I am moving, will fish survive 3 hour drive?

Hello, I'm moving to a city that's 3 hours away. I decided to take my angelfish with me. I originally went to a fish store to give it away because I was afraid she wouldn't survive the 3 hour drive and all the hassle to bag all the ornaments and filters to keep the bacteria alive and stuff. Well the guy said that she has a tumor so they can't introduce her to the aquarium with other fishes and he said that they will euthanize her if I give her to them. I didn't want her euthanized so I have decided to keep her. She's had the bump for a long time. I even created a post about her bump back in 2011 about it and she's still alive and well to this day. Here's the post about it in case you're wondering.

I just want to know if my fish will survive the 3 hour drive? I'm going to bag her in a ziploc bag in a cooler so the water temperature doesn't change. I'm going to empty out the aquarium and clean it out but I'm going to bag the ornaments and filter with aquarium water in a ziploc bag. If I set the aquarium back up in my new place with new water but ornaments and filters are not cleaned but filled with the good bacteria for the fish, will the tank be cycled? I just did a 50% water change today since its been almost 2 weeks I did a water change. I will be moving in 2 days

 

You'll be gtg. Just don't forget to treat the new water and slowly reactivate your fish slowly to the new tank water as the parameters will likely be different.

 

We just drove a large jaguar chiclid 4 hours, he made it just fine. As far as your LFS there's no reason your Angel couldn't go in his tank (except Mabee because he couldn't sell it) tumors are not contagious. Good luck to ya.

 

Put the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid and get a battery operated air pump, and if you keep the temp in the 70's she will ok for several hours. Bring extra batteries. Don't move the tank with the gravel in it, that causes leaks and can bust out the bottom of the tank. Don't clean the gravel or the filters. It's ok to clean the tank up. save as much of the old tank water as you can. If it takes longer than you thought to set up the tank at your new place, put in the tank heater in the bucket and run your tank air pump. The fish can last at leased 24 to 48 hours in the bucket set up this way.
Good luck, Harry

 

Put the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid and get a battery operated air pump, and if you keep the temp in the 70's she will ok for several hours. Bring extra batteries. Don't move the tank with the gravel in it, that causes leaks and can bust out the bottom of the tank. Don't clean the gravel or the filters. It's ok to clean the tank up. save as much of the old tank water as you can. If it takes longer than you thought to set up the tank at your new place, put in the tank heater in the bucket and run your tank air pump. The fish can last at leased 24 to 48 hours in the bucket set up this way.
Good luck, Harry

It's not nessesery to save old tank water, as the beneficial bacteria live primarily in the filter media.

 

I would not use a bucket. I regularly travel long distances to buy fish off craigslist and go to out of state LFS since Maine has silly restricted species laws (juliI cories are illegal here!) so I drive with fish a lot. I have killed an entire purchase before by driving for too long over too many bumpy roads. When you drive with a bucket it splashes around a lot more than in a bag.

How big is the Angel? I'd say put it in the biggest bag you have with as much water as you can fit, and set the bag into a container. It helps to stuff some extra bags or something around the fish bag for padding. Cover it with something so it's dark inside to keep her calm, and so light doesn't get in and raise the temp too much. And drive carefully!! Beware of bumps and potholes. Good luck!!

 

You will be fine driving 3hrs away just make sure whatever you keep your fish in is sealed and your filter media is kept wet

 

Also I would not feed until settled at new place it will help keep down fish waste in small area.

 

A bucket with a lot of water and a lid with a hole in the top for airline to go threw and a battery air pump will work as long as you don't go off roading. You save lots of water for the water parameters so it will be as close to the old tank as possible, not for beneficial bacteria. If you chose to go the bag route find a LFS that can put it in a big bag with oxygen.
good luck, Harry

 

I hope all goes well with the transport!

I am curious, how long do you all think fish will be ok with either of these methods? We are contemplating a move that would be 16 hours away and I have A LOT of fish.....

 

Some fish that are shipped to my LFS travel in bags (with friends lol) for up to 21 hours.

 

You can hook up a battery powered air pump to a sponge filter as well, many sponge filter cartridges contain zeolite to absorb ammonia, making them a fantastic short-term solution, even though that filter (likely) isn't cycled yet. Using a 5 gallon bucket WITH a lid, to address concerns about splashing, is close to a fully functional mobile tank. Your main issues are physical shock and heat.

 

I think they already moved. How did it go?

 

Yeah sorry for a really late reply the move went very well, my fish survived lol. I used my method putting her in a large ziploc and placed in a small cooler lol. I will be doing the same thing next week as I've moved back to Toronto. My fish is in Kingston and I will be going back there next Sat so feeding her will be a problem next week

 

IMO fish are shipped from many locations across the US and Canada I assume... good to hear yours survived with out issue... sometimes I think us fish keepers make more of a situation then we really need to, I know I am guilty of it as well.... anyway I guess my point is use a bit of common sense and most everything will work out just fine.... enjoy your new residence...