Moving Home & Moving Fish

As I have mentioned previously, I started a new job at the end of July, which was quite some distance from home. My employers have been very flexible, paying for hotels and also allowing me to spend time working from home. Even with the use of timers for lights, and automatic feeders for the tanks that could have flake/dry food, it didn't take long for me to realise that I would have to relocate. Again, my employers have been great, with a good relocation package to pay for removals, etc. but the thought of moving all of my tanks/fish/amphibians is quite nerve wracking.

It has taken a lot of planning so far. I started a few weeks ago by combining as many of my current tank inhabitants as possible to free up tanks, and researching as many articles as I could regarding moving fish. Now  the moving days are fast approaching.

The plan so far is that the removal men shift the furniture and empty tanks on Tuesday, and the garden furniture, containers and plants on Wednesday. I can then set up the empty tanks, and head back on the weekend to do several trips to start moving the gang. Then I will have time to review the situation, and book another move for the last tanks either just before Christmas, or between Christmas and New Year.

Last weekend I moved most of the kitchen stuff. This weekend I'll be moving the rest, along with the bathroom stuff, and some of the smaller tanks. I've got several battery operated air pumps for use during the move, and have got some polyboxes from my local MA to help keep the gang at a reasonable temperature during their travels. I've also got plastic stack boxes, and will be getting more on Saturday, for transporting the sand from the tanks, plants, and wood. I'll also be using stack boxes for transporting the axolotls because they are too large for bags. I thought it would be worth putting some mature media in the boxes for the trip, in the hope that this will also help.

The drive between locations should take around 2.5 hours on a good day. I'm guessing it will take longer with fish on board so I can try to keep the ride as smooth as possible, and avoid stressing the gang too much. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there are no major incidents, and I can't imagine how long it's going to take to then replant the tanks and get everything back to normal.

I just hope that we all survive this month. 

Many thanks.
I'm very nervous about the move, but it has to be done.
I really hope that nothing goes wrong, and that I can enjoy having all the gang back with me before the end of the year. 

Firstly... wishing you all the best will all aspects of your move @Littlefish fish related or otherwise.

This thread got me wondering if there was such a thing as a professional aquarium / fish removal service (I now don't like that word... makes it sound like the exterminator is coming). And it looks like there are two well reviewed ones in your area. They don't give any details online as to how they do it - and I'm sure it's latrgely how you are already planning to go about things  - but it might be an option for you to consider, if you want some of the stress taking out of the equation as such.

Lovely to read of your employers' assistance and flexibility - good to be valued in that way.  All the very best to you and the gang for the move - I'll be thinking of you and sending positive vibes in your direction.  Daft though it may sound, when I adopted two fish, and again when I bought my most recent shoal, I talked to them in as calm a voice as I could (almost exaggeratingly calm, possibly in an effort to keep me calm too!) on the journey home, attempting to reassure them that all would be fine.  I do think this helped them (and me!).

Sound good so far!! Ive lived without sofas for short periods before so I know how amazing it is when you get them back!!

It will be lovely to have a sofa to sit on and a tv to watch this evening. 

Who needs a TV, though, when there's fish to watch? 

Don't make me rename this thread to "Moving home and acquiring fish" 

I'm also sure you said you had lots of spare tanks... try using them rather than buying even more... 

When I got home I found myself thinking " I wish I'd rented the other house - the bigger one with the integrated garage that already had electrics wired through & mains sockets fitted". 

I think the limited space in this house may be the only thing that will be helping me to be strong and not succumb to the charms of the adorably ugly congo puffer (though I've just noticed that some of my current empty tanks are more than big enough for that one. Oh dear.) or actually cute south american puffers (though I feel increasing the numbers of dwarf puffers I already have might just be fair game).

Actually, the house move hasn't been a complete success so far, which means that my focus has to be on that and my current gang, as I have to hand the keys to my other place back at the end of the month/year.

Unfortunately, when the furniture arrived on Tuesday we found that the combination of ceiling height, turns in the stairs, & design of my wardrobes meant that they wouldn't fit and couldn't be carried up the stairs. My wardrobes are currently in the living room, and the ones from the spare bedroom are in the dinning room. It's going to take a while for me to dismantle them, take them upstairs, then rebuild them. Also, although this house has more bedrooms, none of them are as big as the rooms at the last place, so not all of my bedroom furniture will fit into 1 bedroom. Bedroom & separate dressing room it is then. Which then means limited space for the wardrobes from the spare bedroom, and the bookcases and other stuff.

As for the living room, 4 seater sofas are not always the easiest things to place in a room, which then limits where I can put tanks. I also find it difficult to plan the room and/or rearrange furniture when there is a wardrobe in the way. 

The situation around the house move has caused quite a few problems. Most removal companies survey the house/furniture prior to quoting. As I was already working away, so wasn't at the house for them to visit & survey, I was sent lists to complete,which they used for the quote. Obviously I listed the tanks, but there were a lot of things I forgot about, and I didn't realise how many boxes of books, fish-related equipment and decor I would end up with after packing. Luckily the removal men packed everything they could onto the truck (even stuff I hadn't listed), but weren't comfortable with moving the aqua oak fish tanks, so even the empty ones ended up staying in Cambridge. Obviously if they'd seen the tanks before quoting this would have been something I'd been aware of.

So, I have empty Fluval Romas here (240, 200, and several 125s). There is limited floor space downstairs to set them up due to multiple wardrobes. Then I still have to move my gang, and arrange for the tanks to be transported. Due to time constraints I plan to contact some of the specialist fish transporters that Matt noted. I also plan to head back to Cambridge and see if the guys from MA can help. They have offered to house my fish in their sumps whilst I move tanks. Without wishing to sounds hideously ungrateful, I didn't want my gang in their water system. Obviously they have fish being delivered every week, and have a regular list of medications they use on a daily/weekly basis, and my gang wouldn't be used to that sort of thing. I was worried that it would have a very negative impact on them, especially with the stress of the move as well. I have explained this to them, and they have been very understanding, bless them.

They have provided various sixes of polybox (nominal charge for the larger ones, no charge for the smaller ones), various sizes of fish bags, and last week I had a training session on how to tie fish bags correctly. Whilst standing in front of a plant tank, making a complete pigs ear of several attempts, I was told that this was how they all started at MA. 

Ok, enough rambling for now. Stuff to do & plans to make. 

When my mother came to live with us back in 2011 she brought a wardrobe unit with her. It was the three section type popular many years ago. The middle section (drawers and mirror) just went round the bend in the stairs but the two wardrobes sections would not go. Luckily it was July so we were able to dismantle them on the lawn. We never did find one of the screws. I would hate to have done that in the middle of winter indoors.

Good luck!!!!!