Aquarium/fishie -- how to safely move them

[RemSaverem]

I'm scared, have to move across town (Eugene), only have moved aquarium / fishie once, which was 5 years ago, & I hired a professional then, who is no longer in town. Fishie was healthier then, & the table equipped to hold her 400 pound aquarium was already in place. I'm quite stressed about this, any advice or  help would be devoutly appreciated.

[superjaz]

This site I found had this to say, its for koi tho

http://www.pond-doctor.co.uk/longhowmovefishsafely.html
[Edit by JeffT, administrator: Removed extensive copied text due to a copyright complaint we received on June 7, 2011]

[NARUNIK]

That's what I do. I put them in big zip lock bag full of water.

[KogaRyu]

Use a Goldfish scooper

[Wuntvor]

I am not familiar with Fishie.  Is she a tropical fish, fresh water fish, or a salt water fish?  How big is she?  I am assuming from the size of her tank that she isn't a small fish.  400 pounds, how many gallons is that?

Superjaz has a lot of good ideas and good advice in her post.  I think you may want to get a container for Fishie to travel in as apposed to using a bag. You may want to consider getting more than one, so you can take some of Fishies water along as well. Make sure to let the containers air out and rinse them well before using them,  I wouldn't use any soap to clean them with, as it may affect the water later. I would empty about half of Fishies water into some containers to take along with her. Take from the top slowly so you don't mix a lot of sediment in the water.  With half of the water out of the tank gently catch Fishie and put her in one of the containers for transport.  As stated, try not to excite her to much and if possible have someone else help.  One of you chase her with a net and the other catch her from in front.

Once you have Fishie in her container go ahead and empty the tank and prepare it for transport.  At the new location put the water you removed back in the tank and add some new water as necessary.  Treat the water as needed for hardness, salt, and chlorine (The tap water here has almost no chlorine so I think it is safe for Fishie)  Make sure the temperature is right and check the PH level.  If I remember correctly it should be around 7, I would check to make sure I am right.  If you used half of her tanks old water the PH should be OK.  Usually the water here is slightly alkaline and having Fishie in it will make it acidic.  Depending on how old her water is since the last cleaning It should be fairly close to a PH of 7.  Put Fishies container in the tank and let it acclimate to the temperature.  Remove the lid and slowly tip the container to let Fishie out.  Monitor her for any signs of distress for the next few days.

Good luck.

[RemSaverem]

Thank you everyone! I am so grateful people replied! & glad to hear some have had success with fish moves!
Jaz, those would be great details, except, outdoor/ pond fish & aquarium fish are very different in size, constitution, requirements, body temps. There are valuable parts to glean from that article, though, for sure! Thanks!

Baggies would be logical for little fish, however, mine is 12 (I've had her for 11 years) & is about 10 inches long if you include all parts....The only time I moved her before it was in a 5-gal bucket....

& it was in the summer, which made it *way* easier, because the water stayed about the right temp...I am very very scared because it's dawning on me that just on the drive over the water might get too cold to be used for her...Unless I get a 2nd heater to warm it up...I will ask a store about that...I also need to get more buckets with lids, very strong people to carry her...wow I'm getting more freaked out as we speak...I have to figure out what kind of table to put her on & how to move that...with an aquarium fish it's important to not have the water get too cold....it's about a 20-min drive all told from house a to house b not counting the time of loading in & out of the car...wow hm how to keep the water warm? Anyone know of a heater that is not battery operated or no how long it takes for an aquarium heater to heat water in a bucket???

[Wuntvor]

Would using an ice chest work?     They are heavily insulated to keep the contents cold so I would guess the reverse is also true.  It would be better than a bucket anyway.  That would work for Fishie.  As I stated before you can add water as needed after the move.  No reason the water can't be hot.  If all else fails take some tank water and heat it on the stove before putting it in the tank.  Of course, do this before adding Fishie.  When transporting Fishie place her container on the floorboards of the passenger seat and turn up the heat to blow on your feet.  That will keep her warm during transit.  Pre-heat your car if you are really worried.

That is about it for my suggestions.  Good Luck.

[RemSaverem]

Thank you. Some people do use ice chests. The lids open & close more safely than with buckets. I can look into this, it might be hard unless the type that is partly on wheels, for me to carry it, & if it is partly on wheels, I'd be afraid of the lid opening & her tipping out G-d forbid!
Yes I could have someone preheat the car. I will want to be the one sitting in the back seat holding fishie & aquarium in place, having someone else drive, more likely.
Really were it up to me I'd just not move til the summer. Only because landlord found out about cat am I moving.

[jaybug]

Make sure you sterilize ice chest before adding fishie.

Watch out for speed bumps! Fishie go slpish splash! 

400/8=50 gallons. But that doesn't include the gravel.

Good time to seriously vacuum the gravel, and scrape off all the algae.

I just moved my tank, a 50 gal from it's former stand to a new one. All by myself. Man, it really sucked.

Good luck!

If Fishie is a kissing gourami, you could give it mouth to mouth resuscitation if it becomes distressed!

[RemSaverem]

What would be safe for sterilizing an ice chest? Would sterilizing also be required if the cooler had never been used?
What were the most difficult aspects of moving your tank? Were you moving it only within the same house & it was still that challenging? Did you lose any fish in the process? What would've helped?

[Wuntvor]

I will mention this, I am just to nice for my own good.

Rem,

I own a Pontiac Vibe.  I have an electrical plug in my dash, no ground.  It would allow you to plug in an air pump to keep Fishie aerated and possibly a tank heater, you would have to alternate them.  Also the front passenger seat folds flat to make a table for the person in the back seat, so you could put Fishie on that and have the heater blow direct on her while you are seated in back and can monitor her easily.  Also the Vibe is a wagon (Most interior room for it's size) so I have a lot of room in back for buckets of water, or a 50 gallon fish tank.  The offer is on the table.

Call me: 689-4219

[jaybug]

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/

Ask questions there.

[RemSaverem]

@ Jay, will check that out.
@ Wuntvor, OMG, dream come true!!!!
Wow!!!!
Okay, it likely will be at least 3 weeks (I don't even get the keys to the place
'til the 28th). Wow!!!
You rule!!!
Could you please PM me with your schedule in the sense of what days/nights of the week you tend to be free?
The main thing for me is that I want to engage the move (a) during daylight -- important not just for warmth & safer driving, but especially for safer walking of fishie & tank from apartment a to car to apartment b; & (b) during hours that an aquarium store is open, in case I need to ask emergency questions or buy emergency replacement parts.
Wow!!!
<3

PS My cell /text: 541 606 0318
PPS Tank is only 29 gallons. Approx 30.5 inches x 12 inches, not sure of height

[RemSaverem]

If you are someone who prays, sends spiritual healing energy, visualizes white light around people & pets in need, please do so for beloved Girlfishie. I am VERY scared for her right now & sad for me. She has developed a little bit of Tail Rot. This is a total surprise. It is something that normally gets healed right away with application of some herbal liquid medicines called PimaFix (from bay leaves) & MelaFix (from tea tree oil) but these presently so far have not visibly seemed to help, it is the worst I have seen her affected. I do not entirely know the cause but there are a couple possibilities. One is there could be a problem with the filter that I don't know about. One is, the extra plastic lid I have atop the tank mysteriously looked a little warped in its shape, today, & a couple days ago, looked slightly out of place. It is possible that my kitten could've been playing with the lid & G-d forbid some of her hair or saliva could've gotten in the tank. Another is that with my ex and his space heaters having moved out, there have been 4 or 5 nights in the past 3 weeks that I have used the baseboard heaters overnight. The highest I've seen the temp in the tank go is 82, which is the high end of her safe range, but within it; but it's possible it could've gone higher while I was sleeping, or that the increase could've affected her, or some aspect of the water quality. Though the past 2 winters I used them periodically with know known ill effect. Then today when I was trying to give her PimaFix & MelaFix the brown plastic inner lid, which has been with the tank for a decade but which has never entirely fit properly, fell into the tank while I was getting the herbs from another room. I do not know if it hit her skin, G-d forbid, or not. I am SO scared. This is a HORRIBLE time to have to try to move her. Please help spiritually if you can. Wuntvor, the intended day for moving Girlfishie is Sat. Jan 30. If I can convince my landlord to let me stall move out, I will, but if I can't, that's the day.
Please let me know whether you'd be able to help that day, even if I don't need a heater for her that day I might need a vehicle that can safely hold buckets of her tank water. Thank you.
A sad yet prayerful Rem.

[RemSaverem]

My beloved Girlfishie

Update: Lights have been flickering on & off in my apartment complex for the past several hours. If there has been some sort of electrical surge that G-d forbid has gone through the tank in the past week or so, or some time the electricity was off while I was out of the house, that could also be what caused some health concerns for beloved Girlfishie.