I need help from my fellow fish keepers.

I will be moving August 11 (Friday), and I need advice on how to move my tanks, shrimp, and fish.

Here's what I have to move:

30 gallon long shrimp tank: about 100 snowball shrimp (shrimplets to adults, some females carrying eggs at the present time), 12 Atyopsis moluccensis, and about 30 dwarf cajun crayfish, 60 or so pounds of Eco-Complete, driftwood with plants (Fissidens and Anubias nana) attached, and several varieties of Cryptocorynes, and equipment to include heater, Eheim 2213, and powerhead.

10 gallon: barebottom tank with hornwort and 10 pencilfish.

5.5 gallon: 4 CRS, driftwood with flame moss attached and a wee bit of Eco-Complete.

2.5 gallon: 2 sparkling gouramis, gravel, driftwood with Java moss and Anubias nana attached.

5 gallon: 1 male Betta splendens, 2 dwarf cajun crayfish, a wee bit of gravel, driftwood with Java fern attached, and hornwort.

What would be the best way to transport all of this? I am moving about a 15-20 minute drive from where I am now. Everything must be first carried down the stairs, and then back up stairs (I am moving from one apartment to another). I have a van, so there is plenty of room for buckets and such. I have 3 Sterilite containers and 3 buckets that I can use, and of course, Kordon breather bags, and I can get bags from the LPS if needed.

My main concern is moving the shrimp and crayfish with minimal loss, and also, not losing my nitrifying bacteria.

Any help is HIGHLY appreciated!

Well you are going to have to empty the tanks completely of all substrate decor and water. take out as much of the water that you can out of all of the tanks, and put it in buckets or something that will hold it, with the filters running on the buckets. this should keep your BB from dying off, and the old water should help the fish.

take the fish and put them in buckets or those bags with tank water. those are the first things to move. move all of that to the new apartment and put the fish in the buckets that hold the water and have the filters running on them(along with heater!). (on the ride to the new apartment you don't need to run the filters, just make sure there is tank water in the filter!!!)

your fish should be fine in the buckets with the filters running, so you don't have to worry about them at all. now you just move the tanks and substrate, set up the tanks like you want, scoop out the fish and then add the old tank water from the buckets, put the fish in the tank and finish filling them all up with the new water.



hope this helps out!

Quick work and be careful. I moved 9 large stocked tanks when I moved into my current place. About a 45 minute commute and lost not 1 fish. My fish at the time ranged in size from .5" to about 8"

Good Luck

I would try to keep half the water from each tank and discard the rest, as for substrate I have always moved my tanks with leaving the substrate in and never had any problems, if you do it this way your basically also doing a waterchange,

Keep us posted if you need any help etc. I'd be glad to work for a couple of shrimp

I can give you a hand after work on Friday. We can load up my truck.
mike

I'm sure I can help if needed as well. Another truck bed to fill. Let me know

Mike

or my 180,,, or my 125,, or my 75, or 65 .. but even these are dwarfed by Mike B's 250
LOL
mike

ROFL!!!! That's just what I thought when I read X's post! Bovinet would need a crane to move his tank if he did that!


Thanks Mikes and Derek for the offers! I'll definitely need your help with the tanks!

I think I will remove the substrate the 30 gallon, just in case. Yes, it's a little more work, but I can't afford to replace a broken tank. I've already had a 55 gallon break a seal while moving it with substrate.

well some guy on another forum just moved a 2200gallon tank....he has to take out a wall in his fish room to fit it lol! another guy has a 50,000 and 10,000 gallon aquariums.

when i got my 55 it had 8" of substrate in it, with two guys carrying it, it wasn't hard at all....of course afterwards i had to take a spade to get all that freakin crushed coral out of there.

HEY!!!!!

Just want to let the Mikes and Derek know that the 11th is SATURDAY and NOT Friday!!!!!!!!!

Apparently, I can't read a calendar!!!!