Movin Home - advice please..........

[Jaxie]

Hi

My friend is moving next week - she has a 21 litre tank with about 3 fish. What should she do?

Many thanks.

 

[skimpy]

Hi Jaxie,

It depends on how far she is moving (how many hours distance). But generally if it were me I would get a moving box (polystyrene box specially for fish) from my lfs, they are quite cheap. Put the fish into the box with tank water, she can keep the plants in it as well if she has any.

If she has a filter it is important to keep the filter submerged in tank water the whole time. I am not sure how long is safe before the bacteria die off ??? anyone ??? (please check that with someone). I have heard that if you think you will exceed the 'safe' period of time you can run the filter in the water for a while and this will keep it going, but again not sure how long.

If it is undergravel and no filter box, i'm not sure but I assume it needs also to stay wet. (someone else will perhaps answer that)??

I have never moved myself with fish, so this is not from my own experience this is only what I have heard, but it might give you a start as to what you need to double check on.

Good luck to your friend and I'm sure others will give you a more precise answer than I have. )

 

[Jaxie]

Sorry should have said she is only moving around the corner - 5 mins.

 

[skimpy]

That should be quite easy then. Obviously she can't move the tank full of water so she could put fish into a moving box with plants and filter and some tank water and get to new house and put back into tank then topping up with some fresh dechlorinated water.

I would suggest getting a moving box, moving a tank even with 1/4 of the water can weaken the sides and seals etc. If you can't get a box bags will be fine but save some of the water in a clean container. 100% water change might be too much of a shock.

So to sum up its just a normal, large weekly water change, with a slight difference really.

Good Luck

 

[FishDan]

Instead of using bags, you can get a cheap bucket or buckets with lids. A 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot is only a couple dollars (in the US, not sure of your location) and they are useful for other things once your move is complete. Do not use a bucket that has ever had any chemical in it. Get new buckets or you can harm/kill the fish.

As for the filter, make sure you only keep the media submerged, though it can go a pretty long while without killing off a significant portion of your bacteria. Just keep the media in a small amount of tank water and it'll be fine. You can probably skip this since your move is so short. Remember also for longer moves, in addition to your filter media, also keep gravel, decorations and plants submerged in aquarium water. The bacteria lives on all surfaces in the water so this will help keep your colonies at about the same levels (kill off all the bacteria in your graavel and you can have a mini cycle). Again, your move is so short, I wouldn't worry.

\Dan