How to transport an aquarium over long distances or to another apartment?

Each aquarist knows that moving fish is a huge stress for fish, the result of which can cause many unpleasant consequences for pets. The owner of the aquarium should make the most effort so that the relocation is as comfortable and painless as possible.

The choice of a vehicle, a sea vessel, an airplane or a machine for moving fish to another place, city or apartment is of great importance. This directly depends on the size of the aquarium.

In addition to choosing a car, you need to think over and calculate the route of movement, choose the road on which there will be less shaking in order to deliver the cargo intact, without cracks and chips of glass. If it happens that you have to transport fish by plane, you must definitely find out if the airline has such an opportunity.

To transfer fish over a long distance, you will need to prepare a sealed container and fulfill a number of conditions.

Transportation of the aquarium is another additional reason to clean the tank, equipment from accumulated dirt and other deposits. To do everything right, you will need to follow these steps:

1. use a siphon (soil cleaner) to clean the bottom;
2. drain muddy water;
3. in a new place prepare a clean, in the amount of 40% of the capacity of the aquarium;
4. to take out all the equipment from the home reservoir and rinse it without detergents;
5. do not wash the soil, put it in bags and fill it with water to maintain biological balance;
6. after everything is removed, wash the walls of the tank; To do this, it is recommended to use water from the aquarium without using any other additional chemistry.

After we have taken most of the water, it will be much easier to catch the fish.

At the moment, there are several ways to fish.

• After turning off the light, you should wait a while until the fish calm down. Next, using the net, catch the pets. It is important not to forget that with a sharp turn on of the light, they may experience a panic attack. Therefore, to illuminate the aquarium, it is better to use a flashlight with red or blue light, to which the fish do not respond and will allow you to easily catch yourself.
• You can try using plastic bags, glass jars, or other transparent vessels. The vision of the fish does not allow to see the transparent walls of the tanks in the water. If you put them in the way of pets, they themselves can be trapped.
• The simplest and most common device for catching fish is the net. The device for catching pets should be larger than the largest of the fish. The movements of the net should be neat and smooth. This will relieve stress from the fish and help catch it without damage.

When transporting plants from the aquarium, the most important thing is to keep them in the same form. With a trip duration of more than two days without light, plants can die. For comfortable transportation of algae, the temperature in the containers must be kept cool, but not lower than +12 degrees Celsius.

In the summer, in no case should you allow the temperature to rise above +30 degrees, and leave the plants in direct sunlight.

Preparing plants for moving is as follows:

1. algae slightly moistened with water are placed in a bag; there should not be much water in it, a small amount is enough;
2. each plant is wrapped in wet paper;
3. the neck of the bag is fixed in such a way as to maintain moisture;
4. no need to blow out air.

Before settling the plants in a new aquarium, they need to give them time to adapt. therefore the container with algae should lie at room temperature for about an hour. After that, you can put them in the aquarium.

Each case of transporting aquarium fish has its own characteristics.

The following simple rules will save the fish from stress:

• First you need to make sure that all the fish feel good, unhealthy and weak pets can not stand the road;
• one day before transportation we stop feeding the inhabitants of the aquarium;
• 2-3 hours before the road, we transfer the fish to a container with cooler water than usual, 2-3 degrees, with water to clean the intestines; this must be done to reduce water pollution on the road;
• choose what to transport the fish on the basis of their size; small and medium can be transported in packages, for large you will need special containers with a lid;
• it is advisable to choose special cellophane bags so that the inhabitants of the aquarium on the road do not injure each other;
• It is recommended to transplant pets into special containers for transportation before departure;
• water in containers should be from an existing aquarium;
• bags with fish tightly stacked in a box or box; if there is free space, you need to fill it with something elastic so that the bags of fish do not roll around the container;
• the liquid level in the bag should be several times greater than the growth of the fish;
• after the pets are transplanted into the bag, the hose must be filled with oxygen, then the hose is removed and the bag is tightly tied; the ratio of water to oxygen should be 50 to 50;
• be sure to observe the temperature regime on the road, taking into account the time of year, you need to select containers for transportation and calculate the number of fish in bags or containers.

When transporting in a car, the main thing is to deliver the aquarium to its destination intact. If this is the first move that you make, it is worth considering whether you have enough knowledge and skills or whether it is better to contact professional carriers.

But if you do not have the opportunity to use the services of professionals, and you decide to do it yourself, you should remember tricks and recommendations such as:

• pre-think the route of movement, calculate the travel time, because it depends on what condition we will deliver the fish to a new place of residence;
• you should take care of the packaging materials, choose reliable and durable, carefully pack the tank using foam, foam, corrugated cardboard or a special air-bubble film; if the aquarium is small or medium in size, you can use the box, and for larger tanks it is advisable to use a wooden frame;
• when transporting and unloading the aquarium, you should be very careful and attentive, remembering that this is a fragile product;
• when transporting large volumes of domestic water bodies, they must be fixed in the back; for this, before using the car, make sure that it is equipped with the appropriate devices.

Transportation of fish over long distances in the winter has its own specifics. The outside temperature during the cold season is much lower, so you should consider how to perform this task. If you transport aquarium fish in a car, it is worth remembering that the air in the cabin must be warmed up and not less than +15 degrees.

And you can also additionally cover the aquarium with a blanket or some other warm object. In the absence of a tank, you can use special bags that retain heat. Launch fish in thermal containers or bags, put them in a bag and put a heating pad or bottles of warm water there to maintain a comfortable temperature.

On how to disassemble the aquarium before transporting, see further.