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View Full Version : Moving goldfish to college, questions about moving


megastealer
07-11-2009, 08:44 PM
Moving to and from school:
I will be taking my goldfish with me to college and I have quite a few questions about that process. College is about 4 hours away from my house.

I have a cooler, and my plan for the goldfish was to get the large plastic bags, fill them up with the tank water, and put the bags in the cooler for support and to keep the temperature stable.

Are there any mild tranquilizers to help keep my fish from getting too stressed? I would think there would be... I know Petsmart always squirts something in their bags before you take fish home... is that what that is?


Also, I have quite a few plants. My plan for them was to fill up a bucket with a bit of water, and cover the top... the water would slosh around in the bucket and keep everything wet.

Also, I guess I would throw the filter media in the bucket with the plants... is that a good idea?



Winter break and spring break
The issue with winter break is that it is nearly a month long. I don't want to take my 29 gallon tank down and bring it all the way home, set it up for a month, repeat the process, etc. Does anyone have an idea to get around this? All I can think of is just take the plants, filters, and fish home, and put them in one of those large plastic storage containers you can buy from walmart.

Spring break is only a week, so I guess an automatic feeder would work fine for this?




I may have not thought of some problems / things worth mentioning you guys have experienced when moving fish... so if you see anything that could help I would appreciate it if you could mention it here.

Thanks :ssmile:
Sharon
07-11-2009, 08:54 PM
Your plan for moving all sounds good...except for the tranquilizers. Those would be a NO NO. Fish can be left for a 2 week period without food, but a month seems rather long. Maybe someone could feed them for you, and do a water change...I didn't think so!:ssmile: I suppose you could drag them home with filter and use the storage container. The spring break period will be fine, although I wouldn't use an automatic feeder...
Mvjnz
07-12-2009, 01:22 AM
In the month long break, just drive there once a week or two weeks to feed them. Maybe spend the night and feed them again the next day, then go home. 4 hours isn't that long to drive.

The thing they squirt in the bag isn't a tranquilizer, it's prolly stress coat containing aloe vera to reduce stress and make them less prone to disease. They should be fine in the bags, just keep them in semi darkness while transporting them, or complete darkness by wrapping each bag in newspaper or similar.
megastealer
07-12-2009, 02:56 AM
In the month long break, just drive there once a week or two weeks to feed them. Maybe spend the night and feed them again the next day, then go home. 4 hours isn't that long to drive.

Unfortunately, I forgot to mention, they take our keys when we leave. That would have probably been my best bet though otherwise.
Mvjnz
07-12-2009, 03:44 AM
How about you explain it to them and ask whoever has the keys to come and let you in when you need to feed them?
Sharon
07-12-2009, 11:03 AM
Rules are generally very strict in these type of residences. If the proctor stays during the break, maybe he or she wouldn't mind feeding once a week...
megastealer
07-12-2009, 02:16 PM
Yeah, I go to LSU, which is a school of about 30,000 students. They take the keys for winter break, and you don't see them again until after break is over... I don't think anyone goes in the dorms - I know pretty much everyone leaves. There isn't really any way around that part. I do hope they leave the power on, as I will put my t5 lighting system on a timer for my plants.
megastealer
08-19-2009, 04:30 AM
This Thursday is moving day! My biggest concern now is what to transport them in. My original thought was the gallon sized plastic baggies, but I am now feeling that they may be too small. I was thinking about something more sturdy like one of those plastic containers which holds about 5 or 6 gallons, but I am a bit worried about the fish getting hurt on the sides, temperature, and water sloshing out into the car.

We could not fill it up even halfway and put towels over the top I guess to help with the water issue, but the other things are still a bit of a problem.