Moving My Tank to College

jossswonk

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In a few hours I'm planning on moving my 5 gallon Betta tank into my college dorm. Is there any advice anyone could give to make the transition easier for my Betta?
 
It won't be that upset. Put it in a jar with a lot of air at the top. Empty the tank. Carry it over, refill with dechlorinated (or dechloraminated water) at the same temperature, and put the fish back in. I would give the fish priority when you are settling into the the adventure.
 
It's only a 5 gallon tank so I will be taking the water with me. Is that a good idea?
 
You could if the water is different where you go. But only about 50% of it at most. It's just dirty water now.
 
I normally drain most of the water from the tank. I leave the substrate and live plants in it and I leave enough water to keep the substrtate and plants wet. The more water left an a tank when transporting it, the greater the odds one can crack the glass. If there are many plants you can use some basic paper towels on top of the plants. The towel will get damp and help protect the plants. Decor may have some beneficial bacteria on the parts not in direct exposure to light. You can remove them to a bag with dechlored water.

Yes you can move fish in solid containers. The problem I have with his is that, while you are driving, if you make as sharp turn, a sudden breaking or acceleration it may cause the fish to bang into the glass. So, I prefer to bag the fish and place it in a styro with some padding- this can be wadded up newspaper etc. The jar may be OK for a shorter trip but for an extended one I prefer to bag the fish.

The nice thing abut personally transporting fish is we can over bag them. This means using a bigger bag that we would to ship them as here weight doesn't matter. If you bag the fish, be sure that you have at least 50% of the bag volume being air. Air matters more than water in transport. So 50 to 60% air is a good idea. Have a few extra bags in case any leaks or other problems happen along the way. If it is a long trip have extra water in a container jik. I presume yuou will be taking needed supplies as well which would include your dechlor.

I also remove filter media to a bag with water. Of course all the water in transporting any of this stuff may need to be dechlorinated. I say may because I have well water and do not use dechlor. So if one has chlorine/chloramine in their tap, use dechlor in all the bags not just to one with the fish.

As always this is how I tend to things and it may not be only or even the best way. But it works for me. I have transported a lot of tanks,equipments and fish to and from weekend events where I was a vendor or room seller. I use the above methods in both directions.
 
It's only a 30 min drive so I don't think the trip will be too stressful.
 
Once I put him in the tank should I feed him tonight or wait a few days?
 

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