Moving

[onekatietwo]

So, completely out of left field... it turns out I'm moving. Ugh.

I have a few questions regarding this.
One is that my tank, I believe (I haven't really checked it for a while) is almost cycled. Moving is obviously going to ruin this and instead of putting my poor fishy through the stress of cycling again, I think I'll just try NOT to let it cycle. How do I go about this?

Second, I have a snail and three ghost shrimp now. What is going to be the best method for transporting them. Will they all need to be seperate?

It's only a two hour drive... but then I'll probably need some time to set up the tank at my new place, too.

Lastly, now that I'm moving, I think I can get a larger aquarium and I want to try goldfish. I've been doing a lot of reading up on them, but haven't found any really good resources. Do any of you guys have any links or maybe just know a lot about goldfish yourselves?

As always, thanks for everything, guys!

[Holeintheworld]

I think the best thing to do for moving use an ice cream pail (wash really well) or something around that size then fill them up with water from the tank, you can use separate tubs (1 for snails, 1 for shrimp) or depending on their size they could go all together (up to you). Then depending on the temperature you might want to wrap the pails in blankets. But since it is only a two hour drive it might not matter that much.

And for cycling the tank depending how big it is you could try emptying all the tank water into buckets and the then pour it back in when you get where your going. Or just keep half the tank water and fill the rest with new after moving. Dont need to get fish right when you get there, but if you are getting goldfish they are pretty hardy so they should be fine in the water. But sorry not the greatest suggestions.

As for goldfish I dont know much about but here are some pretty good websites:
Sensible Care for Goldfish
Goldfish Care Basics - The First Tank Guide - Tips for Giving Your Pet Goldfish a Long and Healthy Life
Hope this helps!

[dramaqueen]

Someone advised me once to put the fish in containers with tank water, then put the rest of the tank water in buckets or jugs. Then keep the gravel and the filter wet and everything should be ok.

[Nataku]

If you plan on putting the betta and company in an uncycled tank, the key to keeping it uncycled is simply no filter, and lots of water changes to make sure the tank stays clean. A cycled tank has a biological means to deal with waste products, an uncycled tank has a mechanical one - that is, you getting up and siphoning water out of the tank several times a week and putting new, clean water in. If you keep the tank clean and allow no build-up of wastes, then the bacteria do not get to colonize and do not go through the cycle.
I'd stick the snail it is own bag, and the shrimp together in their own bag.

Not a big gold fish fan myself (always thought they were pretty ugly fish personally) so I don't know much about their detailed care. But I'm pretty sure there's probably a forum here for them... http://www.fishforum.com/cyprinids-atherinids/

[onekatietwo]

Ah, keeping everything wet is actually probably a really good idea. Since I hope to be setting up a gold fish tank, too, I'll probably be getting some more testing supplies anyway so I can monitor everythign really closesly.

And thanks, nataku. I think I'll keep everybody separate. The dear old snail might not make it. I really shouldn't have got him. :( It was an impulse buy because he was so cool looking and cheap, but I really don't know enough about snails and I heard about (from somebody here) some water preferences differences from Bettas. Poor thing. He's still alive, so maybe he's just dormant.

And thanks a ton for the link! I've never explored the whole fishforum.com - I've stuck completely to the bettafish.com bit. That's briliant! Haha! I'm sure that will be really helpful.

[dramaqueen]

If the filter and gravel dry out then you could lose your beneficial bacteria.From what I was told.

[LaniBaby]

i had goldfish as a kid, but the ydidn't last too long so obviously something was wrong. It was weird; i had 6 of them. And everytime one of them was about to die, he would go in the corner by himself and dig a little hole in the gravel, and the next morning: dead. Unless it was the same guy digging the hole as a threat to the next one he was going to off...

My dad keeps them, though. They're pretty hearty, it seems. He has them in a pond in the yard. We threw in about 10 (mix of Koi and goldfish) a few years ago and now he has 30, in colors we never even put in there! 2 of them have to be a good 15 lbs.. they're HUGE They survive Chicago winters in there fine as long as they're not frozen (we use a cow tank de-icer). I know they're good in cool water. And oddly enough, I was hiking a few weeks ago and saw one swimming in a flooded lake in the suburbs. I think someone released him.. he was BRIGHT orange.

[Lupin]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

Someone advised me once to put the fish in containers with tank water, then put the rest of the tank water in buckets or jugs. Then keep the gravel and the filter wet and everything should be ok.

Leave the tank water out as it is essentially useless besides the fact, beneficial bacteria do not establish in the water column. Do however keep the filter and substrate wet or damp as both hold the beneficial bacteria needed to complete the nitrogen cycle process.

[onekatietwo]

Originally Posted by LaniBaby

i had goldfish as a kid, but the ydidn't last too long so obviously something was wrong. It was weird; i had 6 of them. And everytime one of them was about to die, he would go in the corner by himself and dig a little hole in the gravel, and the next morning: dead. Unless it was the same guy digging the hole as a threat to the next one he was going to off...

My dad keeps them, though. They're pretty hearty, it seems. He has them in a pond in the yard. We threw in about 10 (mix of Koi and goldfish) a few years ago and now he has 30, in colors we never even put in there! 2 of them have to be a good 15 lbs.. they're HUGE They survive Chicago winters in there fine as long as they're not frozen (we use a cow tank de-icer). I know they're good in cool water. And oddly enough, I was hiking a few weeks ago and saw one swimming in a flooded lake in the suburbs. I think someone released him.. he was BRIGHT orange.

Yikes! That can't be good for the ecosystem!

I really want to get a pond going, but the investment wouldn't be worth it since I move every year or so. I bet my parents would like one, but I don't know if they'd feel like taking care of it while I'm away. Anyway, I'm a little concerned about the predators we have around here. Haha. We live right by a creek and we see birds flying around all the time with fish in their beaks. I'd hate to see a prized koi or goldfish glinting in the sunlight up there!

[dramaqueen]

Haha. No, I don't think you want to pay good money to feed the birds. I used to plant pansies in my yard until the rabbits decided it was their personal salad bar and ate them the day after I planted them. I decided I'm not spending money to feed the rabbits.