Uh-Oh

[GAB99]

ok, i have been told by my parents that we are taking cross country move back to gerogia, and now im hinking how the heck are we gonna move the fish? and the salt water coral?

i was thinking to get a big enough u-haul truck to house our crap, then pack lightly and wash our clothes along the way to make room for 2 tupper ware tubs, one for fresh and one for salt.

will corals be ok for about 2 weeks at most without adequate conditions?

and will my fish be ok in about a 20-around 40 max ish gallon tub? and would it be possible to have the heater and filters running?

please i need your help to plan this ahead, if there is no ethical solution to this then we will have to resort to either giving them away or finding a lfs at GA who will be willing to take them.

 

[FWFishLover]

the heater and filter will only work if you have some source of electricity you can plug them into....also what kind of fish do you have???
and for two weeks they might get stressed and some may even die as well as water constantly spilling out of the tub some fish might even fall out in the spills....
overall youre in a pretty bad position...
i guess you'll just need to return the fish BEFORE you move and buy new ones when you get to georgia what state to you currently live in as that i also very significant.

 

[GAB99]

i live in california with 5 praecox, 5 gold barbs, 2 boesemani (i know.. im trying to find 3 more), 2 balloon mollies, stripped raphael cat, and 2 otos, the salt tank has 2 clowns, and a few hermits and snails along with live rock and sand.

since my dad is renting a temporary apartment until w sell or rent out the house here and the school year is over, we might have to mail the heater and filter to him and have our lfs mail the live rock and filter cartridges, and when everything is stable then have them send the fish over. they will be temporarly housed in large tupper ware containers until te tanks reach GA. sound ok?

 

[FWFishLover]

i live in california with 5 praecox, 5 gold barbs, 2 boesemani (i know.. im trying to find 3 more), 2 balloon mollies, stripped raphael cat, and 2 otos, the salt tank has 2 clowns, and a few hermits and snails along with live rock and sand.

since my dad is renting a temporary apartment until w sell or rent out the house here and the school year is over, we might have to mail the heater and filter to him and have our lfs mail the live rock and filter cartridges, and when everything is stable then have them send the fish over. they will be temporarly housed in large tupper ware containers until te tanks reach GA. sound ok?

sounds god but the only thing that worries me is cal to georgia in a car can take days and the fish will get pretty stressed from the constant rumbling also do the containers have tops??
if not the water (and maybe some fish) can spill out. plus if there is no stable hold for the containers they can zoom around and hit the walls alot like a pinball machine

 

[Jonty]

I'd buy a battery powered air pump and run a sponge filter and airstone.

 

[fatheadminnow]

This is defiantly do-able.

Large fish farms (breeders) ship their stock all over the country and fish make it just fine. The majority of fish sold in the U.S. are bread and raised in California, where they are then shipped out all over the country.

Do you know how long you will be on the road for?

If you guys decide to drive straight there, only stopping at motels and such for resting, you should be there in about 4 days I would imagine.

Also, yes, they make these electrical conversion things that have regular house-hold outlets, and you can plug it into the cigarette lighter in your car. This should provide you with enough outlets to run filters and heaters.

To reduce the amount of stress your fish are going to experience, you should cover the fish containers during the move. Either buy all black Tupperware, or cover them with dark blankets! This is going to be huge! If you leave them un-covered, they are going to get even more stressed. So, by all means, cover them up so no or very little comes in, plus it will keep the heat in as well.

Also, like stated above, you will NEED a cover for the Tupperware, with a small spot cut out for the filter(s) and heater(s).

Also again like stated above, you will NEED to strap the Tupperware fish containers to the wall of the moving truck. There should be hooks provided on both sides along the inner wall of the moving truck.

We have moving vans at work that we rent out that have hooks that you can strap stuff down on the inside, and if you don't (like when I make deliveries with them and don't strap stuff down) it does not take much, a small corner maybe or change in speed, to move or knock down whatever I was delivering.

Also, feeding the fish should not really be necessary during the move (that is if the move takes around 4 days or so). Maybe if/when you stop at night to rest, I would then (once everything has settled down; probably an hour or more after the moving truck has been parked) open the containers, allowing light to enter them, and then try to feed a little bit.

-So, you will need to get that electrical adapter thing, probably sold at Walmart, perhaps O'Reillys sells it or other automotive related stores.
-You will need to have a cover for the Tupperware.
-You will need to cover the Tupperware in some way to prevent light from entering the Tupperware. I would just use dark blankets and use duct tape, and tape them to the side of the Tupperware.
-You will need to Strap down the Tupperware to the inside of the moving van to prevent the Tupperware from moving around.
-One last thing I thought would also be a good idea, and that is to place a couple blankets (maybe even a mattress) under the Tupperware to prevent the Tupperware from feeling every vibration in the road. These moving trucks have VERY stiff suspension because they have to be able to handle a lot of weight. Stiff suspension = rough riding.

Hope this helps! And do not forget to let us know how everything plays out!

p.s. If you are going to be driving, I would try to take it really easy. No fast acceleration or hard braking or fast sharp turns (unless in an emergency).

-FHM

 

[snowflake311]

So your dad is in GA? So he could set up a tank for your fish there. Then you can check with the airlines and see if you can bring your fish bagged up in a box as a Carry on. Then they will only be in travel for 10 hr at the most depending on how many lay overs you have.

I have driven cross country 2 times so far and it only took us 3 days. You could try bagging each fish put them in a cooler so the temp stays . Then when you stop for the night you could set up a small tank for them. Then next day bag them up again in clean water. That could be a pain but it would work I think.

I have been thinking about them because we are talking about moving in a few years. I have a few fish I will not part with.

 

[GAB99]

thanks guys, i now have two options thanks to snowflake and fat head minnow and FW fish lover.

heres 4 scenarios that might play out

1. my dad rents a small apartment in GA to start at his new job, we mail all te fish and equipment to him, and sets up tupper warer tanks. at the end of the school year me,my bro and mom drive or fly over or drive. we get in our house and set up the real tanks and move everyone again to their final spots.

lfs permission for them to ship the stuff to him
tupper ware containers and lids

2. my dad travels back and forth from CA and GA to work, and at the end of the year we rent an RV and travel across, and since im pretty sure RV's have outlets we set up tupper ware tanks for the fish while the real tanks get delivered.

tupper ware tanks and lids
blankets


3. same with my dad but instead we fly over and hopelfully well be able to take our fish and equp. with us and set up tupper ware tanks at the place well stay at.

air port permission
coolers with either heat packs or ice packs?

4. dad has apartment or he comes with us and we send the real tanks to be collected at the post office and take the fish with us in tupper ware tanks in the back of the honda, and from there we might take a week to cross since they plan on sight seeing. we feed midway just once.

some sort of outlet converter to make filters and heaters useable (do we need lights for the coral?)
blankets
some sort of way to keep tanks still
tupper ware tanks and lids





i really hope we do either 2,3,4,1 in that order that way at least from options 2-4 i can keep an eye on my fish instead of my n00b dad.

what do you guys think? just list any supplies i miss under each scenario

 

[AdamM]

remember for the cigarette lighter to plug connector, the car engine wont be running 24/7, so neither will the filters or heaters....

 

[fatheadminnow]

remember for the cigarette lighter to plug connector, the car engine wont be running 24/7, so neither will the filters or heaters....

True, but the motel will have outlets, and moving a piece of Tupperware can be down with a couple people.

He can move the piece of Tupperware into the motel for the night and move it back in the morning.

-FHM

 

[GAB99]

what do you mean by cigarette lighter?

isnt there a car outlet with a home outlet at the end that i could use?

 

[fatheadminnow]

The car outlet is called the cigarette lighter, trust me, I know cars... lol.

As cars are my biggest hobby, yes, bigger than fish. I own a show car, that I have had in multiple car shows. Picture in my Avatar.

lol

-FHM

 

[GAB99]

lol if anything id call it a SOCKET

Something you stick stuff into to make things work on the go

One of the most convinient things in a car

Cool, it lets me charge my phone!

Killer to have in times of need

Easily distracts and shocks people

Totally unsafe, finger shaped technology

 

[snowflake311]

Yes they are called cigarette lighter when you pull the lighter out. But some new cars now have a real plug outlets and I think that's what he is talking about.

Shipping any aquarium would be out of the question you could by a cheaper one on craigslist then it would cost to ship it. Sell the aquariums you have and by a bigger one for the new house.

 

[GAB99]

really? we have 3 10 gallons, 2 20s and 1 30 gallon tank empty in the garage and we beought them here quite cheaply. and NO im using them for future tanks lol.


and sorry but in #4 when i meant post office i meant to say when the moving truck gets there.


ok thanks, as you can tell i dont know **** about cars excpet i want a fast one lol