starypotter
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- May 27, 2018
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Hi everyone,
TLDR- How reasonable is it to move cross country with your fish?
Is it even humane to put the fish through such prolonged stress since we're talking two days of just driving, then another day or two before they get into something resembling a stable tank, not to mention the amount of water you'd need to lug around.
What sort of equipment would you want?
Would you be alright using a tank (manufacturer reef ready) that drove in a moving truck for several days, or how would you pack it so you'd consider it safe?
So it seems like within the next year, at the most two, we're going to be moving from New Jersey to Florida. I've had my tank for a little over a year now with corals and fish and naturally I've grown rather attached to the corals and their growth, as well as the fish. But with this impending move I'm starting to come to the realization that I might not be able to be transporting my whole system across the country like that.
I'm already figuring that I'll probably just get rid of the sand, and probably sell off most of the rock and just frag out a lot of the zoas. I also figured that my tank, a 75 gallon reef ready, probably wouldn't do well with the bumps and movement of 24 hours driving. I've got several ten gallon tanks and a 29 gallon so I figure once we know more I'll start downsizing and dividing and I'll take the smaller tanks with me to use while I deconstruct my big system and to hold my livestock.
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to manage enough of a setup in my car to maintain my coral and some inverts, I could make them each little egg crate cubicles and rig up something in a cooler to keep them stable with temperature and with water movement.
My big question is the fish. I have two clown fish, four clown gobies, and a cardinal fish. Before I found out we were going to move I had planned on getting an algae or starry blenny this summer but that's on hold until I at least find out if moving the fish is reasonable or even humane. I obviously can't put rock in with the fish because they could get hurt, and I could use prime to control ammonia but it sounds like it would be pretty intense to move so many fish and have them in temporary holding for so long. Maybe the few smaller fish might be okay to go in the coral but I'm not sure how to move such a large amount of fish and water over such a long stretch.
TLDR- How reasonable is it to move cross country with your fish?
Is it even humane to put the fish through such prolonged stress since we're talking two days of just driving, then another day or two before they get into something resembling a stable tank, not to mention the amount of water you'd need to lug around.
What sort of equipment would you want?
Would you be alright using a tank (manufacturer reef ready) that drove in a moving truck for several days, or how would you pack it so you'd consider it safe?
So it seems like within the next year, at the most two, we're going to be moving from New Jersey to Florida. I've had my tank for a little over a year now with corals and fish and naturally I've grown rather attached to the corals and their growth, as well as the fish. But with this impending move I'm starting to come to the realization that I might not be able to be transporting my whole system across the country like that.
I'm already figuring that I'll probably just get rid of the sand, and probably sell off most of the rock and just frag out a lot of the zoas. I also figured that my tank, a 75 gallon reef ready, probably wouldn't do well with the bumps and movement of 24 hours driving. I've got several ten gallon tanks and a 29 gallon so I figure once we know more I'll start downsizing and dividing and I'll take the smaller tanks with me to use while I deconstruct my big system and to hold my livestock.
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to manage enough of a setup in my car to maintain my coral and some inverts, I could make them each little egg crate cubicles and rig up something in a cooler to keep them stable with temperature and with water movement.
My big question is the fish. I have two clown fish, four clown gobies, and a cardinal fish. Before I found out we were going to move I had planned on getting an algae or starry blenny this summer but that's on hold until I at least find out if moving the fish is reasonable or even humane. I obviously can't put rock in with the fish because they could get hurt, and I could use prime to control ammonia but it sounds like it would be pretty intense to move so many fish and have them in temporary holding for so long. Maybe the few smaller fish might be okay to go in the coral but I'm not sure how to move such a large amount of fish and water over such a long stretch.
