For fish keepers the most difficult part of moving house is moving the fish and tanks without losing any and so is a very frequently asked question on the forums. This little guide has been put together to hopefully make the whole process easier and a lot less worrying.


EQUIPMENT

Before starting your move you will need some basic supplies.

Plastic bags: You will need enough suitable sized bags to bag up all your fish and filter media, small fish like tetras can go 5 to one bag, medium sized fish 2-3 to a bag and large fish 1 to a bag. Most LFS will give or sell you a few bags for a few pennies/cents. Remember to get some elastic bands to close the bags with.
You will also need a large refuse sack or two for bagging your substrate.

A large polystyrene box/s: These can usually be obtained at any lfs either for free or for a small charge, remember to ask a few weeks in advance as many shops throw the boxes out in the garbage. Place your bagged fish into these using empty bags filled with air and tied up to fill any gaps so the bagged fish are secure and then tape shut to keep them warm and dark to minimise stress on the journey.

Nets: Make sure you have two nets both without holes, using two nets to catch your fish by herding them into one net with the other cuts down on time and stress (for you and the fish). Make sure your nets are big enough for the fish you have, fish grow but nets do not.

Water storage barrels: These are a bit of a optional extra for if you are moving to an area with different water parameters to your current or you have a small tank and can easily carry all the water with you for a faster set up. They can be bought for around £10/$10 from hardware or camping shops. You DO NOT need to take water with you as it does not contain anything benefitial provided your water stats match.

Oxygen tablets and heat packs: These are only needed if you are moving a long distance and your fish will be in their bags for several hours. Place one oxygen tablet into each fish bag before sealing it and one heat pack to each poly box.

A kettle: You will need several kettles full of boiling water to bring the tank back up to tropical temperature when you refill it at your new home and more importantly cups of tea for everyone who helped.

What to do

1 ) On the day of the move leave the tank until you have packed everything else into the van to cut down the ammount of time the fish are in bags.

2 ) Start by switching off all equipment and draining half the water out of the tank, a lower water level makes it harder for fish to escape and means less spills.

3 ) Next remove all the decore, if you have live plants gently wrap these in damp newspaper and then seal in a plastic bag. Be carefull of any stuborn fish that may be hiding in ornaments, in the worst cases you make have to bag the ornament as well.

4 ) Carefully but as quickly as you can net and bag all your fish, prepare a bag by filling it with water 1/3 water 2/3 air and rolling the top over to leave the opening nice and wide. Select the fish you want to catch and then gently push it into a waiting net using your other net. Once the fish is in the bag unroll the top, twist it around and seal it with a elastic band remembering to add a oxygen tablet to the bag before sealing if you need them. Place the bagged fish into the poly box in an upright position.

5 ) Remove the media from your filter and bag this as you done with the fish, one sponge to each bag, for long journeys you will need to add an oxygen tablet.

6 ) Drain the remaining water from the tank and scoop out the substrate into a refuse/garbage bag, i find a dustpan works best for this in larger tanks but for smaller ones use your hands. Seal the bag with an elastic band or tight knot to avoid water spilling in the journey.

7 ) Load the poly box/s full of fish and bag/s of substrate into the van, followed by the tank and then the stand, remember you are going to want the stand off first to position it in your new home and dont want to be double handling heavy fish tanks and boxes of water.

8 ) Set the tank back up adding the substrate first and then refill it adding boiling water from the kettle as you go to bring the water up to tropical temperature, remember to add dechlorinator as well so you dont kill all the bacteria in the substrate. Pour the new water onto a plate or bowl placed on the substrate to minimise the ammount of dirt stirred up. Once the correct temperature is reached place all your fish, plants and decore back into the tank and reconect all the equipment.
If you have saved your old aquarium water in storage barrels simply pour this back into the tank (still using the plate).

How long a journey can you make before you require oxygen/extra heat sources?

It's dependant on the fish, and your local, or not so local, weather conditions. More sensitive fish, such as discus, need to be kept warm, and in very clean water. Livebearers do well in cooler water, as do corys. Water that is a little dirtier will have less of an effect on them. In the middle of summer, when weather is 80F+, you won't need heat packs for fish that like it warmer, you will need coolers to keep fish like corys cool enough. Likewise, in the dead of winter, you may need to double up on heat packs. I've transported plenty of angels, corys, plecs, & livebearers bagged in coolers. They've been in the back of an unheated truck for over an hour going to various swaps & auctions, sometimes in below freezing weather. Haven't had a need for heatpacks yet, these are used for more extended periods in colder weather, and usually in a shipping situation. If you have your fish bagged in a cooler inside a heated vehicle, you shouldn’t need them.

As far as length of time bagged before needing O2 tabs, once again, it depends on the fish. For auctions & swaps, I’m up at 6am bagging angels, the events start at noon. Some auctions have gone past 8pm, the fish are bagged this long at room temperature. Often fish I buy won’t get into tanks until 10pm, it’s a long day for them as well as me. The fish all do well, I’m a little sluggish the next day at work. No O2 tabs, just 1/3 water 2/3 air. Another breeder I hang around with does a lot of corys, he bags them the night before. They are going for more than 24 hours in many cases at room temperature with nothing more than plain air & water. At auctions they do try to move the more sensitive fish first. The biggest thing is to withhold food for 24 hours before bagging for smaller fish, 48 hours for larger fish.

this might be a dumb question, but do they make nets big enough for an 8" pleco???

yup, they sell nets for pond fish lol

Emma

where? i haven't seen any at the LFS or Petco....

I've got a sort of big move, 400 miles, comming up in a few weeks and I know it is going to be cold. Not freezing, but definitely cold.

What is the best heat pack source and how many would I need for a trip like this? I don't want to use to many, and cook my fish, but I din't want them to freeze either.

Thanks!

Bumping this up to see if anyone can give a response to the last post. I'll be facing a similar travel situation, down to the weather and distance in the future so it'd be helpful to me as well.

Me and the missus have been talking about moving from here up to Brisbane in a year or so, so we will be in sort of the same boat but a little different. It's about a 1700-1800km trip (about 2 days or so in the car) but to a hotter climate (thank god, Ballarat sucks ). We shouldn't have too much of a problem temperature-wise but I will be looking into getting some oxygen tablets before I move my fish that far.

For those moving in colder places, perhaps look into buying one of them thermoses which plug into the cigarette lighter in the car. This way you can place a hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket in the bottom of the polystyrene box and place blankets around the fish bags. Every couple of hours just take out the hot water bottle and refill it with hot water from the thermos.

This post has been edited by Dragonscales: Oct 31 2006, 04:34 PM

A single heat pack in each box is enough to keep a box warm for at least 12 hours. Heat packs can be bought on ebay, though i dont have a link right now.

Quick question about the filter media do you use fresh dechlorinated tapwater or water from the aqruarium.

Also by substrate I assume that you mean the gravel from the bottom of the tank

many thanks

tris

Excellent guide! What about a plane trip? How can one transport the fish on an airplane? Bag/pet bottle?

Cheers

All fish and filter media should be transported in tank water.

For air travel i would ask the airline for advice, though it should be the same with fish being bagged and then placed in poly boxes.

heat packs can be bought dirt cheap from asda and poundland, just the regular type u buy for aches/pains/keeping hands warm, as long as they last the duration of your journey or you change them regularly you're fine.

I'll be moving in about a year and was wondering, How do you get corals to stay upright in the water?
Also, will you constantly have to check the water temp to make sure its not too cold and not too hot. If its too cold it will die (under 75F usualy) and if it's above 85F it will bleach.

I will be moving in err, in about 8 months. About 6 hours drive from here. So I was just hoping to bag them up and put them in the 10 gallon, will this work fine? w/o heater, but it is in june, so I should be fine And for the live plants, can I just put them in teh bag w/ the fish? And Will my betta have enough oxygen in his bag for the 6 hr trip?

Ya if its june and its warm there i think you will be fine.
the live plants i think you might want to put in there own bags because they might feel the fish feel a little uncomfortable if the plants are rather large.
Ya i think the betta will have enough oxygen, just put him in a bigger bag with more air then water so he can have more air to gulp at.
hope this helps, and im sorry if what i said was completly wrong, but i dont think it is

Thanks. IT helps a lot