| v> | | | | the bag with as much air as possible. Place this bag in |
| | | | the cooler along with the fish if there is space. |
| For starters, be aware that statistically fish tend not | | | | Disassemble your tank and place your aquarium plants |
| to survive long transits - so be prepared for the | | | | in bags with some water. Aquarium plants can survive |
| eventuality of losing some of your fish. Having said | | | | a fair amount of time if their roots are kept wet. |
| that, if you are an aquarium enthusiast and are willing | | | | However if you plan a long move (more than a day), |
| to take the risk here is some advice for minimising it. | | | | discard the water completely. |
| Moving an aquarium involves quite a bit of work, and | | | | Step 3 — Loading and transit |
| as a rule of thumb, the larger the fish tank, and the | | | | Once the fish and the equipment have been taken |
| more fish inside it, the more work it will involve. So if | | | | care of, empty the aquarium from all the water and |
| you can, try to donate some of the fish before | | | | protect it with packing materials. Remember never to |
| moving, especially if you have shoals of identical fish. | | | | lift the aquarium from the side walls but always from |
| Careful planning is the key to success in moving an | | | | the base. |
| aquarium. | | | | In transit, the two most important things for the |
| Step 1: Transporting your fish | | | | safety of the fish are temperature and oxygen so |
| Although you should do all this the last minute before | | | | try to keep the temperature in the cooler as stable |
| moving house, you will need to be prepared with the | | | | as you can. You can use heat or ice packs according |
| right containers. A tried and tested method of | | | | to the situation. |
| transporting fish is simply placing the fish in zipper-seal | | | | For very long distance relocation you will need to |
| bags or standard bags sealed in a loose knot or using | | | | replenish the oxygen inside the bags. You can do this |
| a rubber band. If you envisage a long trip (lasting | | | | simply by opening them and allowing fresh air inside. |
| more than 6 hours) you should feed the fish less for | | | | If you happen to have a battery operated air pump |
| a couple of days prior to the move — this will | | | | you could pump in air for 10 minutes or so inside each |
| minimize their excretion and hence the water in the | | | | bag and then reseal it. |
| bags remains cleaner for longer. | | | | Step 4 - Unpacking |
| Ideally these bags should be placed in a thermal | | | | As soon as you get to your destination, reassemble |
| isolator such as a picnic cooler or a cooler bag. Try to | | | | your tank without delay. Fill it with new conditioned |
| segregate fish by their species and ensure that | | | | water and allow the filter and heater to run for a |
| every bag has sufficient water for the entire fish to | | | | while to assure that they function properly before |
| be comfortably immersed even when the container | | | | actually placing the fish. |
| gets slightly tilted. | | | | The best way to return the fish into the aquarium is |
| Step 2 — Moving the aquarium equipment | | | | to actually place them still inside their sealed bags. |
| The filtration system of an aquarium is probably the | | | | Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the water inside the bag |
| second biggest issue. Beneficial bacteria begin to die | | | | to reach the same temperature as that of the new |
| soon after oxygenized water is removed. So remove | | | | water in the aquarium and then gently unseal the bag |
| the media from your filter and place it in its own bag | | | | and allow the fish to swim out. |
| with water from the aquarium. Fill the remainder of | | | | |