For those of you who are fish smart

[tstmard]

For those of you that know about fish I was wanting your input on how I should move my fish. I have 2 10 gallon tanks. Should I put them in some type of covered bucket? I'd keep the fish from the 2 tanks seperate. And then also how do I do the whole water thing in their tanks? There's no way I can take 20 gallons of water along. So how do I make sure it's the right temp and everything? Help!Because I really don't want to loose any of my fish.:( I'm only moving about 2 hours away but of course they'll be in whatever I use to move them longer then that. OR should I just take some water out of the tanks they're in now and leave them in the tanks? As I said :1zhelp:

[cprcheetah]

I moved in July, and I have a 10 gallon with fish, and a betta. I basically put them in covered icecream buckets with holes for breathing in the top. I only moved about 45 minutes away, it worked well. I drained both their tanks when I moved.

[Goldielover]

If you can move the tanks in a way that they won't get cracked or damaged, then you could get away with draining about three quarters of the water and leaving the fish in the tank. I moved some of mine that way last year. The larger tanks need to be completely drained as they are already quite heavy, but you should be fine doing that with a ten gallon, providing you don't have a really deep gravel bed in it which would add too much to the weight. Otherwise, a Rubbermaid type container that has never been used for other things would be best. One thing - your filter should be kept in tank water for the move - if it dries out you will lose your tank cycle, and you don't want to do that if you can possibly avoid it. With regards to the temperature and tank water - your fish will be fine with a 75% or even greater water change as long as you have adequate dechlorinator added, and the temperature is the same. If you don't have one already, get a tank thermometer so you can check the temperature of the new water against the old tank water. It would be best if you could leave the new tank water sitting out overnight before adding it to your tanks so as to bring it to the same temperature naturally before adding it. I have used warm tap water before, but it isn't the best. If you can, I would add it gradually. This will help minimize any shock that may be caused by a possible difference in the Ph levels of the new water supply as opposed to what they were used to with the old one. Your fish may be a little stressed over the move and the water change, and you could find them bottom sitting and not looking quite as bright as usual for a bit, but most will bounce back to being their old selves quite quickly. My goldies sulk for an afternoon each time I do a larger water change, but by dinner time they are back to their cheeky selves.:D

[tstmard]

So with the filters could I just take out the cartridges and keep those in the water from the tanks? I need to buy 2 new heaters as well as another thermometer. In this house the heat is enough that I don't have to worry much about it but up there we'll be dealing with a wood stove with a propane stove(the nice type) as backup.

[stacey101]

You can move them in there tanks but only a quarter full. You can also use the bag method ( i dont like it ) or bukets

[Goldielover]

So with the filters could I just take out the cartridges and keep those in the water from the tanks? I need to buy 2 new heaters as well as another thermometer. In this house the heat is enough that I don't have to worry much about it but up there we'll be dealing with a wood stove with a propane stove(the nice type) as backup.

Yes, just keeping the cartridges in tank water would work too. Main thing is not to kill those bacteria by letting them dry out, or by exposing them to water which hasn't been treated.

Will you have town water, or will you be on a well? Could make a big difference to your water quality.

[tstmard]

I will have well water which the landlord is having tested before we move in.

[Goldielover]

You probably won't need a dechlorinator in your water then, but you have to watch out for a few other things with well water. Ammonia can be a problem, especially if there is any agriculture in your area. You can buy test kits easily enough. Amquel can help if it is a problem. Salt could be an issue if there is enough road salting in your area to contaminate the aquifer your well is drawing water from, but many species are quite salt tolerant, and some actually benefit from some salt in the water. Others won't like it. I know this could be a hassle, but if you have any way of bringing some town water (which I'm assuming you have now) along, and making the change to the new water gradually, it will be so much easier on your fish.

[tstmard]

Cool. Thanks for all the helpful info. I should be able to take along a few gallons of my water from here.

[lovesbudgies]

I would also think distilled bottled water would work for the fish if you are worried about the water that you will have at your new house.

[Goldielover]

I would also think distilled bottled water would work for the fish if you are worried about the water that you will have at your new house.

Regular bottled water can be good, but don't use distilled water. It has had most of the mineral content distilled out of it, and fish do need many of the elements found naturally in water.

As long as your well water is of reasonable quality, and it isn't fluctuating in its readings, your fish will do very well in it. Maybe even better than in the town water with the additives that you have to try to get out of it like chlorine or chloramine. More natural, really. The biggest problem could be converting them to it, which is why I suggested bringing along some of the town water they were used to so you could mix in the new water gradually for them.

[Cdog]

Every thing that Goldielover said :) As for the 2 hour drive I would take some blankets and wrap around the 10 gallon tanks just for a little insulation. They will do fine :)If they get a little cold it is OK just not for long periods of time. 6 or 8 hours is getting into the danger zone depending on what type of fish? The most important thing will be water quality and testing it before adding more when setting them back up. Get a test kit if you can or use bottled water.

[Goldielover]

Test kits are always a good idea, if you don't have them already.

I have the Nutrafin Master Test Kit, which I like because I can replace the individual little bottles as I use them, rather than having to replace the entire test kit each time. It tests for pretty well everything except chlorine. Surprisingly, there are few chlorine test kits on the market. For that I use the Jungle Labs strips. It is a bit expensive, though, and perhaps your husband would blow a gasket if you spent that kind of money right now.:D Aquarium Pharmaceuticals does a much cheaper kit, but it doesn't cover nearly as many things as the Nutrafin one does. Better than nothing, though. There's also the Tetra Laborett kit, which doesn't test for nitrate (a biggie, that one) but does test for general hardness and carbonate hardness, which the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals one doesn't. These links are from Big Als Online, which is where I get most of my aquarium stuff. Mainly because the Canadian site gives me free shipping on orders over $35.00. The American site isn't quite so generous.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsCA/ctl3684/cp18538/si1380474/cl0/nutrafintestmasterlabkit

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsCA/ctl3684/cp18538/si1380887/cl0/aquariumpharmaceuticalsfreshwatermastertestkit

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsCA/ctl3684/cp18538/si1379248/cl0/tetralaboretttestkit

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsCA/ctl3684/cp18540/si1380435/cl0/junglelabschlorinequickdipteststrips25strips

Doctors Foster and Smith also carries test kits, but their prices are a little higher. Petsmart and Petco carry some as well, but don't have quite the range of the more specialist aquatic stores.