Moving 18 Hours?

[MisssMarie]

Hi,
I'm going to be moving a good 18 hour drive away to move up north. I will be stopping about 9 hours in or so to sleep for the night, then continuing on in the morning. I have: 3 bettas, 6 otocinclus, 9 ghost shrimp, 7 killifish, and 2 craw dads. How can I move them safely with me? I was thinking of getting 2 of the 5 gallon buckets with lids, and putting the ghost shrimp and otocinclus in one bucket with water from their tank, and the killifish in the other with water from their tank. I don't know what to do with the bettas and craw dads either. The craw dads don't get along with each other or bettas, and obviously i can't put the bettas together. So, what i can do to move them? Also, how can i keep them warm? I was thinking maybe getting some of the 72 hour heat packs, putting one in a bag and weighing it down with rocks and maybe sinking it in the bucket with rocks? or maybe putting it in the bag and putting some gravel or something or top? Or how can I move them? I really don't want to lose them as I've raised the bettas since they were 4 months, and the killifish since birth. Any ideas?? Thanks!!

 

[Fishy friend2]

If you still have the cups you bought the bettas in you could use those

 

[MisssMarie]

If you still have the cups you bought the bettas in you could use those

I had them shipped from a breeder, so, that's out. Any other ideas??

 

[Fishy friend2]

Maybe small ziploc bags

 

[MisssMarie]

Maybe small ziploc bags

How would i go about keeping them warm then??

 

[Fishy friend2]

Probably those heat packs, or wrapping the " tanks" in blankets, an or clothing

 

[Man of fish]

Do you not have a heater and a car plug?

I'd do blanket thing but on the most important ones I'd buy a car plug and plug s heater in and put in there. Also do the heat packs and blankets though inthink

 

[Tolak]

Are you saying 18 hours total, or 18 hours driving plus an overnight of 9 hours? Get a large insulated cooler, some fish bags from a shop, and a couple 48 hour heat packs. Fast small fish for 24 hours, larger fish for 48 hours before the move. In the bag, use half tank water, half fresh water, with the fresh water treated with 4x the suggested dosage of a water treatment that neutralizes ammonia. Bag with 1/3 water, 2/3 air, a 48 hour ship is done regularly using this method.

 

[MisssMarie]

Could I put the bettas in a bag (individually of course) and float them in a bucket of water with a heat pack in it? Would that keep them warm? They'd be the only things in the bucket

 

[Tolak]

I wouldn't bother. The fish come to your local shop shipped from overseas using the method I described. Heat packs need O2 to continue warming, you'll often see a small hole in the top of fish store styros, the heat pack gets taped to the inside of the lid, over the hole. Putting the heat pack in a sealed container where it uses up the available O2 will keep it from working properly; no heat.

 

[creeker]

Tolak has it right. That is how fish are shipped.

 

[MisssMarie]

Alright! Thanks!! What should I do with the craw dads? I'm worried they'll break the bags - they love to pinch things

 

[Tolak]

I have a buddy that ships them in plastic jars. Any used mayo jar or so on will work.

 

[MisssMarie]

That sounds like a great idea!! I'll do that! Thanks!!