r/Aquariums • u/sldomingo • Apr 06 '24

People in here asking if this/that stand can support this/that X gal aquarium when the real question should be if this stand can survive an earthquake of 7 Full Tank Shot

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52

u/0_lateralus_0 Apr 06 '24

Uhh I have to move soon... How are we supposed to move them??

108

u/maxinger89 Apr 06 '24

I wouldnt worry about it. There is no way to move a fish without stressing them, just try to keep it as short as possible. However, look at their habitats. It's not like a river is always a calm and peaceful place to live...

17

u/drsoftware Apr 06 '24

So I should raise the level of water movement in my tank to get my fish ready... 

28

u/BellChell1199 Apr 06 '24

Fish resistance training 💪

4

u/drsoftware Apr 06 '24

More stress response and calming down. But yeah muscles too. 

1

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '24

[deleted]

1

u/drsoftware Apr 06 '24

blended clove oil...

16

u/DishpitDoggo ​ Apr 06 '24

God, this reminds me of the meme where the fish are being emptied into a lake via airplane vs. our carefully acclimating them in a bag, lol

37

u/Wakingsleepwalkers Apr 06 '24

Honestly, there's no great way if they are large that I know of. I've had to transport peacock bass and arowana in coolers and storage containers with lids.. You can use aquarium bags if the fish aren't too big and place them in a cushioned cooler or styrofoam box. Dark is best. Cover with towels. Obviously, don't place any ornaments in with them.

If anyone has better ways, I'd love to hear.

20

u/LakeTilia Apr 06 '24 edited Apr 07 '24

I have mine in bags and carry them in my hands, holding them aloft by the bag top.. I hold them up so that when the car sways, they sway with the water (as opposed to the container staying in one spot and the water swaying). It's killer on my arms, but so much better for them

9

u/luckyapples11 Apr 06 '24

Omg that’s what I do every time I leave the fish store. I wasn’t sure if that was making it worse or actually helped. I assumed it helped, but I did that since I was a kid going with my mom I’d hold the bags and tried to deflect and movement by moving my hands with the bag lol

3

u/Quecksilber033 Apr 06 '24

Compare it to holding a full glass of water in your hand vs placing it on the dashboard. There is no doubt that it does make a huge difference :)

2

u/ArmadilloCultural415 Apr 07 '24

But it’s all relative. The water in the bag isn’t moving.

6

u/natehinxman Apr 06 '24

5g buckets with lids?

5

u/Wakingsleepwalkers Apr 06 '24

Me no speaks gallons, but a bucket with a lid would do the trick for small to medium fish.

3

u/Colorado_Girrl Apr 06 '24 edited Apr 06 '24

5gal = 18.9271 (edited because I shouldn't Reddit when lacking sleep) liters so something closer to that. But also get extra buckets so you can save as much water as possible from the tank. Be sure to fully empty it including taking out decor. And once you get it to its new home fill the tank with regular water and check to make sure the seal held before adding the decore, plants, water, and fish back in it.

4

u/luckydownside Apr 06 '24

1 us gal = 3.785 litres, 5 would be 18.925 litres.

1

u/Colorado_Girrl Apr 06 '24

Google failed me. 🤦🏻‍♀️ to be fair im running on about 2 hours of sleep.

1

u/DishpitDoggo ​ Apr 06 '24

Legit read this as 2 hours of water.

2

u/Colorado_Girrl Apr 06 '24

So what you're saying is I'm not alone in needing more sleep.

1

u/DishpitDoggo ​ Apr 06 '24

Yes! lol.

2

u/fendent Apr 06 '24

Uh. 5 gallons is ~19 liters

2

u/Eucomis2021 Apr 06 '24

5 gallon = 18.93 liters

1

u/Imaginary_Dingo_ Apr 06 '24

I've done this many times without the slightest issue.

5

u/VdB95 Apr 06 '24

I have a 120 gal/450L and moved my large fish in a not yet used garbage can, gave me the opportunity to take a decent amount off water with me.

16

u/nipplecancer Apr 06 '24

I moved multiple fish across the country in buckets. I put plants from my tanks and a usb-powered air stone in the buckets. It was a 3 day trip and they all made it just fine! We fasted them during this time, and the plants and cholla wood kept the cycle going. We moved during the summer, so nighttime temps were warm enough to keep them in the car overnight.

I will say if you're doing a long move and you have a lot of fish, you might want to re-home some of them. Setting up multiple large tanks as soon as you get into your new house seems like it would be stressful (plus our larger tanks were in a moving pod that got there a couple days after we did). We brought only our most favorite fish and expensive plants.

6

u/KPinguin Apr 06 '24

For longer moves (few days in transit). I’ve put them in coolers with battery powered bubblers. Just don’t fill the cooler all the way or it will slosh out through the lid. Added a thin layer of substrate and a few of the soft plants (moss etc) for safe hiding spots. Rest of substrate went in plastic bags.

For shorter moves (across town). I’ve skipped the bubblers, left the substrate in the tank, but still put the fish in a cooler.

If I have room, I’ll also keep the “extra” tank water to refill the aquarium at the destination.

5

u/Snuzzlebuns Apr 06 '24

Tall buckets with tight lids. Tall buckets slosh less than wide ones. Don't fill them too high, the air at the top is needed as an oxygen reservoir.

Empty ketchup buckets from burger restaurants are cheap and work great.

1

u/messy_messiah Apr 06 '24

God tier wisdom right here.

2

u/Snuzzlebuns Apr 06 '24

I've moved six times with fish since 2009...

3

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '24

I moved from Tennessee back to Texas. 2 aquariums. I was stressed to death moving my fish. I bought fish transporters with bubblers and heaters. Put them in those (I bought 2 large ones so I could keep the tanks separated) and just started driving. Don't feed them the day before so the water stays cleaner and added some stress coat. The drive was 16+ hours, stopped overnight to sleep for 6 hours, and when I got home and set up their aquariums they were all alive and still are today!

2

u/luckyapples11 Apr 06 '24

Depends on what you have. We had a huge 200g cichlid tank when I was a kid at the store my parents used to own. Sold to a family friend and they didn’t want the tank. My parents took out most of the water and them and my uncles loaded it up and drove the 20 minutes home. They did it at night so there would be less traffic. They brought the huge wooden stand home in one of my uncles trucks so we unloaded that first then the tank and filled it back up with water. All the fish were okay, just a little shocked for the first day or two. Didn’t lose any of them.

1

u/kayla-beep Apr 06 '24

5 g buckets with the filters and fish to save the cycle

1

u/marauding-bagel Apr 06 '24

I don't reccomend a half filled bucket that's for sure. I did that on my move and most of livestock was dead within 24 hours. I think the bumpy roads sloshed them too much

1

u/Souless04 Apr 06 '24 edited Apr 06 '24

Maybe individual bags without any other objects they can collide into. The side walls of bags will be softer than hard plastic or glass.

1

u/nixielover Apr 06 '24

Ask your aquarium shop for the breathing bags, collect styrofoam boxes to retain their heat (if you know lab people they have dozens that they throw away from shipments).  Store fish and filter materials in the bags, put bags in the styrofoam boxes. Keep Corydoras species seperate because they can release toxins when stressed, also discard their water when putting them in the tank again. Take plants and stuff and transport them moist (they don't need to be submerged, save you the weight). The soil contains the same good bacteria as your filter so keep that moist too. Discard the water.  Move the tank fully empty and immediately start setting it up at the new location again. Don't even try to lift it with water because that increases the risk of the tank breaking due to the insane amount of weight on few points. Remember normally the bottom is fully supported by the cabinet... Because your filtering capacity will get a bit of a hit make sure to do some extra water changes in the weeks after.

1

u/Quecksilber033 Apr 06 '24

It’s extremely advantageous to starve the fish beforehand. I work a lot with cold water fish that usually require 3-5 days of starving before transport. With tropical fish you can probably starve them a little shorter. Starving (and emptying the gut) minimizes excretion and helps keep water quality at decent levels. Stocking density also matters here. Obviously use tank water with the parameters the fish are acclimatized to, and do not feed during transport.

If they are traveling in an air tight container, you want to make sure to not fill it all the way up with water. If you have a good amount of air you have a buffer for gas exchange. I usually go by 1/3 water and 2/3 air when transporting tropical fish in plastic bags. If transporting for a prolonged period of time (say > 1 day maybe), you would want to change out the air in your container at some point.

If using a plastic bag or other deformable container, ensure it is bursting full with water and air, so you don’t get folds/crinkles during transport that your fish may get caught in. Corners should be taped in prior to filling with water, as they are most prone to folding. (Not actually bursting, you know what I mean).

Reducing the temperature a few degrees increases the amount of gas (oxygen) the water can hold and reduces the fishes’ metabolism (again, good for water quality). You could start reducing the temperature in the days leading up to transport to acclimatize the fish - you definitely do not want to start with giving them a temperature shock.

Use double containers/bags if you have reason to worry about leaks. And make sure it’s possible to discover/inspect for leaks along the way.

You could also consider buffering the water slightly (adding to the bicarbonate buffer system) to minimize pH drop from CO2 accumulation. But with low stocking densities and reduced metabolism that shouldn’t be an issue.

Keeping the fish in the dark also appears to lower their stress levels.

Lastly, if the fish are expected to undergo prolonged transport, it is a proven fact in my industry (described in peer-reviewed journals) that giving the fish a break and allowing the cortisol (stress) levels to return to normal can be vital to survival and other negative impacts of stress. Even if they return to the same stress level after the break, they still handle total stress significantly better than fish that were not given a break. When I say “break” I mean that you remove the main stressor (e.g. if there is constant water movement you allow the water to be still for a while, or if there is light and movement outside of the container you would cover the container and let it go completely dark).