Thanks for the suggestions guys. I will probably bave more questions the closer i get. This is probably going to be more like or 8 hrs i think yuki is right. I would have to follow the moving truck amd get the tanks set up asap....oh man im dreading this
Moving 4hrs away with fish/plants
- Thread starter jaws7777
- Start date
I moved my fish a four hour drive a few times and it's really not that bad. If you think about it fish are shipped across the country with no air stones and are perfectly fine. So, here's what I did step by step.
1. After everything else was loaded into the truck I prepared the buckets for the fish by draining tank water into them so that it would be the same temp as the tank
2. Removed the bio media and put it in its own small bucket of tank water, slapped a lid on and set it off to the side
3. Drained the tank low enough to catch the fish
4. Removed all the plants and placed them into fish bags that I got PetSmart to give me, gave them a small amount of tank water and filled them with CO2 from my own lungs before tying the bags up
5. Put the fish in buckets with an air stone and lid
6. Loaded the tank up into the vehicle with all the water I could get out of it removed, but left the gravel in it (some bb may survive if the substrate is moist enough)
7. Removed the air stones from the buckets and loaded them up into the front of the vehicle (it was winter so running the heat in the truck kept the buckets at constant temp)
8. When I arrived fish went inside first and air stones were re added (the sloshing of the water in the buckets while driving actually keeps the oxygen levels ok)
9. Set up the tank and filter
10. Added fish by drip acclimation
11. Added plants
I've done this move three or four times and never lost a single fish or plant. I've done it in blizzard conditions where the four hour drive turned into 8 hours and I've done it in the summer with no AC in my truck and everything has been fine each time.
I've also transported fish a 3 hour drive in a cooler in my trunk. I can't remember exactly what I picked up any more as it was a good 5 years ago, but there were about five fish that were all over 8 inches and I had no issues.
1. After everything else was loaded into the truck I prepared the buckets for the fish by draining tank water into them so that it would be the same temp as the tank
2. Removed the bio media and put it in its own small bucket of tank water, slapped a lid on and set it off to the side
3. Drained the tank low enough to catch the fish
4. Removed all the plants and placed them into fish bags that I got PetSmart to give me, gave them a small amount of tank water and filled them with CO2 from my own lungs before tying the bags up
5. Put the fish in buckets with an air stone and lid
6. Loaded the tank up into the vehicle with all the water I could get out of it removed, but left the gravel in it (some bb may survive if the substrate is moist enough)
7. Removed the air stones from the buckets and loaded them up into the front of the vehicle (it was winter so running the heat in the truck kept the buckets at constant temp)
8. When I arrived fish went inside first and air stones were re added (the sloshing of the water in the buckets while driving actually keeps the oxygen levels ok)
9. Set up the tank and filter
10. Added fish by drip acclimation
11. Added plants
I've done this move three or four times and never lost a single fish or plant. I've done it in blizzard conditions where the four hour drive turned into 8 hours and I've done it in the summer with no AC in my truck and everything has been fine each time.
I've also transported fish a 3 hour drive in a cooler in my trunk. I can't remember exactly what I picked up any more as it was a good 5 years ago, but there were about five fish that were all over 8 inches and I had no issues.
Thanks for the well written guide tiff. Your right about them being shipped from all over the place
If u get a converter for the cigarette lighter you could even just plug ur ehiem in for the trip while the fish are in a bucket .... This way the fish are safe and ur bb is constantly doing its thing ..... Don't need to worry about it dying off which I highly doubt it would anyways for a 4 he trip
