transporting tropical fish?

Question

Were moving from Wisconsin to Tennessee, which is about 800 miles. We have a 55 gallon tank with 12 tropical fish and a algae eater. It will be at least 48 hours before we'll be able to refill the tank Were only going to travel 3/4 of the way down there the first day

Answer 1

An old cooler filled part way with water from the tank should do the trick. Open it after the first day of travel to allow it to aerate. I would also suggest that you not feed the fish for 2 days before you travel or at all during the trip to help prevent waste in the water during the trip.

MM

Answer 2

If you use the cooler(as suggested by MM) go to a bait shop or sporting goods store and find a battery powered air pump(used to keep minnows alive by fishermen). The pump is also handy to have when there is a power failure in your new home. It's really a reassuring little item to have. Good luck on the move. Oh yeah,the very safest way to move the fish would be to have them bagged by someone who knows how to ship fish.There is an importer in Janesville who might have some good advice. Look up Krauss Imports in the phone book.

Answer 3

It is important to try and keep the temperature from varying too much, so it is best to keep the fish in a relatively controlled environment inside a car, van, or PU shell that can be kept cool in summer or warm in winter. This time of the year is usually the easiest due to lack of extreme temperatures. Should temperature get too warm, you can have some frozen pop bottles on stand by in a cooler to add (be very careful to not shock cool the water, so use these sparingly!)

I used as large as necessary for the fish volume sterile Rubber Made containers (often 30 gallon filled 1/3). I used tank water and tank decorations such as plants or other non heavy decor to give cover. Then I add Methylene Blue (according to instructions on the bottle as different MB products vary in dose). This act as a Hemoglobin transfer agent for the blood (allowing for the crowded conditions), prevents ammonia poisoning, prevents disease, and darkens the water for stress prevention.
I also add products such as a Wonder Shell ( http://americanaquariumproducts.com/MedicatedWonderShell.html ) for electrolytes and calcium; again for stress in these conditions.

In trips over 4 hours (which yours obviously is), I would recommend a battery air pump or a standard AC pump run off an inverter plugged into your cigarette lighter.

Upon arrival, SLOWLY add water from the new tank while extracting water form the container to prevent stress. Make sure you save as much UNCLEANED gravel and other filter media so as to restart your bio filtration.

This method (which has modified over the years) has been very effective for me and my aquarium design and maintenance business when moving clients aquariums, many over long distances (my employees also followed this procedure). In fact I still employee this method for tranporting fish from LA to Oregon, usually over 36+ hours (counting stop over)

The addion of electolytes and MB is important as well as preserving the filter media, ECT.
It should be noted that scientific research has shown that nitrifying bacteria secrete a glue like substance to the surface of media, and very little of thse bacteria are preserved by moving water alone. This is a very important aspect of your move.
As long as you uses a good conditioner such as Start Right upon arrival and adjust temperature, the new water should not be a problem.

Answer 4

I would think the five gallon buckets would be best to keep them in for the move.