species indeed!
His eyes were cloudy I thought he might be blind, but he was alive .
The cloudiness is gone in one eye and recovering in the other (1 week after)
They are all happy in the 480L (which I moved them to later that same Friday).
If I think back there should have been warmth in the back of the car, but because I slowly let the temperature in the aquarium sink and darkened it they went into a sort of winter sleep where the heart rate and metabolism slowed down thus needing less oxygen.
I hope someone can learn from this story when moving their fish a great distance, looking back it was the best way to do it.
All happy fishies Friday 20:00 hrs
*Click for larger image
These exact fish were moved:
1 12" Silver Arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum)
4 12" Oscars (Astronotus ocellatus)
2 10" Unknown ciclhids
1 15" or bigger Panaque/Pleco
1 8" Striped Raphael (Talking) Catfish (Platydoras costatus)
2 4" Jewel Cichlids
Happy fish moving!
by Astrotrain Arofanatics.com
I had bought a 480L tank earlier this summer when I was on a visit at my parent's house in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. I bought it from an old lady for 50 euros (about 50 US dollars); this included 4 huge Oscars, 2 other huge cichlids, 1 15-year-old giant pleco, and some other fish. My dad promised me to watch after these fishies until I could get a car or van to transport it back to my country.
I live in Kristiansand, Norway, which is about 1000 km/621.4 US miles from Rotterdam. In addition there is a 6-hour boat trip. And the car we used (a Volkswagen Caravelle Minivan) had no heating in the compartment where the fish would be.
A tricky situation, but I had promised my dad to collect the aquarium before Christmas and time was running out (23. Nov.). The only alternative for the fish besides coming with me, were to an LFS or give away to someone. The LFS didn't want them and I didn't know anybody with an aquarium big enough, so they were coming with me. Even if it meant risking their lives
The 12" Silver I had bought the day before we left and this guy turned out to be the one who would make the longest trip (more on that later on)
This is how it went down:
Materials
1. 5 Styrofoam boxes 44cm x 44cm x 30cm
2. 5 Best quality garbage bags (be sure to get those who are clean inside and don't rub off black colour)
3. 1 Compressor that is power by the 12Volt cigarette lighter in the car.
4. 5 Air-pump hoses and splitters to connect to the compressor to give oxygen during the journey.
5. Duck-tape to seal the boxes.
The Plan:
We would put the empty aquarium in the car the day before we would leave because we didn't have anybody to help us carry it to the car in the morning. That meant the fish had to be put in their boxes on Wednesday evening, and spend an extra night in their Styrofoam box in addition to their long journey.
Wednesday
14:00 hours - I bought the Silver Aro in a LFS 3 hours with train from Rotterdam.
In the living room Wednesday 2100 hrs
In the living room Wednesday 2100 hrs
18:00 hrs - I was home and we were already starting to prepare ourselves to empty the aquarium
I put the Arowana in with the others so he could be in a larger space before going back into a box
20:00 hrs - We put the plastic garbage bags in the Styrofoam boxes and filled them all with aquarium water.
When all five boxes were filled we started deciding on who gets to join box with whom.
Make sure there is enough oxygen left in the plastic bags (who are placed in the boxes)
Half full is ok.
Important note: I turned off the light in the aquarium 2 days prior to the moving, also turned of the heater and no food.
This is to slow them down into a calm state.
This is how we divided them per box:
Box 1: 2 Oscars
Box 2: 2 Oscars
Box 3: 2 large cichlids
Box 4: 1 Striped Raphael + 1 Silver Arowana
Box 5: 1 Huge Panaque + 2 Jewel cichlids
21:00 hrs - We lifted the empty aquarium (took out the gravel and rocks) into the car along with the stand and pumps and equipment. The main goal was that we only had to put the fish in the car and drive in the morning - so everything except the fish were packed and finished. I connected an old air pump I had to the boxes who were now in the living room so the would get aeration throughout the night.
I went to bed - doubting they'd even survive the night in my living room in these "small" boxes.
Thursday
09:00 hrs - We lifted the 5 boxes into the car, connected the hoses to the 12V compressor and headed towards Norway. It was cold and I was worried they would freeze to death in the back of the van, but it was too late to have any doubts now. During the trip in the car I turned on the compressor 15 minutes every 1,5 hrs by plugging it in the cigarette lighter in the car.
Packed in the car halfway there
22:00 hrs - We were in Denmark and waited for the boat connection to Kristiansand, which was leaving at 01:00 (Friday morning). On the 6-hour boat-trip we couldn't start the car because it's not allowed to access the car-deck during the taxi - that meant no oxygen injects for a long time.
I went to sleep on the boat, once again sure that they could not survive the cold in the back and the long, long trip.
Friday
08:00 hrs - The boat had arrived Kristiansand and we drove to my house that is 5 minutes by car from the harbour.
When we arrived I filled up my spare 220L with relatively cold water (because I assumed the water in the boxes also would be cold, and I didn't want to give them a hot-shock)
When this was done. I stared carrying the boxes into the living room next to the 220L I was sure they were ALL dead. Suddenly I heard noises from the 2 box while I was carrying it.. I was thrilled. "At least some are alive I yelled through the house.."
I started packing up the boxes and gently pouring one by one into the aquarium
To my great surprise ALL were alive they had lost some colour, they were a little dazed.
And my Silver Arowana had 2 cloudy eyes.. But I was just so happy they were alive!
Packed in the car... halfway there...
Epilogue
They had been packed down from Wednesday 21:00 hrs to Friday 08:30 hrs.
That's a total of 35 and a half hour!
And the Arowana had been in another transport for additional 7 hrs, that's a total of 42,5 hrs in a 60L plastic bag. What a hardcore species indeed!
His eyes were cloudy I thought he might be blind, but he was alive .
The cloudiness is gone in one eye and recovering in the other (1 week after)
They are all happy in the 480L (which I moved them to later that same Friday).
If I think back there should have been warmth in the back of the car, but because I slowly let the temperature in the aquarium sink and darkened it they went into a sort of winter sleep where the heart rate and metabolism slowed down thus needing less oxygen.
I hope someone can learn from this story when moving their fish a great distance, looking back it was the best way to do it.
All happy fishies Friday 20:00 hrs
*Click for larger image
These exact fish were moved:
1 12" Silver Arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum)
4 12" Oscars (Astronotus ocellatus)
2 10" Unknown ciclhids
1 15" or bigger Panaque/Pleco
1 8" Striped Raphael (Talking) Catfish (Platydoras costatus)
2 4" Jewel Cichlids
Happy fish moving!
by Astrotrain Arofanatics.com
