Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

moving fish over long distance?

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dar (darren curry)
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12 Apr 2011 22:39 #1 by dar (darren curry)

moving fish over long distance? was created by dar (darren curry)

i shall be moving this year to Co.Clare of all places (it just came into our head two days ago and we are doing it, we know no one down there or have no clue about the place but it should be an adventure). so any tips on moving the 100g from dublin, there is about 30 fish ranging from cherry shrimp to 8inch whip tail, i'm thinking just leave them in the tank with shallow water lets say 1/4 full. would a van run a filter and air pump or would just the air pump do over this distance? all tips welcome lads and ladettes and cheers.

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eire1978 (eire1978)
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12 Apr 2011 22:48 #2 by eire1978 (eire1978)

Replied by eire1978 (eire1978) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

sorry dar but can i ask why moving so far?

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dar (darren curry)
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12 Apr 2011 23:02 #3 by dar (darren curry)

Replied by dar (darren curry) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

the further from this mad place the better, no, we want to bring the kids up down the country and Clare just popped into our heads (i love Cavan

but Clare is wat we agreed, maybe Kerry)

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JohnH (John)
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12 Apr 2011 23:09 #4 by JohnH (John)

Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

Whereabout in Clare (approximately will do - I just need to find out will I have to move away from here!!!).

Seriously, though, I cannot stress enough the bad idea it would be to move your tank with any water in at all! It could cause too much stress on the silicone seals and create a leaking tank - which no-one would want!

I'd suggest emptying your tank completely and bring as much water as you have capability of bringing across in containers - I'm sure you could get the loan of some - and bring over the fish in a large lidded bucket (or even more than one) - a battery air pump would be useful here, perhaps even two.

Your filter bacteria will suffer during the journey - but shouldn't be totally irrevocable and temperature shouldn't be an issue as long as you don't leave the buckets standing for too long before and after the journey.

Doubtless there will be more suggestions forthcoming.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.

ITFS member.

It's a long way to Tipperary.

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dar (darren curry)
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12 Apr 2011 23:27 #5 by dar (darren curry)

Replied by dar (darren curry) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

ah are you in Clare John? lovely, my new best mate :laugh:

i like lyons gold blend and take two sugars and a tiny bit of milk, biscuits are totally up to your kind self but i dont like cake

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eire1978 (eire1978)
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12 Apr 2011 23:32 #6 by eire1978 (eire1978)

Replied by eire1978 (eire1978) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

i think its the right move for the kids and best of luck

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JohnH (John)
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12 Apr 2011 23:33 #7 by JohnH (John)

Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

Mercifully I'm on the other side of the Shannon.

Anyway, can't afford sugar or biscuits.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.

ITFS member.

It's a long way to Tipperary.

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SSS (Sion S)
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13 Apr 2011 00:33 #8 by SSS (Sion S)

Replied by SSS (Sion S) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

I brought tanks and fish back and forth to wales on the ferry without too many problems.
Definately don't leave water in the tank, aside from the damage it could do, you'd be surprised how much will spill out with the movement in the van.
What I did was get big water bottles I think they were 6L bottles and divided fish into a few bottles and I had a turtle that I put in a cardboard box with wet newspaper he made the trip 5 time in 3 years!
I did lose a few fish on one occasion but didnt do anything different from the other times so dont know what went wrong unfortunately.
It is a hassle but It can be done.

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dar (darren curry)
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13 Apr 2011 00:45 - 13 Apr 2011 00:47 #9 by dar (darren curry)

Replied by dar (darren curry) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

wat if i cut aero board to fit and put right on top of the water wit slight weight on top, would this reduce pressure on the seams

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Last edit: 13 Apr 2011 00:47 by dar (darren curry).

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JohnH (John)
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13 Apr 2011 00:51 #10 by JohnH (John)

Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

It wouldn't make a blind bit of difference, I'm afraid.
Even a small tank should never be moved with any amount of water in it - sorry to be putting a 'downer' on this but it's better to make things plain from the start than be sorry afterwards.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.

ITFS member.

It's a long way to Tipperary.

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dar (darren curry)
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13 Apr 2011 01:09 #11 by dar (darren curry)

Replied by dar (darren curry) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

not a downer at all John, i am just a lazy git and i dont fancy catching all the fish, i spent an hour trying to catch a boesmani rainbow and ended up slamming the net on the ground in frustration, the stress damaged me more than the fish. i suppose less water would make my task easier. so a couple of insulated containers for the fish, aeration and a couple more drums for tank water should do the trick?, maybe some filter boosting stuff for setting back up? on the aeration, if i dump an airline into the filter, would this be of any benefit to the bacteria?

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JohnH (John)
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13 Apr 2011 09:39 #12 by JohnH (John)

Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

It would help, the oxygen created would certainly aid the bacteria no end (Help requested for the proper name???).
I personally have little faith in any filter aid stuff as I do not believe it could be possible to 'bottle' and keep bacteria alive this way.
Just set the tank up in its new place then refill carefully with as much of the 'saved' water the very gradually top it up with 'new' water - bearing in mind the probable differences with water from where you are now, to where you will be then. The reliable 'drip' method to acclimatise the fish to the new tank water is definitely recommended here.
When you're happy the water is pretty even slowly introduce the fish back into their home but switch off the lights before transferring them.
Leave them overnight to settle back down, then only feed very sparingly for a week or so (until the water readings settle) - they'll be OK for ages, honestly.

And yes, you will find the fish much easier to catch with water levels down.
One last thing which comes to mind - do not feed the fish for 48 hours leading up to the move day either.
You would be surprised just how much 'waste' (polite description) will be produced from them and this, if allowed into the transporting vessels, might just overload the water with vey unwanted ammonia!.
All other suggestions welcomed.
John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.

ITFS member.

It's a long way to Tipperary.

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joey (joe watson)
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13 Apr 2011 14:07 #13 by joey (joe watson)

Replied by joey (joe watson) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

i think john hit it on the head there. the fish you have are not so big so no need to transport in lots of buckets, just 1 or 2 with tight lids will do (or clear bin bag with fish in, tied and moved in bucket), and if you pull out all decor and drop the water to as high as the net is, catching is not a problem (unless they are 9" leporinus or darting denisoniis)

i can lend you some xanax for the stress :blink:

just take as much water as possible, even if it means taking half the water the day before (so long as your tank can still run with half gone for a day) then take the rest with the tank. keep your filter media in the water or better still if you have ceramic put them in with the fish when moving. you shouldn't lose too much bacteria just dont rinse the sponges and keep all the crappy water & mulm it will look like poo in the tank for a few days

where in clare? mumsy lives in scariff (east clare near lough derg) so i can stalk you - i mean visit you - when i go for my sunday din-dins (i wish)

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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andrewo (andrew)
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13 Apr 2011 16:29 #14 by andrewo (andrew)

Replied by andrewo (andrew) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

Hey Dar; do let us know when you settle down; you are not to far from limerick and galway(hint hint);so few of us are around you.any homewarming party??

All the best!

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dar (darren curry)
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02 Mar 2012 16:18 #15 by dar (darren curry)

Replied by dar (darren curry) on topic Re: moving fish over long distance?

well it's 6 months since the move, i lost 1 glowlight tetra a couple of days after move so all went well, hoping to get on here a bit more in the next few weeks, this is the first time on a computer since the move. well hello all i hope all is well

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