Re: Moving homes with an aquarium

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

Guillaume,

Don't get too paranoid about moving the short distance between Cambridge &
London. It shouldn't stress your fish too much if they aren't too large (under
4"/10cm). I once moved my fish from Oregon to Colorado (about 1500 mi/2400km) in
the dead of winter. I saved about 10% of the water in plastic water/milk jugs.
Since I was driving an open bed pick-up truck, the tanks and water were packed
unheated. The fish of course were packed in a couple of styrofoam boxes and kept
in the heated cab of the truck. It took 2 days to travel this distance (the fish
were kept in a motel for the first night). When I got to Colorado I brought the
fish in along with two tanks and jugs of ICE! I waited overnight for the ice to
melt and used hot tap water (conditioned, of course) to bring up the temperature.
Only then did I open the fish boxes, acclimate the fish, and release them. The
only fish I lost was my first (and last) Chinese Algae Eater. The fish suctioned
itself to the bag and was thrown, unseen, into the trash in an unheated garage.
By the time I found it missing, it was frozen stiff. A month after this I moved
the same fish and tanks to Missouri (another 600 mi/1000km) with no problems, but
that was only a 1 day trip.

I'd recommend not feeding your fish for 2 or 3 days before the move. This allows
them time to eliminate all their waste before being bagged. If you have a lot of
small peaceful community fish and they are all healthy looking, I'd bag them all
together in a large box bag (a trash bag will do). Any fish that looks like it
might not handle the trip should be bagged individually. Fill the bag 1/3 with
water & 2/3 with air. Larger, more aggressive (like my algae eater), or spiny
fish may have to be bagged separately, too. Just remember that these fish need
more air than water. Don't remove the gravel from your tanks, but drain off as
much water as possible. Do remove live plants and anything that might tip or
slide and break a glass pane. Drain the water out of you canister filter, too.
The bacteria is more likely to survive if surround by the damp air in the
canister than in one with stagnant water. The same is true for bacteria in damp
aquarium gravel. Even after my tanks' gravel had frozen, when thawed and the fish
added there were no ammonia spikes. These bacteria seem to be able to handle
freezing and thawing. Once you arrive in London set up the tanks first - don't
even look at the fish. Once the tank is up and running then acclimate your fish
like would when purchasing them from a shop. Don't throw away the bags' water,
'though. Use it to top off you tank.

Good luck on you move. Hope this helps.

Mike Wise


Guillaume_Hervieu-1@sbphrd.com wrote:

> Hi,
> Has anyone had the experience of moving places with an aquarium? (Would be
> to go from Cambridge (UK) to London).
> The tank is 130 liters and is rather crowded. When you have to reinstall
> it, I guess that it's like starting from zero again. What about the
> bacteria (no possibility that I spare the aquarium water; I'll have to
> replace it by new water)? I've got a canister filter. Do you think that
> bacteria may survive if I keep the water inside with closed valves (no
> oxygen)? What about the fish? A polystyrene box is the best way to keep the
> temperature warm?   The water should be supplemented with a high dose of
> stress-coat (or similar products)? Please give any advise you think of.
>
> Cheers,
> Guillaume.
>
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