Moving and Relocating Fish Aquariums

The art of moving aquatic life…

         There is so much involved with properly relocating and moving fish and aquariums. Whether it is a glass or acrylic tank, a lot of care needs to be taken in order to move it. Every fish aquarium has an ecosystem that is balanced and adapted to the fish and life within the tank.

 

Prepare your fish tank for moving:

  • It is important to NOT feed the fish 48-72 hours before the move. Fish can typically survive a week or more so not feeding them for a few days is not an issue. The reason for this is because it can cause bloat and other digestive disorders which can adversely effect the marine life.
  • Moving fish tanks and aquariums is a delicate task especially depending on the type of setup. Freshwater fish can typically survive and be transported just fine if bucket’ed correctly. If longer moves are required then it’s probably a good idea to establish a temporary tank.
  • Perform water changes on your aquarium for 3-7 days before the move. If possible, change up to 25% of the water each day, so when you take water on the move day it is fresh and balanced.
  • DO NOT change filters in the week leading up to your move. This is very important, you need the filter media to re-establish the new tank. The micro-organisms are living in the filters.

 

Preserve your fish during the movinG:

  1. Place live plants into small bags with small amounts of the tank water. It is important to keep the plants separate from the live fish.
  2. Have enough 5 gallon buckets or larger containers to transport your fish. Use water from the tank. Typically for larger fish you do not want more than 2 per 5 gallon bucket.
  3. Remove decorations before draining water, this prevents the tank decorations from falling over and hitting the sides of the tank or crushing small creatures.
  4. Try to take as much tank water as possible, at least 50% minimum and 75%+ is optimal.
  5. Transport the tank EMPTY, empty everything including the bottom substrate, this will prevent the bottom breaking out of your tank.

 

Moving fish tanks and aquariums –

From moving to relocating and setting up again, the FISH guy can handle all types of requests and we have experience in all types of environments and can help with whatever you need.

3 thoughts on “Moving and Relocating Fish Aquariums”

  1. I must say you post great stuff to read, very interesting,
    you have serviced my fish tank many times and i do appreciate your hard work

  2. Awesome company to move with,
    The fish guy has helped us move 3 tanks before and each one was setup better then when it was taken down.
    much thanks sacramento fish guy

  3. I was checking out about purchasing a 55 gallon corner tank vs a bow front as well as different types of filtration systems,.
    cause I’m generally newer to the fish hobby and had a lot of questions… Thanks for the help..
    Lexi <3

Comments are closed.