The Day Before: Fasting and Preparation
Good fish moving is decided before a net gets wet. Stop feeding the day before the move so the fish travel with empty stomachs and the bag water stays clean for the whole journey — a fed fish in a sealed bag fouls its own water within hours. Gather the kit in one place: strong fish bags in a suitable size, elastic bands, a polystyrene box or cool box with a lid, scrunched newspaper for cushioning, a battery-powered air pump if the drive is long, and a soft, fine-meshed net. Where you can, save a few buckets of the tank's own water with lids for the new home, and plan the order of the day backwards: the tank is dismantled last and rebuilt first, so fish spend the fewest possible hours in bags.
Bagging Fish, Step by Step
Catch each fish calmly and with patience; a chased, panicked fish starts the journey already exhausted, so lower the tank's water level first if you can, which shrinks the escape routes. Slide the fish into a bag holding water from its own tank, filled about one-third full, then trap a generous two-thirds of air as you twist and band the top — the air, not the water, is the fish's oxygen supply for the trip. Double-bag everything, with the inner bag's banded end pointing down into the outer bag, so a leak or a spiny fin cannot empty the pair. One fish per bag is the safe rule; tiny, peaceful schooling fish can travel in small groups. Label any bag whose occupant is not obvious — future you, unpacking in a strange kitchen, will be grateful.
Boxing for the Journey
Stand the bags upright in the insulated box, packed close enough that they support each other and cannot roll, with scrunched newspaper filling the gaps and cushioning the sides. In cold weather add a heat pack, wrapped and taped to the inside of the lid rather than touching any bag, since direct contact can overheat one fish while the rest chill; in a heatwave, a cool pack gets the same treatment. Close the lid and keep it closed — darkness keeps fish calm and still, and every peek costs heat and composure. The box rides in the car cabin, on a flat surface out of direct sun, never in the boot where temperatures swing widest and nobody hears a problem.
Keep the Filter Alive on the Journey
The fish are only half the cargo. The bacteria that make your tank safe live in the filter media, and they die if it dries out or is rinsed under a tap. Keep the media submerged in tank water inside a sealed bucket or heavy bag for the whole move, and treat it like another fish: temperature-steady, in the cabin, moved promptly at the other end. Plants travel well in bags with a splash of water. Get the filter running in the new tank the moment it is filled — a living filter is what lets bagged fish go straight back into a full-sized home rather than a stressful holding pattern.
Arrival: Tank First, Fish Fast, Records Ready
At the new home, set the tank before opening a single bag: position, fill with conditioned water near the old tank's temperature, filter running, then float the sealed bags to equalise temperature and release the fish promptly, netting them out rather than pouring bag water in. Lights low, no food until the next day, and a quiet room while everyone recovers. Moving scrambles what you remember — which fish is shy, who bullies whom — so it helps when the paperwork travelled as carefully as the fish. Keeping each fish's details in its KinsLe Pet Passport, the records packet that holds identity, history and routines together, means the new setup starts from what you know, not from what you can remember on moving day.