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Friday, August 9, 2013

How can i move a full tropical fish tank without loosing any fish

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Go to the fish store and get a whole pile of fish bags. Fill these with 1/3 aquarium water, put the fishes in, and tie it off with as much air as you can, like the fish store does. Double bag them to be sure. This method is more work at first than just dumping them into buckets, but much easier and safer to transport in the end.

Then place these bags in coolers - styrofoam or plastic. This will keep the temperature stable for you and also keep the fish in the dark, which eases their stress immensely and keeps them calm.

Alternatively you can jut fill the coolers with water and put the fish right in, but i this case make sure the cooler is very clean - bags are less risky and hold more air.

When you get to the other end, make sure you fill the tank, treat it with conditiner, and let it run for a few hours to aerate before introducing the fish - they'll be fine in the bags in the cooler for this time. Make sure you transfer your filter media safely and wet (you can bag it too) to preserve all your bacteria so the tank doesn't have to cycle all over again.

Then float the bags for a few minutes and pour them in.

I've moved too many times and never lost a single fish on a move doing it this way.

PS: The better you upkeep your current tank, the easier the transition for the fish. By doing several water changes over several days before the move you won't need to haul any water at all to the new place except what's in the bags. And don't worry about bacteria - it resides on your media, it does not free swim in the water.

PPS. Don't feed the fish for 3 days before the move, that way they keep the bags cleaner.
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Other Answers (4)

 
  • we need a little more info from you to tell you the right thing. how far do you have to travel? how big is the tank? and what kind of fish do you have? if its a small tank, and you dont have far to go--id drain the tank about 2/3 of the way down and just go down the road with it (after removing all the decor--it might move and smash a fish against the glass).

    if its a ways away, i would get a 5 gallon bucket (or a rubbermaid container that people use for storage) and throw the fish in with water from their tank. get a battery operated air pump (i have a few of these for power outages) and just travel that way.

    Source(s):

    14+ years of fishkeeping, plus ive moved a 47 gallon tank by draining the water down (leaving the fish in) to move 15 mins away--they all survived the trip
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  • Save as much water as you can dont do a water change and dont wash your gravel or filters put your fish in to air tight bags like when you buy them from pet store
    set the tank up replace all the water you saved and you filters float your fish and run Stress Coat through your tank and then release it will help your fish fight off any stress them all should go well Dont put to many fish in to one bag ask the pet store they will tell you what fish you have can go together GOOD LUCK
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  • I'm not sure of any way to be sure you won't loose any but i would say take them and put them in bags simaler to what they came in and put them all in a bucket so they don't move around to much (the bags) then just put them in your vehicle and go to your house and set up the tank there
    Tip: Keep as much of the fishes original water to prevent stress and to have it already mostly cycled.
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  • if possible buy a bucket with a lid and fill it with 3/4th water and take them. The fish will definitely stay alive for hours. But if you are traveling a long distance stop and change 70% of the water somewhere. I think all your fishes are medium sized or small and not big fishes.
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