Moving House - How To Transport A Fish?

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JMcQueen

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I have a large (about 6-7 inches in body length) Goldie and we're moving house tomorrow. Whats the best way of taking the fish with us? He's in a 120L tank and I did think about draining it about a quarter full and put cling film with a few air holes in but not sure this would work without still losing a lot of water. The next option is to try and find one of those cheap fish bowls big enough to transport him in but that would mean netting him out of the tank. Not the end of the world but the fish has never been netted before. 
 
You always need to empty tanks completely to move them. They're not built to cope with the stresses of being moved while even part full.
 
A bucket with a towel over the top is usually the best transport container for larger fish, as long as they can physically fit, of course! If he doesn't fit into a bucket, then a plastic storage box would be your best option.
 
I have moved with fish a couple of times through the years and.... normally with around 20 .... to 40 tanks with each move and never less than about 10,000 fish each time..... I merely remove the ornaments and rocks......drain the water to about 3 or 4 inches depth..... and transport them that way...... Some of the moves had been for more than 800km taking up to 18 hours...... and.... I can probably count on my one hand.... the number of fish i've lost during a move.....
 
At the receiving end..... I put the tank in position..... connect them up and refill from tap...... Just like a huge water change..... The largest of the tanks is a 5ft, but the ponds are all in excess of 2,000 liters.....(5 of them) ...... Maybe I was just lucky.... but.... that is the way I do it.......
 
I wouldn't move them in the tank. I learned that the hard way when I was a kid. :-( Probably one of the reason I stopped owning fish tanks and it took as long as it did to want to get back into keeping them. 
 

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