Moving With Fish?

CoryLover95 · Mar 2, 2013

Hello,
I will be moving from Florida to Georgia in about 6 weeks and I was wondering if I could take my fish with me. I know, it sounds loony...but...
My sister has goldfish and we successfully moved them all the way across the country in a cooler with a battery powered air pump. Could I do the same with my tropicals? The drive would be about 9 hours with no stops. (Or we might do 2 days, I'm not sure yet.) My idea was to keep the filter underwater during the move so that the bacteria stays alive. I might buy some SafeStart to help the filter once we get there.
Thanks for your input!
-CL95

This Old Spouse · Mar 2, 2013

Shouldn't be a problem moving it all. You can get a power converter that plugs in your lighter receptacle that will accept a couple of power plugs, and with that you could run your filter and heater. I'd recommend getting a plastic tote with a lid. You don't need the whole 37 gallons of water to go with you. I'd say 15 gallons would do you for the trip. Then set up your tank immediately when you get to Georgia so the fish can stretch their legs right away.

Good luck!!

Chris0422 · Mar 2, 2013

I drove from Colorado to upstate NY. I moved a leopard centapoma, gold gourami, and an albino pleco. I got a battery bubbler and cut some holes in the lid. When I got to a hotel I would bring them in and run my heater. Didn't feed for two days before and had a friend who was ready to take em off till I got got my tank set up. I still have the centapoma, over a year later.

frapadoodle · Mar 2, 2013

Take the water down as low as you can. Keep em aerated, and all should be okay.
Ludwig had a 39 hour move with an estimated 10,000+ fish and no deaths.
I have moved fish a few times. As long as no drastic temp changes all should be okay.
Good luck.
Welcome to Georgia.

fluttermoth · Mar 2, 2013

Make sure you don't feed the fish for a good week or so beforehand to keep ammonia production to a minimum while you're on the move.

CoryLover95 · Apr 21, 2013

All right...the move went well. We moved the fish in mixing containers with firm lids and they did great. I kept the filter in a bag of water to keep the bacteria going (at least some of it) and added a bacteria supplement when we got there, just to be on the safe side. 1 Platy died, but it wasn't doing too well before the move either. Now they're all doing well, the water is nice and clear, and all stats are fine. I'm going to set up an isolation tank & cycle (speeding it up with leftover bacteria starter) it so I can quarantine the new fish. Thanks for your help!

This Old Spouse · Apr 21, 2013

Sorry for the platy

but as for the rest

CoryLover95 · Apr 21, 2013

This Old Spouse said:
Sorry for the platy

but as for the rest

Thanks for the sympathy about he Platy...I frankly wasn't expecting this many to survive LOL! So this is a great surprise.

CoryLover95 · Apr 25, 2013

I'm planning on getting some Red Ludwiga (plant) and a few more Platys & Serpae tetras (needed more before the move but held off because of I wasn't sure how many would survive). Going to PetSmart on Fri or Sat...maybe Sunday. Can't wait!!!!

CoryLover95 · Apr 26, 2013

I ended up getting Telanthera Cardinalis--VERY small at present, but it'll get bigger

What do you think?

Search

Search

Moving With Fish?

CoryLover95

Fish Crazy

This Old Spouse

TOTM Winner May 2013

Chris0422

Fish Fanatic

frapadoodle

Moved On

fluttermoth

The current Mrs Treguard ;)

CoryLover95

Fish Crazy

This Old Spouse

TOTM Winner May 2013

CoryLover95

Fish Crazy

CoryLover95

Fish Crazy

CoryLover95

Fish Crazy

Attachments

Similar threads

Most reactions

Useful Links