Having an aquarium can be a wonderful hobby.

Many people keep fish as pets and have large aquariums with many different kinds of fish.

Usually, once you get fish, you keep them in their tank with the expectation of not having to move them anywhere.

However, if you are relocating – like moving to a new home, you’d have to find a way to transport your fish in a way that is safe for them until they are reintroduced to their tank.

Transporting Your Fish

Unlike most other pets, you can’t keep a fish tank or fishbowl in the car and drive. You have to find out how to transport them safely.

Most fish can survive travel for up to 48 hours, but if you go beyond that, there is a risk that they might die.

Plan for Transport

To make sure your fish remain safe, you have to make sure you plan out how you’ll go about transporting your fish.

Make sure you know when you’re traveling, how long it’ll take, and what container you will be using to transport your fish.

If you are planning to stop for the night, you will have to keep the fish with you instead of leaving it unattended in the car.

If you are going to fly, make sure you ask the airlines what arrangements and rules they have for transporting fish.

• Change Water

A few days before you start traveling, change out some of the water in the aquarium.

Switch out around 20% of the water in the tank every day for about five days before you have to transport the fish. This is to make sure that the water is clean when you start to travel.

• Avoid Feeding

When you’re transporting your fish, it will be kept in a container with a small amount of limited water.

In such times, you don’t want them to mess up the water more than absolutely necessary. Fish can survive for up to a week without feeding, so they’ll be fine if they aren’t fed during the move.

To avoid it contaminating the water, you can stop feeding them up to 2 days before you have to transport them.

• Pack the Fish Last

Don’t pack the fish for transport until everything is absolutely ready. You want to keep the fish contained for as little time as possible, so make sure that you pack them last and that you unpack them first when you arrive at your destination.

• Avoid Unnecessary Travel

Fish are very fragile and cannot be easily transported, so you shouldn’t carry them around in a vehicle unless it is absolutely necessary.

Choosing a Container for Transport

You should also consider what container you will be transporting your fish in.

Different fish will have different requirements, and what kind of travel is needed will also have different requirements.

In most cases, pet fish tend to be small, and can easily fit into plastic bags, but you should consider the fish’s safety first and make sure that whatever transport method you are using is not going to harm the fish in the long-run.

• Precautions for Transport

Regardless of which container you choose, make sure that there is enough air inside it for the fish to be able to breathe.

You also want to use water from the top of the fish’s tank itself since it has the right temperature and composition that the fish is used to, and has been cleaned by the aquarium filters.

Using water from the top is important since it is clean, while the water at the bottom will have sunken waste.

In some cases, you might want to cover the container with a plastic sheet with holes in it so that the water doesn’t spill over too much, but the fish is still able to breathe.

Don’t keep items in the container with your fish. Decorations, plants, and rocks in the tank should not be moved in the same container as the fish so that it can stay safe.

Also, try to make sure that the container you use is insulated, and if not, then make sure that the fish is not kept in a place with extreme temperatures, or with other containers where it could be harmed by movement. It is best to keep your fish container with you at all times.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the fish may get stressed from the move, so you should keep their container in the dark.

This is because fish are active during the day and will sleep at night, so if you keep them in a darker environment, they will be more likely to spend the transport time easily.

Avoid feeding fish during the travel, and reintroduce the fish to the tank as soon as you reach your destination.

Using Bags

• How Long Can Fish Live in A Bag?

While you may have considered getting a bowl or container for your fish while relocating, you should also know the answer to this question.

Most likely, any fish you get will come in a bag, from which you will be transferring it to the tank.

Usually, fish can live comfortably in a bag of water for up t0 7 hours. Sometimes, fish pet stores add oxygen to the bag before they give it to you, increasing that time span up to 48 hours.

How long a fish manages to survive in a bag depends largely upon the amount of air contained within it.

Small fish usually don’t need a bowl or tank for transport either, and can simply be moved around in a bag containing air and water.

You’d need about 2 gallons of water to keep the fish safe. When transporting fish in a bag, you would also need to make sure that any excess air in the bag is replaced with oxygen.

The bag should be sealed to avoid any air slipping out and placed in an insulated container before you transport the fish to the tank

When you reach your destination, let the bags float on top of the water of the tank they are to be introduced to, so that the temperature of the water is regulated.

When this is done, you can simply pour the fish with the water into the tank.

• Can You Use a Ziploc Bag?

To put it simply: yes, but there are some important things to keep in mind before you do so.

Fish should not stay inside a Ziploc bag for more than half an hour, and it is extremely important to make sure that the bag is clean and without any holes.

It is also best to use a bag of the largest size, and don’t keep more than one fish in one bag.

The fish’s survival in a Ziploc bag depends on the quality of the water. If the water is clean with enough oxygen, it will last longer.

When keeping your fish in a Ziploc bag, make sure that the bag is kept upright because if kept at an angle or upside down, it may cause the bag’s waterproof seals to break and result in leakages, which could put the fish in danger.

Also, make sure that the Ziploc bag is of suitable quality because some bags could leak chemicals into the water, which could also cause harm to the fish.

If the fish is a saltwater fish, then you might want to reduce the amount of time the fish is kept in the bag, since saltwater gets polluted faster by the chemicals.

Fish must also not be kept in a Ziploc bag for too long because if the seal breaks, then oxygen would leak out of the bag, causing a shortage, which could result in the fish’s death.

• Precautions for Keeping a Fish In a Bag

Make sure that you don’t keep more than one fish in one bag to avoid them using up the oxygen faster

Also, use a second bag over the first one to protect the fish in case the bag leaks

The bag should be secured tightly using a rubber band so that no water can leak, and the fish doesn’t accidentally fall out

If the fish are to be in the bag longer than an hour, make sure you get some pure oxygen from the pet store so that they can be safe.

Using Other Containers

• Can You Use Tupperware?

One important thing to keep in mind is that fish should not be kept in closed containers.

No matter what kind of fish it is, it will need oxygen that it will not be able to get if the container is closed. Especially small containers will run out of oxygen faster, so you must not keep your fish in small Tupperware containers.

If you have to transport a fish in a closed container, make sure it is for a very small amount of time.

If you are keeping your fish in Tupperware, make sure that the container is large, with plenty of space for air and water, if you want to keep the fish in it for longer than an hour. However, even with large containers, it is still not safe for the fish to be kept in a closed container for longer periods of time, because the fish will need oxygen and it will eventually run out.

• Can You Use An Aquarium?

If you are transporting your fish in an aquarium, you need to be very careful that your aquarium is handled safely and kept secure during the move.

Usually, there is no proper way to keep an aquarium safe, especially if it is made of glass in a car and drive smooth enough to keep the fish safe.

However, if you are still planning on moving the fish in the aquarium itself, make sure that you remove enough water to avoid spilling but keep enough for the fish to remain safe.

You’d also want to make sure that there are no decorations within the tank so that they don’t crack the glass of the aquarium and don’t end up floating around.

• Can You Use A Bucket?

You can also use a bucket if you do not have an adequate bag for transporting your fish.

If you are doing so, however, you have to see to it that you buy a new bucket specifically for moving the fish and that it does not have any chemicals on the inside.

These chemicals may leak into the water and harm the fish. Cover the bucket with a water-tight lid to prevent spilling but make sure that there is enough air inside for the fish to breathe. IF the bucket is large, it can also be used to transport multiple fish at once.

• Caring for The Fish Tank During Travel

If you are moving to a new location, it is likely that you would also be moving the tank you were previously keeping your fish in.

You’d want to make sure that you care for the tank during the transport so that when you reintroduce your fish to it, it is not damaged.

Place any decorations you’ve been keeping in the tank in water from the tank itself to preserve any beneficial bacteria that may have grown on them. Don’t keep them in the tank itself to avoid cracks.

If you had live plants in the tank, keep them in a bag filled with tank water.

Make sure you pack the filter properly in a clean and chemical-free container without cleaning.

If your travel time is longer, you might want to clean it and reintroduce it to the tank when you arrive, but it would be recommended to just buy a new one.

Make sure that when you put your aquarium back together, you try to keep it as close to its original state as possible.

Place the rocks and ornaments into the tank and fill it with water. Make sure the water is filtered, and the temperature is regulated. Then you can place the live plants into the tank, and lastly, the fish.