[drusburn]

Hey guys, just got into the aquarium hobby, here are some pics of my 20 gal that has been set up for about 2 months.

Also, I will be moving in about a month, from norcal to socal, and I have no idea how to move this tank...I REALLY need some advice on how to do this im starting to get a little nervous about the 8 hour drive and how im going to transport these fish.

Fish Count...
1 EB Jack Dempsey
1 Clown Loach
1 Dalmatian Molly
1 Cory Cat
4 Platy's - Tuxedo, Sunburst, Rainbow, Mickey (Rainbow had 3 babies)
2 Algae eaters of some sorts (forgot what they are, need help identifying)

Some older pics-

Redesigned the tank the other day-

This is the one i need help identifying

Also, i know the EBJD and the Clown Loach will grow big, i plan on a 55 in the next 2 or 3 months and getting the Clown Loach another buddy to play with.
Let me know what you guys think of my first tank!!

 

[ELewandowski]

Nice JD, He will need a much bigger tank in the future.

As far as moving your fish. I have never had to do it. But I hear you need to keep your gravel/filter and decor all wet in tank water to keep the bacteria alive so you dont need to cycle again. Hopefully someone else will give you more info on it. Oh, and it should be the last thing you pack, and the first thing you unpack.

 

[phil_pl]

I'm going to do my best to help with the moving problem
find the biggest cooler you have
bag all the fish in tank water with as much air as you can possibly get in the bag(the bigger the bag the better)
i would recommend one fish per bag
put everything in the cooler and tape it up
if you have any other questions about moving the fish you can pm i'd be glad to help
The algae eater in the picture is a Common Plecostomus

 

[susankat]

Another way to do it, is to put them in a large tub, cooler or what ever and get a battery powered sponge filter to put into it. You can buy these usually at baitshops, or even walmart in the sporting goods dept. Put your filter material into this to keep the bacteria going on it. Get 5 gal buckets and put your gravel in one with tank water and your plants and deco in the other with tank water.

 

[drusburn]

Thanks for the help guys. I guess ill look into a big cooler...im still nervous about this move though. Id like to save as much of the water as i can as i dont have anywhere else to keep the fish while my tank cycles again. Do i need to run a filter in the cooler? Will they be ok for like 7 or 8 hours without one? Also, what do i do about the water temp?

 

[susankat]

If you use an insulated cooler and the battery powered sponge filter, leave the lid on it and it should keep the temp pretty good. Don't feed the fish the morning of the move and don't feed while traveling. It will cut down on waste. Keeping the tank filter in the cooler with the sponge filter should keep the bacteria alive. Let the filter run a couple of hours after refilling the tank and test it. You should be good to go. And if anything will just have a mini cycle.

 

[Lisaandtheword]

I like your mix of fish, they look like good matches right now. Good luck w your move! I agree w the need for battery sponge filter/aeration for that long of a trip.

 

[drusburn]

Ill look into that sponge filter at wal mart. Will my LFS have one at a price that is not crazy high?

On a side note, when i put the EBJD in about 2 weeks ago, he ate all the babies that my rainbow platy had...like 7 or 8 of them, in 2 nights!!! They were really small, probably somewhere around 2 weeks old maybe not even. The rainbow platy had babies before, that was the second batch that he ate, that are around 6 weeks old that i think are a little to big for him to eat. Im sure he could if he really wanted em.