Moving and need advice on how to transport fish...

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PinkLady

Feeder Fish
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Jul 2, 2009
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Madison, WI
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I'm moving within the next month or so from Madison, WI to just outside Whiteman AFB, MO -- which is about an 8 hour drive by car, so probably about 9 hours with a moving truck. I'm looking for advice on how to transport my fish and keep my live rock/sand/filter biomaterial alive for the trip. My plan is to bag the fish the same way they come home after purchase, then put them in a styrofoam shipping box to keep them upright and padded (I have 2 from my favorite LFS that I brought home my live rock in). Then drain half the water from the tank, leaving enough to keep the live rock covered and in the same configuration, and submerse the biomaterial from the filters and keep them alive and wet, and cover it with an acrylic sheet and strap it down with bungee cords to keep everything from splashing out during transit. Then once I get it up and running again at the new house for about an hour, do a drip-acclimation for everybody to get them all back in and settled. Does this sound like it would work? Will the fish be OK in bags for this long? I can get an oxygen tank to fill up the bags with after the water and fish are in them to make sure they have enough for the trip.
 
your best bet is to look in to the Amquel Prime and dump method for fish that have been in a bag that long. The 8-10 hour trip is a lot different than the trip home from the fish store. I would also completely drain the tank and put the LR and bio in a cooler full of tank water with a heater and a circ pump and tape the lid down good. When I moved my 60 gallon I drained 75% of the water out and still barely made it around the corner before water was everywhere. It can be doen just alittle extra work and care. You can run the heater adn pump off a car converter and a extnsion cord ran from the cab to the back. If you know where to run them you wont have to worry about it being pinched in the door.
 
((This is my second time replying, so it will probably be shorter than the first. I was nearly done, and then my page froze and I lost the whole damn reply... *shruggs* such is life I guess. So anyways, now I'm going through writing it all over, lol, so I might make it shorter this time.))

PinkLady;3643826; said:
I'm moving within the next month or so from Madison, WI to just outside Whiteman AFB, MO -- which is about an 8 hour drive by car, so probably about 9 hours with a moving truck.
Probably more like 10-11 hours once you factor in traffic, gas stops, bathroom breaks and eating, lol. But I am glad to hear that you are making plans now. Too many don't, and then they either panic and try to prepare everything last minute, resulting in poor transit accomodations for the animals, or suffer actual losses to livestock.
I'm looking for advice on how to transport my fish and keep my live rock/sand/filter biomaterial alive for the trip.
Yup yup, no prob, let's get started.
My plan is to bag the fish the same way they come home after purchase, then put them in a styrofoam shipping box to keep them upright and padded (I have 2 from my favorite LFS that I brought home my live rock in).
oh lord (laughs), ok this is one of the sections I wrote that was REALLY long and detailed and now I gotta do it all over again, lol. Crap. It's ok though, because I want you to have the info, so you can decide your options. Ooookay, round two...
Soooo, as I was saying in my last reply, what I do, is actually use large rubbermaid containers to transport livestock (aside from my sharks). Ones like this -- http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/SubCategoryLanding.aspx?SubcatId=Roughneck&CatName=Storage

These are great for a number of reasons, and are multi-use items, so def not just a purchase, but an investment. I use mine all the time. Some of the benefits they offer specifically when moving fish is that;
* They allow for free swimming of the fish
* Keeping water temps regulated and oxygen levels up is easy
* Lids snap tight, so splashing isn't an issue, and fish can't jump out
* They are built tough, and last a long time and don't cost that much
* Allow a greater volume of water to be supported (compared to little bags), so mucous shedding, biological waste and food products do not foul the parameters as they would in a bag during such a long haul.
* Allow easy access to check in on your fish, add in water conditioners to reduce stress like what I prefer... http://www.petco.com/product/107412/Kordon-Fish-Protector.aspx
or to offer them food if they are interested, and the trip is a long one.



It's easy on you and the fish to do it this way. Temp and oxygen can be controlled by drilling holes large enough to fit the cords/tubing in the corner(s) of the lid, and using a simple heater (attached to the inside wall of the container with suction cups, with a guard over it should it get dislodged, that way you don't run the risk of it hitting the sides or burning the fish), and air stones dropped in for O2. These can easily be powered with a portable generator. And like the containers, these generators are not just a purchase, but a great investment. The two I have, have been used for everything from jump starting my car, moving fish, camping, saving my *** in power outtages, and more. Here's a link to a main list of one's avail. Obviously avoid the gas powered ones, lol.
http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/style/portable.php

Then drain half the water from the tank, leaving enough to keep the live rock covered and in the same configuration, and submerse the biomaterial from the filters and keep them alive and wet, and cover it with an acrylic sheet and strap it down with bungee cords to keep everything from splashing out during transit.
While initially this may sound like a good idea, it's really not once you get into the physics of moving the tank. Having that much weight, with all that water, rock, sand and anything else you throw in there will not only make the tank exceptionally heavy to move, but risky as well, carrying with it a very high possibility of the bottom of your tank crashing out. Additionally, you run the risk of the rocks sliding and rolling around either scratching or even breaking the glass - especially with that much water sloshing about.
When moving live rock, I do the same thing as with the fish - get a container, and place the rock in there, adding just enough of the tank water to keep things relatively submerged. Since the micro-verts don't require the same stability as the fish themselves, it's an easy drop-in/fill-up/and cover type opperation. You don't need to worry about heaters or airstones in their container.
When it comes to the biomedia, that would be fine to take out and place in those bags you mentioned, and store those in the styrofoam containers you said you have. They would be fine with some added water in the bags.
Then once I get it up and running again at the new house for about an hour, do a drip-acclimation for everybody to get them all back in and settled. Does this sound like it would work?
Bottom line, sure, your plan could work. But it comes with a lot of extra work for you, and potential stress on the fish, as well as risks to your tank. Additionally, using these containers allows you to keep a heck of a lot more of your main tank water, which makes re-introduction a lot easier and less stressful on the animal, and makes your set-up easier too.

Will the fish be OK in bags for this long? I can get an oxygen tank to fill up the bags with after the water and fish are in them to make sure they have enough for the trip.
Sure, but it's a risk, and tends to make things a little more difficult for you in the capturing and bagging process, and observing them in transit, not to mention keeping temps stable or having to add in more O2. Plus you'd waste a lot of good tank water (which really helps you get your tank set right back up, and speed acclimation, since their waters aren't changing, just their location).

I know I said a lot more in my first post, which is partly why I'm frustrated having to re-type it all because I know I am leaving out things I mentioned previously, but if it comes to me, I'll post again.
Click to expand...
 
this should be a sticky!^^^^^^
very well put and said.. to the op you cant get any better than this
very good job em :D
 
Looks like everything's been pretty well covered. I know the new house is far away, but if possible, have a good amount of water mixed up and ready to go to top off the tank. While it sounds like nice idea, you really can never transport every last bit of water. Also have any tools, plumbing parts, etc. you can think of ready to use to set the tank back up.
 
AWESOME, thank you SO much! Sounds like a relatively doable plan. I'm not one of those people that offloads pets when it comes time to move. When we were in the Army, we lived in Texas right outside Fort Hood. When my now-ex husband deployed to Iraq, I moved back home here to Wisconsin, which was around 2,000 miles one-way. Packed up all 4 cats in a giant dog crate and stopped every 2 hours to let them go potty in the litter box and took them in the hotel rooms with us at night where they got to run around. Also packed up all 15 snakes (ball pythons to boas) in pillowcases knotted shut, then placed in big Sterilite containers with disposable heat packs underneath and air holes in the lids. Containers were stacked in the trunk of the car as we drove and hauled into the hotel rooms as well. Plus I had a breeding group of rats that we also brought with us in their traveling carrier in the back seat and in the rooms at night. We made it the whole way and everybody did just fine, minimal stress. So I'm willing to do whatever it takes to bring my fish with me. The more containers I can get to save as much of the established water as possible, the better.
 
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