flash_liam Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Move house yesterday and moved the 3ft Tropical tank as planned. The day of trauma started when the starter on the flouro light failed and we arrived at the old house to discover the light flashing on and off, fish looking quite unhappy Waited for an hour or so for them to get over their first traumatic experience and then removed fish and put them in a chillibin with about 5 litres of water (and an airstone) - Was quite a drama getting them out of the tank. Transported just over half the water to the new house in plastic tanks. Moved aquarium, water, and chillibin of fish to new house (Brother was cradling the chillibin to stop it sloshing and we did the whole trip at 40-50 kph... sorry to anyone in the Leigh area that may have been stuck behind us :oops: ) Reassembled the tank, put in old water and new water (rain water so no chlorine etc) and checked pH and temp. etc. Introduced fish to their new home but quite a lot of them were looking poorly, all of the Golden barbs were milling near the surface, gills quite red, and most of the glow lights were looking quite distressed. This morning one of the Golden Barbs had died, and 9 of the glow lights. I removed them from the tank and conducted the traditional porcelain ceremony. By lunch time today all of the barbs had passed away The rest of the fish are looking ok, schooling well and swimming around. The neons seem to have weathered it quite well, but the poor ol' barbs and glow lights didn't take too well to the move. Alas poor Barbs, I knew them well... I think it'll be a long time before I decide to move the tank again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Next time, IF there is a next time. Bag your fish, only need enuf water to cover the fish by an inch or two. But trap a lot of air into the bag. Points for this is that there is a lot of O for them,(keep the numbers down), and there is little, if any "sloshing" to traumatize the fish. The trip could have been don in 1/4 of the time,and being in bags, are easily floated then acclimatised to their new home. You will go thru life as a large learning curve. I'm afraid you just went thru one. Pity about the losses tho. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Real sorry to hear about your losses Liam... but truth be known... this "REALLY" shouldn't have happened, as moving fish (even over many hours travel).. is a piece of cake if done right. You say: all of the Golden barbs were milling near the surface, gills quite red, and most of the glow lights were looking quite distressed. Perhaps the addition of a few drops of Stress Coat would have helped, but from what you say... the fish must have been in a real state to have inflamed gills and such. Despite being on tank water now... I would get the water quality checked at the LFS (or the Lab up at Leigh might be able to test it for you if you have any contacts) As Alan says... Bags are a better option if you don't have huge fish numbers. Good luck in your new home Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 That sucks Liam! Glad to hear at least some made it. I've only moved a tank with fish once, and I used bags as suggested by Alan. The fish made it fine, so perhaps that is indeed the best way to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0bbie Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Definately agree. I have moved my tank a couple of times. Each time I bagged the fish and took as much of the water as I could in chilly bins. Not a single loss or problem with either move, I wish I could say the same for my poor back:P Take this as a lesson FNZAS members. Your back is not a crane, Keep your back straight when lifting & moving your tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Sorry to hear about your losses Liam but at least you are moved now and can go forward from here. I am glad all the other fish are ok Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flash_liam Posted August 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Yeah, I suppose I can only peg it up to experience. I don't think I'll be moving it any time soon though. Another issue that I seemed to have troubles with (and I'm sure there's an easier way) was catching them. Is there an easy way to catch small fish in a big tank? Liam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGilchrist Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 If its for shifting take most of the water out first and any ornaments then use a big net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klaymann Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 5 Ltrs of water for all those fish ... sounds like they got ammonia burn in the chilly , hence the inflamed gills and milling around the surface .. better next time to either bag small lots or get a large chilly ( 30 ltr+) and fill 3/4 with tank water ... having done tank removals professionally before you can easily transport marine organisms as well this way safely ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flash_liam Posted August 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 Yeah, I'd say it was moving them in the chilli bin that did it. On a positive note the survivors are all looking very healthy and seem to like their new home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted August 13, 2005 Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 Sorry to hear about your losses flash_liam...congrats on the move to your new home. I recently bought fish on my way home from sister's...stopped at a pet store...I guess a couple of hours drive from here. They were in the bags from the pet store then I placed them in insulated bags with bubble wrap. All survived the trip home, and only one loss this week of one of the platties, but I doubt the trip had anything to do with it since it was over a week (I think!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flash_liam Posted August 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 My water tests after moving them showed ammonia (0.5 - 1.0 ppm), it's the first time I've ever had any ammonia show up so I'm thinking the fishies that didn't make it got ammnia burn while in transit (very little of the water from the chilli bin ended up in the tank). I'm thinking it was probably a combination of a few hours under a strobing flourescent light, and then too many fish in a small amount of water. It's a mistake I won't be making again!! I've been doing 10% water changes each day and the ammonia level is subsiding. The fish are looking very happy now, but I think I'll wait another week or so before adding any more fish. Liam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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