Moving Fish

[codyg]

I recently found out that i am pretty much moving house, and i currently have 3 x 4fts and a 2ft tank. I am wondering what would be the best way to move all of these fish? As i currently have a few.

Can i place them all in a bucket? Or Should i bag them all?

Also i am wondering whether it would be best to take a large amount of the water in buckets, so that i have some good water ready to go.

Any help would be great

Cody G

[saudukar]

When I move fish I just put them in a bucket with a water tight lid and if possible use a battery operated air pump (through a tiny hole in the lid).

[chrisso81]

Esky's make good fish transporters too, insulated and dark, it seems to keep em nice and calm. The bagging process would be too long and stressful IMO. I would be taking as much water as possible with you to avoid spikes when you have set your tanks back up.

[codyg]

thanks for the tips guys, will definatly remember them

[Gre]

when i moved my fish i just went to bunnings and got a couple of white buckets with lids there about $9 each, also no water spilled out when moving them..

there called Handy Pail 20ltr

Greg

[Ash]

Esky's make good fish transporters too, insulated and dark, it seems to keep em nice and calm. The bagging process would be too long and stressful IMO. I would be taking as much water as possible with you to avoid spikes when you have set your tanks back up.

←

That's the winner right there...

esky + battery air pump = happy fish

[paulibius]

There is no need to take lots of water from the tanks. You can buy stuff from fish shops loaded with good bacteria to kick start the bio filtration. I recently set up 2 x 7ft tanks, like 800L each tank and used new water and put a bottle of cycle (One product available) in each and put fish in that day. Some big Fronnies and b/ns and tropheus Dubosi.

Hope it helps

[ViS]

If you can keep your filters running, there's no particular need for saving any water. Just use aged / dechlorinated water, heat it to temp, and add your filters.

Ideally you'd house your fish at a mates place or a friendly lfs for the couple of transition days.

If that's not possible, buy a large cheap bargain shop tub, set it up a few days beforehand (or the day of the move if pushed) at your new place with dechlorinated, heated water (just make sure you don't let the heater touch the plastic), then put the established filter on asap to get the cycle happening (make sure you transport the filter media in tank water). You should be able to slowly acclimatise your new fish within an hour or two. Don't feed them for 48 hours before or after the move. 4 days without food is no drama for fish.

Obviously the last option will stress your fish, but with no temporary housing for your fish, should give them the best chance of survival while you set up your tanks again. They should be fine in the tub for the week or two while you get your tanks up to speed.

If you can remove the fish from one 4 footer before the move and set it up at the new house the day or two before, even better.

Obviously overcrowding the tub / tank for a long period is not recommended, so use common sense with available space.

Also get some stress coat and prime to make the transition easier on the fish.

[codyg]

Thanks for the tip, i will get down to the reject shop