best way to move large fish

[Pagipoo]

what is the best way to move large fish without injury to them?

moving 2 about 8 inche bala shark's from and upstairs 46 gallon tank to a 125 gallon tank in the basement.

 

[OrionGirl]

The best method I've found is to use a tubberware type tub that will fit into the tank the fish are in now as well as the one they'll be moving into. Fill the tub with water in the tank, shoo the fish into the tub (easiest if there aren't any decoration in the tank). Then you just carry that up to the new tank, submerge it, and let the fish swim out.

A large bag will work as well, but is harder to work with since it wil tend to collapse on itself. Either way, you don't end up chasing the fish around, it doesn't get removed from the water, and you don't worry about it getting stuck in the net.

Good luck!

 

[morleyz]

I would probably net them out into a bucket/cooler of tank water and just carry them down. If you minimize the amount of water you're moving you can just slowly dump the fish into the new tank so you don't have to net them twice.

If you're VERY concerned about injury...I do believe there are medications you can put in that will "slow down" this fish so they don't struggle as much, but I'm not familiar with them...and I don't know if you have other fish in the tank or not.

 

[andruboz]

i moved 2 6 inch bala's using a 10 gallon coleman cooler / ice chest filled 5-6 inches deep with water from the aquarium they came out of. be sure you have a net big enough. in your case, the transport water could be half what they are leaving and half what they are going to.

my only mistake was not putting the cover on the cooler right away. left to go do something and found one in the carpet a few minutes later. he recovered after a day or so.

using the same cooler, moving a 11" clown knife - it got a little scraped. this was due to aquarium decorations and poor netting technique. nothing serious, but he was perfect before i moved him and a little rough after.

my lfs said never move fish with plecos - the spines on them will tear other fish up when they panic.

this is just my experience. i am by no means an authority on this topic.

 

[Pagipoo]

thanks for the idea's, was unsure how to get fast fish out of the tank, since i do not have a net big enough for them without injury

 

[quick061]

i have the same problem when i move my fish (12+ inches). i've found the best way is to use a pitcher horizontally and lift it out with something over the open end to keep the water in. i don't know about you but i dont' have a net that's over a foot and the small one just pushes him around.

i've been thinking about this lately actually and i think the best way to do it is to make a little carrier out of plexi-glass. a 6" diameter cylender, sealed at one side and with a water tight seal and about a 1.5' long. then i could fit my fish in it with minimal effort and stress and move it when ever necessary.