Moving Goodbye Community Tank:'(

So here's the deal I am moving to Florida my original home that I originally moved from , I'm very happy I'm moving back but the promblem is I'm going to have to tear down my community tank and donate a majority of my fish now here's my questions
1.I will only bring 2 fish (Dojo loach,khuliI loach)but can they survie in a bucket for more than 2 day with a air pump flowing?
2.when I reset there tank up again how long should it cycle and also should I use old filter media for the tank to cycle?
3.will the hot weather from Florida affect the fish at all? And how should I acclimate the loachs to there tank again?,do I just poor the the whole bucket into the tank with the loachs or no?
Everyone I would appreciate all the help and advice I could get since this journey will be very stressful and challenging

 

It seems at this point you might be better off selling them and restart when you get to FL. I'm sure the fish can survive but you still have to deal with new water (Soft or hard) and deal with different parameters of water and so on. Plus to set it up takes time and the possibility of a mini-cycle...it just seems that your better off starting fresh.

 

Firstly, good luck

1) can't help you there I'm afraid :/ don't know the species well enough.

2) Definitely use old media, which needs to be kept in water at all times to not kill the bacteria. Let the old media cycle for 2-7 days (depending on size, filter power and whether you plan to replace the media)

3) I would float aclimatize them, how you would do for new fish in a new tank. Put them in a bag of old water and add some new water every 5 minutes or so until the bag is mostly new water, then empty into new tank

Hope this helps!

 

They can survive that long, the media will handle that type of trip as well with a little die off (keep it wet, plastic bags are your friend here) definitely use it in the tank when you get it set up again unless you need to set up a temporary tank (you can actually house the media or most of it in the bucket with the loaches and the pump to keep water moving over it).
Drip acclimate them to the new water and then add them back into their tank with the new water.

I have had angels survive a 12 hr trip without air pump and only three gallons of water in a five gallon bucket with five adult angels in the bucket. They are hardier than you think, just try and keep the inside dark as you can and prevent it from sloshing as you are best able.
What is the reason you aren't attempting to take everything?

 

I would not want to have any accidental deaths along the way or even during the process

I forgot to mention this I'm moving from Georgia to Florida which is not completely to far right

 

If I can order fish online from Asia and have them arrive at my door a week later in perfect health, it is totally reasonable to assume you could move all of your fish if you want to. Of course you might lose some, it happens.

The best way to do it would be to take the media from your tank and a suitable amount of water for the fish to be in while you drive down, aerate it in a bucket with the fish and media already in there. You can get a battery operated air pump online for pretty cheap.

This way you keep some of your BB and your fish. Use as little water as possible because believe it or not, it's better for the fish if they can't swim around too much while you're relocating.

When you arrive and set up your tank, fill it with water from your new source (I would imagine this is your tap) and dechlorinate. Drip acclimate your fish to the tank (all the while still aerating with the media in the bucket) for about 2 hours and then add the fish to the tank. Add the media to the filter and turn it on immediately.

You can add Stability or TSS+ if you're worried about a mini-cycle. Adding live plants will help as well.

Don't let the move become too daunting. People move with their fish all the time, there is no reason you can't take yours with you.

 

I forgot to mention this I'm moving from Georgia to Florida which is not completely to far right

The angels went from Florida to Virginia, which is a further distance. They weren't carried by me but my sister which was her first experience moving fish like that.

 

Get a penn plex battery operated air pump! Mine survived the loss of power during the hurricane with those!

I would not want to have any accidental deaths along the way or even during the process

Where in Florida are you moving to?

 

Possibly cape coral in Florida ad right now I live in newnan georgia ga

 

I would suggest oxygen tablets like fishermen use in their bait buckets. Much simpler than a battery pump.

 

Possibly cape coral in Florida ad right now I live in newnan georgia ga

I've heard Cape Coral is nice. Tampa is cool. Lots of stuff here, even a great fish store!

 

Use more buckets and take more fish, if you lose any along the way remove them right away, I live in N.W.FL. and gave some kribs to someone who took them all the way to Texas and they all made it fine.

 

Definitely use old filter media, it keeps the cycle going (extremely important) Acclimate them properly. With a long trip, they will surely be stressed out, so don't just dump em in. Are you willing to sell some of your fish overseas?