What you need:
Fish Bags (you know the ones you buy fish in)
A Net or Cup (something to catch the fish with)
A Styrofoam cooler (to put the fish in)
Stress Coat (no needed, just seemed like a good idea whenever I moved'em)
Fish (duh
)
Step 1: Fast them for 2 or 3 days before the move, my reasoning is they'll poop less this way, and less poop means less bad stuff in the water
Step 2: Fill the bags about 1/4 full of CLEAN treated water. The best thing to do is have another tank (ex. quarantine tank) to the same temp. as the tank you're moving.
Step 3: After a drop or two of Stress Coat into the bag, catch your fish. When trying to catch fast fish (curse you Zebra Danio's
) empty your water until it's pretty low, it increases your chances. Also, when catching certain species of fish with easily damaged fins (Betta) or with spines (certain types of catfish, pleco's, etc) try to lure them into a cup so it's less harmful to them and you.
Step 4: Once all your fish are in their respective bags, put them in the cooler. On a side note, if you have the space, put each fish in their own bag or with a another of it's own species (ex. 2 Zebra Danio's in a bag is fine, so is 1). On another side not, be careful of the positioning of your fish. I put two Gup's in a bag and put them next to Poe (my Betta). Poe is usually a mellow guy, but the red on those Gup's made him MAD. Of course, I quickly moved him, but it's food for thought. Knot the bags, and then insert into another bag upside down so that there's no corners (Thanks Shawnie
)
Step 5: After all your fish are in, fill in any loose areas with anything (ex. towels, paper towels, etc) just so that the sloshing around will be minimal. Put the lid on your fishes and start that vechicle, you're ready to hit the road
NOTE: If you try this, and your fish die, don't send me angry messages or PM's saying I killed your fish, that was obviously not my intent, this is just how I did it, and it worked for me with no casualties
.
Also, the whole idea behind the cooler is to keep them in the dark (calms them down) and to keep the temperature from fluctuating too much. A soft sided cooler will work as well, along with a Rubbermaid if your wrap the edges in towels and the trip is short (total bag time was 4 hours for my guys and they were fine). Hope this helps
Cory
I will not be held responsible for anything that happens if you try my methods. Everything I post is just my opinion, and I'm not pretending to know everything. That's why it's called "The Cory Way"
I'm just trying to help people out. Cheers
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