Advice on moving?

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M00n3at3r

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Aug 21, 2013
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Hey everyone, so looks like I'm going to be moving in the very near future. Any advice? minimizing stress, keeping plants alive etc. I have a 75g and a 29g. Stock includes angels, neons, red phantoms, harlequin raspboras, cories, loaches, gourami, hatchets. Plants are swords, dhg, wisteria, tiny bit if water sprite, pennywort, and java ferns. Thanks everyone!
 

axelrod12

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Depends if you need to move all at once or in a couple trips and how far the move. Basically bag your plants separately. Buckets/totes for the fish. Don't overcrowd them. If you have to move all at once you can try breaking everything down the day before and running the filters on the buckets/totes. Keep your filter media wet and aerated if possible to keep the BB alive. Empty the tanks completely, substrate too if you can. Multiple trips will really cut down the stress for both you and the fish. Expect some of the plants may melt back a little. In good conditions they should grow back quickly though.
 

Fishfriend1

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Dec 11, 2009
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Basically what was said above, but I'd like to add: don't feed the fish for a day or two prior to the move, and for a day after to let them settle down. It will allow their systems to be flushed of waste prior to the trip (reducing ammonia) and give the filters time to recover from the move. Keeping the fish in moderate/complete darkness will help reduce stress during the actual move. Oh, and keep the cories in their moving bad for the shortest time possible, I believe they release some kind of toxic/semi toxic substance when stressed/frightened that can lead to fish death (not entirely sure where I heard this, but if true something to keep in mind).
 

wesleydnunder

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Dec 11, 2005
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I'd add to the previous posts:
unless you plan on taking a substantial amount of the tankwater with you, start doing frequent partial water changes a couple weeks prior to the move. As you get closer to the move, increase frequency and volume. This will get the fish used to having a large-scale if not total volume replacement. I've seen numerous moves result in fish being shocked by going from very aged water to brand new water. Add the shock of new water to the stress of being captured and moved and it can result in loss of a whole tank's inhabitants.

Mark
 

SnakeIce

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If it is long distance, or even if it is just cross town, a batery operated air pump and air stone ready to go can make a difference. I carried an angelfish, and half a dozen other fish in a styrofoam cooler box from Washington state to Utah without any problems (somwhere around 3 days from tank to tank). I put the plants in bags in another cooler and floated a few with the fish for cover. I got the cooler box from my local fish store.
 

dougall

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Mar 29, 2005
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my advice would be to, unless you're 110% sure there's no difference in water chemistry, to spend as much time as possible acclimating your fish to the new water once you've moved.

obviously you need to be wary of your nitrogen compounds, but I would say the biggest issue would be the change in water chemistry. you don't mention what sort of filters you have, but keeping the media wet while moving and discarding the water used before starting the filters back up would be a great idea too. Biomedia from a cannister filter can be bagged around an airstone if you use one as well.

you can use polyfilter to monitor/help with ammonia in the water too.


finally, the cory toxin thing is real, here are a couple of links for reference.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?239089
and
http://tedsfishroom.com/2013/12/30/packing-shipping-corydoras-catfish-part-1/


HTH
 

Byron Amazonas

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Others have made good suggestions. I moved over 250 fish and three large tanks in one day (fish were in bags for 9-12 hours), and can detail any aspect if asked. Without knowing the distance and time involved, can't say much more.

On the cory issue, I can correct some of the info in that video. The toxin is apparently released from the base of the pectoral fin spine. The first ray of the pectoral fin on all species of Corydoradinae is a sharp spine as most of us know, and we hav e long felt that it carries some form of irritant. But only a year or so back did someone actually document on video the release of the milky toxin from the base. This toxin is strong enough to kill fish, including the cory itself, in confined spaces like any bag. In that video, if just one of the corys in one of those pails did release the toxin, the entire pail of fish would be close to death within minutes. In the confines of a bag, the cory dies in a couple seconds from this toxin. Severe stress causes the cory to release the toxin. I personally would not go around kicking bags or pails. Aside from the fact that this is not likely to cause the release of the toxin, it will add significant stress to the fish which can weaken them and cause ich.

I believe the article with photos was in Amazonas or Practical Fishkeeping, sometime in 2013. I will post more if I can track it down.

Byron.
 

M00n3at3r

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Aug 21, 2013
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The distance is unknown, as is the water source and the time I will have to prepare them. It's a sudden move so it will have to be relatively quick. I was thinking of picking up a 50g trashcan to transport a large amount of the water. If the water is simply not suitable, I may just trade in my fish to my LFS, which will give me store credit for them all. As regretable as that would be, since Byron and myself have spent a lot of time working on balancing these tanks, I don't want to add stress by putting them in unsuitable water.
 

FreshyFresh

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Just to add to the above, for a move you can drive yourself to, I'd get some inexpensive sponge bubbler filters running in your tanks now to get them established. When you need to move, transfer your live goods into plastic storage tubs and use the sponge bubblers with battery operated air pumps. Hopefully the ambient temps are such that you don't have to worry about water temps! If temperature control is a serious problem, you'll have to bag and pack everything.

Moving ain't easy for a tank-a-holic.
 

Pinkey

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Many LFS's will give/sell you styrofoam boxes if they have not recycled them. Be sure to line them with large plastic bags. The LFS may even leave those in the boxes. A 50g trashcan will be nearly impossible to move but a couple of coolers, totes, styrofoam boxes, or anything else will give you many gallons. You have about 100 gallons total which means it will be easy to end up with a good chunk of your original water.

I moved my entire fishroom a number of years ago (Don't have it anymore). It sounds like you will take all the sensible steps and your fish will probably be fine.

Good luck!
 
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