Moving

[Merman]

I will be moving in a few weeks and dread transferring my fish.
Does anyone have any advice, suggestions, tips, or "do-not"s ?

[Ptolemy]

Edited. Removed on the basis of failing to offer constructive advice. OG

[Captain Hook]

Obviously my best advice is to not listen to this clown.

You are lucky that many of your tanks are small so you could probably just carry them with everything in them. If you have at least 2 people you could carry most of your tanks with half the water or so. For the bigger ones I would say siphon out some water into a large plastic bucket and move the fish like that. Then refill the tank and add them back.

How far is the move?

[SnakeIce]

if the move is very far I would pack the fish in bags(maybe you can get some from your fish store) and take almost all the water out of your tanks... leave enough to keep the gravel from drying out to save your cycle... plan on a long day the day you move the tanks if you try to move them all at once or at least set aside a day to concentrate on getting the tanks moved if you can

[lkunz]

Here are some guidelines I have recieved from others in the past. How far are you moving? If it is a short move (in the same town), this may help you out a little:

Do not feed your fish for one day before the move. Fill a bucket with water, catch the fish and place them in it. Add your filter (if internal) and a heater and possibly an airline. Try to keep the filter running whenever possible. This should be a stable setup to temporarily leave the fish while you deal with the rest of the tank. Make sure the bucket is fully covered because they will jump.

Remove any plants, rocks, etc. into another bucket filled with aquarium water.

Using a wide bore hose, siphon out as much gravel as possible from the bottom of the tank. Keep the rocks sumburged in more aquarium water. This will keep the bacteria from dying.

Remove as much remaining water as possible. Keep at least fifty percent of the water, but more, if possible.

Give the empty tank a quick clean with water (no chemicals or soap!). Move it to where you want it, add the gravel from all the buckets except that which the fish are in. Top the tank with fresh water (treated for chlorine & chloramine). Replace the plants and ornaments. Replace the filter and heater.

Then gradually change the water in the tank for water in the fish bucket. Do it in quarters, every fifteen minutes. This is so that the water temperature, chemicals, etc. can change gradually. When you feel that they are fairly well mixed, add the fish.

Keep everything wet, and where possible, keep your filters running to avoid too much of a minicycle. Keep as much of the old water as possible to help settle the fish.

[fishfood]

You'll be able to find a lot on this topic by searching the previous posts. This one comes up a lot.

I like to use rummbermaid containers with handles to move water/fish. They're not insultated, so they might not work for longer moves. Having large handles when needing to carry these up stairs, is a live saver. If you use these, make sure to risnse them very well before use.

Best of luck with your move,