Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Moving... any tips?

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  BurningCuriosity 
#1 ·
Come the end of August, we (my boyfriend and I) are going to be moving to a new apartment.

We have a 55 gallon tank containing:
2 Oscars
2 Tinfoil barbs
2 Pearl Gouramis
2 Blue Gouramis
1 small Bala/Tricolor Shark
1 small Pleco
1 small Catfish
1 Silver Dollar fish

Does anyone have any advice on how to move something like this? We bought the tank while we were living in our current apartment, so we haven't had to deal with moving it yet...

-Jen
 
#2 ·
40 gallon rubbermaid containers and air pumps will be your friend. Either move the tank first or last because when you do it you want to put your full efforts into it. I usually lower the water and take out the heater/filters/air and package it all up and then snag the fish and drain the tank and go. When you get to your new place do it in reverse order.

Or if the move is longer than a few hours you could get some shipping supplies (big plastic bags, bag buddies, heat pack) and package the fish like you would ship them.

A side note on your stocklist: you need a MUCH bigger tank for what you have in there now. Also some of those fish won't be compatible when the oscars get bigger.
 
#3 ·
don't feed the fish the day of the move and move the tank last. put the fish in gallon size ziploc bags or in buckets with lids (but i highly recommend breather bags if you can get them). don't crowd them and be sure there's enough air in there. empty the tank of water and decor, but take as much of the water with you as possible. either leave the gravel in the tank or put it in buckets; just make sure it stays damp. wrap the filter media so that it stays damp too.

move everything quickly and carefully to the new place. get the tank set up by putting the old water in it and then adding as much new water as needed. while you're doing that, put in your decor and hook your filtration back up. make sure the temperature is about the same as it was in the old place before you put your fish in. do just like you do when you bring a bag of new fish home. float the bags in the tank to equalize any temperature differences, then slowly and carefully add small amounts of new tank water to the bags to allow the fish to adjust before letting them go. you may want to keep the lights off for the rest of the day so that they don't get stressed out.

just as a side note, you might want to consider getting another big tank. your tinfoil barbs and silver dollar are going to grow very large, as will your oscars which will kill all of your smaller fish.
 
#4 ·
If its a longer move I highly suggest ice chests to transport fish. Make sure it is clean inside (don't use soap though) and get a battery powered airpump for it. THe ice chest will help to keep a consistant temperature during the move as well as allow you to access the fish simply. For your fish you would need a fairly large one or several of them though. Plan ahead so the tank is the last thing you take down and the first thing you set back up. Also try to keep your filter in a bucket of your tank water to preserve any beneficial bacteria. If you're near an outlet, plug it in and allow it to run.
 
#5 ·
Walmart sells these 5 gallon bait buckets that are nice to have. It's just a 5 gallon bucket with a special lid with a built in air pump that runs on batteries. About $25. Used to keep your bait alive while you are fishing. I used one for 3 days while we were tented for termites (the tank could stay running in the apartment, but the fish had to be out of the building). I put them in this and ran the air pump only at night. Batteries didn't die out. They were not happy, but they were alive.

Look in the fishing section, not the pet fish section.
 
#6 ·
Thanks!! I'll defiantly keep all your advice in mind!


I am planning on getting a bigger tank after we move. The oscars are already for the most part full grown and they do seem a little cramped. The Shark and Pleco are still just tiny (and sectioned off from the oscars until they are big enough.)

Thanks again!

Any other advice is greatly appreciated!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top