Moving with African Dwarf frogs

[merrall412]

Due to unforeseeable circumstances, I have to unexpectedly move (3 hours away). I currently am the owner of two African dwarf frogs and 1 betta. I know that this move will be stressful for them and I want to do anything I can to make it more comfortable so I have a few questions. What can I do to transport these guys safely and comfortably for the 3-hour drive? And when I do move, will the new water parameters stress them out too much once the new tank is set up? Should I try to ease them into the new water? or will it be fine to just put them directly into the new water as long as it has been treated with conditioner and has a heater?

 

[Boundava]

So do you know the water perimeters where you're going to be moving to? Do they differ greatly? If they're pretty much the same that you don't have to worry too much about acclimating them. I have moved my fishes three times now from one house to another and what I usually do is I will buy a storage container from home Depot or Costco has them they are black with yellow lids and they're really the only type of storage container that is sturdy enough to hold water without bowing out. I would buy one the size that you need which shouldn't be too big because you're transporting relatively small fish and frogs.
You can go about this one of two ways. You can transport the substrates and the frogs/fish in the one container. Or you can put the frogs/fish in the black storage container and put the substrate in a bucket that you can get at home Depot as well which you can buy a lid that is watertight. If your water parameters are different from this house to the other you're going to want to take as much of your original water from the tank is possible just to use to acclimate your fish to the new water parameters. If your water parameters are similar from this house the next house then you don't have to worry about taking any additional tank water with you other than what you use to fill the black storage container to transport your fish and frogs from your old home to your new home. Since it's a 3-hour drive I would recommend buying a battery backup air pump and what you can do is take all of your filter media out of your filters and clean them and then place them in a large media bag or mesh bag and stick the airline hose from the air pump into that bag of media and it will temporarily work like a filter as you transport them for 3 hours. But with fish of that size and frogs of that size you don't really need the filtration. If it's relatively cold where you're at I would recommend trying to put the fish in the backseat and not the trunk because the 3-hour drive can change the water temperature pretty considerably and there is no battery backup heater that I'm aware of. You can insulate the container by wrapping it in towels and blankets as you drive to your new home.

Once you're at your new home you can go ahead and set up their tanks immediately again or if you have to leave them in the tub you can attach a heater into the tub and do the filtration like I recommended above until you're ready to set up their tanks.

I hope this helps and you have a successful move. If you need any clarifications please feel free to ask.

 

[merrall412]

Thank you for all of the advice! It is very helpful