Moving Fish Cross-Country

[squint]

How big are these fish? I've done a few moves with fish.

Most containers can only be filled 1/4-1/3 full otherwise water may slosh out.

Fast the fish for 48 hours.

Low dissolved oxygen is the biggest threat. Don't count on the sloshing while driving to suffice.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Depending on fish size and species, I prefer a 4 day fast at a minimum and 7 day fast the best.

While I am using just the sloshing for aeration more often than not, I agree with Squint, especially for long hauls.

...Transporting them by vehicle in the summer means that they would likely die from the heat in the car unless you took them with out of the car with you whenever you stopped for more than 30 minutes.

That's why a thermally insulated cooler is used. I think, depending on the volume of water and the temp inside the car, even a few hours can be quite ok, not to mention one can park in the shade and leave the car and the AC running if need be. Also almost all gas stations have ice available, for drinks and some in bags too.

 

[tfreema]

I transported two fish from Houston TX to Georgia. A tin foil barb and a rainbow shark, both full grown so not small.

I used a 30g cooler filled half way with a battery operated bubbler. It did slosh a couple times when we hit rough roads during pit stops. I put some soft fake plants in for cover to help with the stress and the fish were fasted for 72 hours beforehand.

I also had a cycled tank already set up at home in Georgia so that is the big difference.
It is doable. You would just have to be diligent to keep water changed in temporary holding container and deal with cycling their tank when set back up. You could possibly put some filter media in a cooler with a little bit of ammonia and an air stone on it to keep beneficial bacteria alive. Then put that in the tank set up at new house ASAP.

As others said, it is doable, but has so much room for something to go wrong so you have to decide if it’s worth the effort. Those are not rare or even expensive fish so personally, I would rehome them and set back up fresh once you get settled in.

 

[jaws7777]

Hi guys!
Just a week or two ago my family and I learned we were moving from Colorado to Georgia. My parents aren't comfortable with transporting large amounts of fish, so I narrowed my collection down to a few of my favorite fish: striped raphael catfish, a bichir, and an RTS. I'm planning on putting them in a cooler (about 8 gallons), with some of the beneficial bacteria and a battery-powered air pump hooked up to a sponge filter. I also have family who live near our new house who have a kitty pool in which I can house the fish when I get there. Oh, and this is in July. Does this plan sound like a recipe for disaster?

How big are the fish ? No reason not to move these 3 fish. Bio in the bin and an air stone will suffice.

Home depot sells cheap bins the bigger the bin the better.

 

[Slightly Psycho Aquatics]

The catfish and the shark are about 3-4 inches and the bichir is still pretty slim. Probably 6 inches or so.

 

[Ogertron3000]

How big are the fish ? No reason not to move these 3 fish. Bio in the bin and an air stone will suffice.

Home depot sells cheap bins the bigger the bin the better.

If anyone knows how to do this it's this guy. Check out his cross country moving thread in the poly forum to see how it can be done.

I still think if you aren't really attached to the fish you should regime them and start from scratch once you are in the new house.

 

[Rocksor]

Huge difference between doing it yourself and asking your parents to do it. Does his parents know how loud a DD battery air pump is? Now imagine that in your room for the next xx hours.

 

[fishhead0103666]

Nobody has suggested this or even sai anything close so I’ll say it. Do you have a lfs? If so, you could ask them to hold onto the fish for the time being and once you’re ready you call them up and have them ship the fish to the new house.

 

[jaws7777]

Its 3 small fish this isnt a big deal. Move the fish no need to rehome them or have lfs ship them. This is no where near as complicated as it sounds.

I'd nix the battery powered air pimp and buy a cheap inverter to run your current air pump off of.

 

[Oughtsix]

Moving in it self is very stressful. Moving while worrying about transporting fish is even more stressful. Moving while transporting fish and trying to get a tank setup to receive them before they die even more stress. Moving and trying to move fish with you and having them die on you would, to me, be extremely stressful.

The water in the new location is going to be completely different than your current local water. Fish in a kitty pool with unknow contaniments during hot Georgia summer days and a completelt different water source just doesn't sound like a good plan to me.

I would sell / adopt out your current stock and start new at your new location. Georgia in July is usually quite hot.

If you do decide to move the fish be prepared for dissapointment!... they very well could make the move without issue... they very well might not.