Q: I have a 60 gallon freshwater aquarium with large fish (5 pacus about 7 inches long, several cichlids, and many other smaller fish.) The huge problem is I am moving (AHHH!) I am only moving into a larger apartment about 15 minutes away from my home now, but how can I move my fish without killing them all? .

A:Moving your fish tank is one of the most stressful things involved in a move. When I moved mine I found planning was the most important thing. If possible do not move it the same day. Plan a day when you can devote the entire time to the tank. This will just make things easier for everyone involved. What I did was to get a bunch of 5 gallon pails and fill them with the tank water and put the fish in them and covered them with something to keep them in. I then broke down the tank (empty the rest of the water, gravel and everything, saving some gravel in another bucket as the seed for the cycle) Once the tank was broken down I moved everything to the new place and gave it a good cleaning. I would suggest if you are using a UG that you do not reinstall it, email me if you want my reasons. Once everything was cleaned I positioned the tank (think hard about this, check the location carefully as you don't want to do this twice)! and then add your equipment back in (including the gravel for the "cycle seeding). Refill the tank leaving space for your "old" saved water and add that back. Start the filters, heaters and all and make sure all is OK. Once your sure everything is working OK and the tank survived the move you can then get your fish. You will have to acclimate them back to the tank as the water composition will be slightly different and the temperature will have changed as well. Add the fish to the tank and keep the lights off for a day or two to reduce the stress. Keep an eye on them and monitor the Ammonia levels to be sure the cycle is OK. Its really just a process and if all goes well you and your fish should do fine.

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