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We will be moving probably within the next three months. We have a 55 gal aquarium with two fish in it (both cats, one pleco and one cory). These two will survive a nuclear war but, despite that, I want to make things less stressful for them. We'll probably have to stay in temporary housing for a bit, so they'll probably have to live in a 20 gal. Will that be an issue? Any tips for making things less stressful for them?
Make sure to protect the bacteria in the filter. I would probably remove the media(if you are using floss) rinse it well and keep it moist in a Ziploc that is frequently opened to exchange air.
Also, your cory cat would appreciate companions-they are shoaling fish in the wild.
Depending on how long transit is fish could be bagged for transport...they will last a couple days with pure O2 in the bags if you can get that. Makes it a lot easier than putting them in little containers and worrying about them tipping out, running out of air and the like.
Another option is a bucket and a battery operated air pump.
We will be moving probably within the next three months. We have a 55 gal aquarium with two fish in it (both cats, one pleco and one cory). These two will survive a nuclear war but, despite that, I want to make things less stressful for them. We'll probably have to stay in temporary housing for a bit, so they'll probably have to live in a 20 gal. Will that be an issue? Any tips for making things less stressful for them?
Are you really attached to these fish? as you could just take em back to the pet store and buy new fish when you get set up in your new locale.
We moved a 55gal from WY to WA last year, we lost almost all the fish, and the ones that made it died within the year. This was 2 days in a car, and a week in a hotel before our lease started(in a Tupperware container with the filter and a heater)
When we moved back to Texas this year from WA, we sold the tank and rehomed the fish along with it. I was attached but felt very guilty for killing almost all of them during the first move.
If you think you would feel guilty if they passed during the move I would rehome them.
kaelti: did you do water changes during the trip? If fish are crowded I would be refreshing the water every opportunity(making sure to use dechlorinator as well as ideally some ammonia detoxing solution or resin). Their are even a couple drugs that can be added to the water to sedate fish in transit-but only necessary if you are packing tons of them into bags and need them to breathe slower...
fish are successfully shipped around the world with little more than water and pure oxygen in bags. I've sent numerous fish via USPS...have had some deaths as expected with any shipping but some pretty spectacular survival stories. One package got lost for 10 days and arrived with almost everyone still alive!
kaelti: did you do water changes during the trip? If fish are crowded I would be refreshing the water every opportunity(making sure to use dechlorinator as well as ideally some ammonia detoxing solution or resin). Their are even a couple drugs that can be added to the water to sedate fish in transit-but only necessary if you are packing tons of them into bags and need them to breathe slower...
fish are successfully shipped around the world with little more than water and pure oxygen in bags. I've sent numerous fish via USPS...have had some deaths as expected with any shipping but some pretty spectacular survival stories. One package got lost for 10 days and arrived with almost everyone still alive!
Yep, we did do water changes(every 3rd day). The tubs held about 10gal of water each and we had 4, so split the fish among them. These were small tropical fish(guppies, tetras and cories)
I know fish get shipped all the time, I have saltwater fish through mail order, but your average person doesn't have access to oxygen to fill the bags, and then paying for the shipping is often much more then your average fish cost(not counting salt water and rare species of course), we sure didn't, which is why we choose containers. We also needed them to temporary house them, since we spent the week in a hotel.
This move to TX we just sold the tank and all the fish, it was way easier to just move without them. That and since we moved ourselves in our cars, there literally would not have been room for them and our things.
You don't need a machine to put air in the bags. You just blow into them, like blowing up a balloon. Then seal the bag tightly with a rubber band. That's what my dad and his friends did. With larger fish, you want to bag them each separately, because the bags also protect them from bumping into each other if the ride gets rough. Banging into a sheet of vinyl is not as rough as banging into a hard surface, or another fish.
However, UPS is probably easier on fish than a couple days in a car.
You don't need a machine to put air in the bags. You just blow into them, like blowing up a balloon. Then seal the bag tightly with a rubber band. That's what my dad and his friends did. With larger fish, you want to bag them each separately, because the bags also protect them from bumping into each other if the ride gets rough. Banging into a sheet of vinyl is not as rough as banging into a hard surface, or another fish.
However, UPS is probably easier on fish than a couple days in a car.
When you blow into a bag you are blowing carbon dioxide as this is what happens when you exhale. Oxygen is absorbed into your lungs and will not be blown out into the fish bag.
1. Go to your local aquarium store and ask for some plastic bags, rubber bands and a couple of styrofoam boxes. Send the fish via FedEx or UPS.
2. If you want to take them with you, go with 5 gallon buckets and battery operated air pumps.
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