Long distance moving fish and corals?

[Kelly&Ely]

Hey guys me and my wife are looking at moving, it would be a 12 hour drive to the new location. the tank is 15 gallons, were looking for suggestions how best to move the fish, corals etc.... so that way everyone has the best chance of survival.
We have 2 damsels, 1 clown, 1 blue tang, cleaner shrimp, hermits, snails, and then the corals, zoas, gsp, bubble tip anem, hairy mushrooms, kenya tree, devils finger leather, some green musrooms, and a good size ricordia.

Of course we'd keep as much of the water as possible and move it so to avoid cycle. Almost thinking placing the smaller corals in there own plastic Chinese wonton soup containers, and packing them all in a cooler. Maybe even doing the smaller fish the same way(less chance of a bag breaking).

Any suggestions are definitely welcome, as we've worked hard on the tank and don't want any of the inhabitants to not make it.

 

[potterjon]

I would use coolers with heat packs if need be, depending on the temperature where you are located, with all the specimens in their own plastic bags. These corals and live stock are shipped all the time with for that amount of time and longer. I would probably use the chance to do just do a large water change. But that really isn't that much water to take with you. You should also find that tang a new home, and consider a much smaller amount of fish. On second thought, just get a bigger tank since the opportunity presents itself and liberate all those fish to a friend. Get a bigger tank and start over. That is way too many fish for such a small tank.

 

[csarkar001]

new tank?

new tank?

great excuse for a bigger tank! of course you'll have to bribe the spouse with something ...

 

[dwa_jeff]

I second the motion for a bigger tank. Bagging everything individually is the only way to go. It really will make it a lot easier on every thing. Get a few 5 gallon buckets with lids from the hardware store and use those to move the water. Also see if your LFS will give you a Styrofoam cooler and some fish bags to help you move. If your concerned about bag breakage, just double bag.

 

[bryan007]

+3. Especially with a tang. Is that a Hippo or an Atlantic Blue tang? Either one should not be in a tank of less than 100 gallons. Please upgrade your tank to that size for the sake of the fish. This is like putting you in a 3x3 closet for your entire life.

 

[bryan007]

Also you will need to house the animals in a much larger container to move as 15 gallons won't keep O2 levels high enough for all these animals for a 12 hour trip IMO. O2 levels deplete rapidly in saltwater.

 

[syrinx]

I would simply bag the fish with oxegen- then you will have all the time in the world to get there and set up. Many fish shops will perform this service.

 

[ReefKnot]

+4 Supersize you tank

 

[gods child]

Try not 2 take the corals out of the water.Bag them in the tank, with bag in tank, with water in the bag . less stress on corals that way

 

[BettaGirl]

I agree with the oxygen. Place each fish in their own bag, fill half the bag with water, add the fish and add straight oxygen from an oxygen tank. Bubble the o2 into the water while holding the top of the bag closed. Once the oxygen space is the same as the water space twist and tie off with a rubber band. The fish will be fine for 24 hours. Pack in a cooler or ice chest with hand warms and as long as the bag doesn't roll around they will do great. I am not to sure about corals though.

 

[AGYDAL]

Vehicle AC adaptor...plugs into your cigarette lighter making it an electrical outlet...plug in an air pump with some tubing and air stones if you're worried about oxygen levels...just make sure you don't seal the bags completely, fish arent too fond of turning into exploding water balloon bags

 

[chrisv]

what about giving away or selling your fish before the move and then buying more appropriate livestock when you get there. its a lot cheaper than buying a 100 gallon tank. corals are pretty easy to ship. do be sure to put them in separate bags, many corals release some pretty noxious substances when disturbed, and if you bag many species together you may find that they have killed one another... one of the biggest concerns should be making sure that your corals are not squashed by the rocks they have grown on to. I moved a SPS dominated reef with 60 corals, a few clams and a few fish from DC to boston...a total night mare... you should really consider selling off whatever you can in terms of live stock, it will make your life much easier.

 

[Flaring Afro]

You have a tang in a 15 gallon? You should either upgrade and have a 120 waiting for the fish or just sell it now before the trip.

When I move my fish between semesters, I use a foam cooler. I just used foam for wall insulation to make separate chambers and silconed them in place. The fish have a lot more room than they would in bags and the larger amount of water plus air above it probably helps. That's just a 2 hour drive though.

 

[el aguila]

They bag fish for extended times when shipping.

However, I bought a $200 fish (that I really liked) and had it in transport mode for over 36 hours last winter. I got an insulated bait bucket that had an air pump. Bagged the fish with the air stone in the bag - I also placed a small 2" section of airline as an exhaust tied at the top with the ailine supply.

I then placed cardboard pieces in the bait bucket for support of fish bag to keep it upright. Next went in an aquatic thermometer to monitor temps during the trip. At one point I had to remove the cardboard, get tap water to the right temp then fill the bait bucket with fish bag. Emptied it all and replaced the cardboard.

Fish is now happy in my tank and well worth it.

 

[SpringFever]

Vehicle AC adaptor...plugs into your cigarette lighter making it an electrical outlet...

I moved from southern Cali to Washington State using an adaptor. Small powerhead and a heater...