Relocating with fish

[phoenixx]

I need to break down a 72g tank and move it and its 9 fish inhabitants about 70 miles away. Any advice? I already bought two 18 gallon rubbermaid tubs and rinsed them out. Also have some battery powered airpumps with airstones.

any help is most appreciated!

 

[richardhmc]

Try to add in like bag buddies I think or liquid that will calm them down. another way to relieve stress is try to keep the fish in the dark (if the tubs are colored and not see through, its already good).

airstones are pretty much most of what you need...
other than that, try not to spill water, keep a lid on, etc.

 

[cichlid savage]

I would also starve them for a cpl of days.

 

[Wolf3101]

Pick up a couple of sponge filter and season them in the existing tank water. Also get a few large mesh filter bags and put as much of the bio-media from the tank as possible.

Once you have the transport tanks ready. (rubbermaid containers) then wash everything else...Don't try to save the BB in the substrait or any of the old water. You want to start out with fresh clean water.

Cut out the center of the tops for the rubbermaid tubs and then duct tape them in place to prevent splashing. You can also put a big piece of course foam in the resulting hole. This will allow gas and O2 exchange but will keep the water inside the tank.

Another tip is to lower the water temperiture in your tank slowly to match that of the water in the transport containers. (they will be unheated.) as long as you can keep the temp from dropping below 75 you should be fine. If you do need some emergancy heating then open and slip 2 or 3 of those chemical heating pads from the drug store under the containers.

Oh and....Good luck with the move...

 

[richardhmc]

also, most likely there will be alot of bumpy roads so try to (if possible) slow down or switch lanes because the fish feel the movement and bumpyness directly since they will be on the car floor.

 

[duke33]

Good luck with the move.

 

[JoelR]

Everything Wolf said. I moved my Poly's from Jacksonville FL to Pensacola FL. Opposite side of the state. I had a broken the tank down weeks before the move and had them in a 20gl with a sponge filter running along with the normal filter. When it was time to move I put them in a cooler with the sponge filter and battery operated pump. It was about an 8 hr trip by the time I got them out and plugged in the normal air pump & did a little water change.

Everything went great.

 

[~THEO~]

Yeah, don't feed them. last time I moved with my fish, probably same distance I fed my barras that day, silly me. I had 4 half digested goldfish floating in the water when I got to my new place.
I have to do the move again in a months time, bugger.

 

[laura65536]

when we moved the fish from Missouri to here (6 hour trip) we also made sure that we put all the filer media, and bio-wheels in a tub of tank water with the decorations. We left just enough water in the tank to keep the gravel moist. If you have big fish, it is easier to catch them using a bath towel as a net than to try to get them in a fish net and have them flopping on your floor. The fish should be either the first or last thing you move and be set up as soon as you get there, minimizing the time they are in the tubs (and by first thing, I mean if you make a special trip, not to pack them up and then load the moving truck). Good luck with the move, HTH.

Also, I had read somewhere before we moved the fish to throw in a handful of gravel into each tub, not sure if that is necessary if you have a sponge filter already running, but I would imagine that would be to help include some kind of bio-filtration in your tubs.

 

[JoelR]

If you have big fish, it is easier to catch them using a bath towel as a net than to try to get them in a fish net and have them flopping on your floor. .

I used a pillow case for a RTC once. Worked great!