Mert16

I am moving to a larger apartment within the next month and I need some good advice on how to move my tank, 14 gal and 5 gal betta. glad they are not too big. But I want to make sure I dont loose any fish or beneficial bacteria. How should I go about it. thanks


by the way the 14 gal is glass and the 5 gal is acrylic.

Shawnie

I moved my 30 gal by emptying half the water as it was so heavy and didnt want to spill in the car ...so the 14 and 5 shouldnt be too bad..I went from city water, to well water..so not much chlorine or other city ...but I did use stress coat for the fish ..if you have to empty water, which if you get two people to help you move the 14 gal, you should be ok.. .just test the water in your new place , ..goodluck!

Shawnie

ps..whats your avitar pic of??

Mert16

thank you. did you save and use the same water or did you add new? should I bag the fish and acclimate? I'm planning to move it last. that way I have all the time to concentrate on the tank only.

Mert16

It is a pic of a male Dwarf Gourmi. I have two Perry and Big Moe.

Shawnie

wow hes beutiful! and no I just left the fish in the tank...and added new water...yours shouldnt be that heavy that you have to take out any water are they??

COBettaCouple

You can get big rubbermaid containers with good sealable lids at the store and put the substrata, filter and decor in them. Add enough tank water to them to keep the stuff covered. The fish can be double bagged and put in a soft-sided cooler bag for the trip. Is it a long trip?

sirdarksol

What would you know about moving fish?

I mean sure, you moved from Florida to Colorado with countless fish and tanks, but do you have any real experience in the matter?

COBettaCouple

oh, i'm so ashamed..

Shawnie

im assuming thats a joke..but even i know what happens when you assume! ...with a 14 gal and 5 gal would you even have to move anything out of the tanks if its a short move? ya know me , the one that never knew what "cycle a tank" was until fishlore!! so I ask tons of questions

COBettaCouple

The tanks should be transported either empty or at most with the substrate in them and just enough water to cover it. Water has a tendancy to really get to sloshing around.. even moving a tank to another room, i'd mostly empty it.

Shawnie

silly question, what does sloshing do?

COBettaCouple

Jim can explain it technically, but basically as you move the movement transfers into the water moving it back and forth, back and forth.. it keeps getting worse as you keep moving, so even with a 1/4 full tank you can be splashing water out of the tank before long.

SereneReyn

well, not only that, but even a limited amount of water, with the substrate can put some stress on the tank and it could easily spring a leak... for these small tanks, i wouldn't worry too bad, but with a much larger tank, i'd want it pretty much empty.

Mert16

well thanks all for all the info, but I thought id' move the fish by bag. and carefully remove the plants a filter media, and put it in a bag with tank water so that the beneficial bacteria wont die off when exposed to the air. and as far as the substrate well I did want to remove from the tank so I wont damage the tank. maybe look into buying bio-spira, I've never used it before though. but I dont want to loose any fish. once again, thanks