Fish people - relocating

[duckling]

So, I'm moving house at the end of the month - this means my fish have got a 6+ hour car journey to contend with...

Has anyone done this before? I've got a stash of large bags to travel them in and a secure dark box. How many fish should I put in each bag? I have 4 guppys, 6 cardinal tetras, a harlequin tetra, a corydora and some assassin snails. I'm a bit worried they won't survive such a long journey...

Was planning on putting the rest of the tank water in bottles to fill the tank with when we get to the new house, does this sound like a good plan or not worth it?

Any advice much appreciated.

 

[cloverleaf1985]

I would take as much of the water as you can. Put the guppies in one, the cardinals in one, the tetra and corydora in one, and the snails in one.
I would suggest using as big a bags as you can, make sure you trap as much oxygen in the bags as you can and if possible, pack them inthe box with polystyrene or newspaper to try and keep the heat in.
The other option although its not very practical is to have them all in a large container and have a battery pack with a heater and air stone running off it for the journey.

When I moved, they were out of the water for 3 hours and were pretty pale and cold by the time they went back in the tank.

 

[catxx]

Yep save the water, get big fish bags, and some battery operated aerators.

Use a plastic storage box with lid and lined with newspaper/bubble wrap to put the fish bags in to keep them secure and warm. You could ask your local aquatic shop if they have any spare poly boxes that they get their fish shipments in.

Also don't bag them all in the same tank, one species per bag!

Try not to fuss the bags too much during the trip. Bear in mind these fish, especially the Corys, Tetras and Rasbora (Harlequin Rasbora, not Tetra!), was probably not bred in this country and may well have more air miles than you do!

 

[Alexart]

I had to help a neighbour bag up and move all her 20 odd huge koi and a heap of goldfish from her pond last year - basically you need really tough bags and fill with about 30% water from their tank/pond and the rest with air, leave it till the last minute too so they are not sitting about.
Keep the fish numbers low in each bag for long journeys and try and keep the water temperature low too so they don't need as much oxygen, so don't stick the bags near your car heater!, you can also buy oxygenating tablets which you can add to the water which give off oxygen as they dissolve.
We put all the bags in large polystyrene boxes to help insulate them and stop them rolling around, and also covered them with a sheet to keep them calm - they all survived the 2hr trip despite being a little crammed in as she had underestimated just how big they actually were!

 

[s4sugar]

A polybox or a food cooler box will take care of temperature.
Bag the fish in plenty of water - half water half air in the bags.
Bag the filter media as if it were a live fish - covered with water with an air level. If you don't preserve the filter media the tank will cycle and you'll get a deadly ammonia/nitrite spike.


Fill around the fish bags with bags of tank water. Make sure yuo have dechlorinator handy to set the tank back up - travel the bottle in the tank.

 

[duckling]

Thank you all v much, really helpful. Will def save the water then, and take your advice on how to bag them all up

When I moved, they were out of the water for 3 hours and were pretty pale and cold by the time they went back in the tank.

Oh dear, mine will be out of water for at least 6

Yep save the water, get big fish bags, and some battery operated aerators.

Use a plastic storage box with lid and lined with newspaper/bubble wrap to put the fish bags in to keep them secure and warm. You could ask your local aquatic shop if they have any spare poly boxes that they get their fish shipments in.

Also don't bag them all in the same tank, one species per bag!

Try not to fuss the bags too much during the trip. Bear in mind these fish, especially the Corys, Tetras and Rasbora (Harlequin Rasbora, not Tetra!), was probably not bred in this country and may well have more air miles than you do!

Thank you, do you think battery operated aerators are essential or will oxygenating tablets be ok? Very good point about the air miles!

I had to help a neighbour bag up and move all her 20 odd huge koi and a heap of goldfish from her pond last year... You can also buy oxygenating tablets which you can add to the water which give off oxygen as they dissolve.

Wow, that sounds like quite a task, glad I've only got a few small fish!! I've got oxygenating tablets in my overstocked fish cupboard actually, will dig those out

A polybox or a food cooler box will take care of temperature.
Bag the fish in plenty of water - half water half air in the bags.
Bag the filter media as if it were a live fish - covered with water with an air level. If you don't preserve the filter media the tank will cycle and you'll get a deadly ammonia/nitrite spike.

Thank you, got a reasonable size coolbox, hadn't thought about using that. Will def do as you say with the filter too

 

[duckling]

Thought I'd update - we have moved! The fish travelled well, survived the 6 hour trip and are settled back in their tank in our new home