Time for Moving! Protect Your Pet Fish During the Move with These Tips

The top pets in America might be dogs and cats, but fish rank number three

Relocating fish and their aquarium homes to a new house requires careful thought and lots of preparation. Although the task of moving fish is time-consuming and more intricate than relocating other types of pets, with a little preparation, it’s possible to do it successfully. 

Your fish should be the last thing packed and moved out of your old house, and the first thing you unpack at your new one. Find out how you can get your beloved fishies from your old home to your new one safely with this helpful guide.

1. Reserve a good percentage of the fish tank water.

Save as much of the tank water as possible — 75 to 80% —  to protect your fish during the precarious transition. You can store the fish water in a clean, food-grade plastic bucket with a lid with a rubber seal, so it doesn’t spill. 

Remove the water from the tank and place it in the designated bucket. Move the fish to the bucket as well, until right before transport time. You can drop an aerating hose into the water bucket if needed until it’s time for the move.

2. Preparing your fish tank after water and fish removal.

Once you have removed the fish, live plants, and reserve water from the tank, it is time to focus on getting the tank itself prepared for a move. Naturally, the larger the tank, the more time-consuming this process will be. You should:

  • Drain out any additional water from the tank and discard it
  • Unplug and dismount the lights, pump, filtration system, and cartridges and place them in a sealable bag
  • Remove any large rocks, shells, or decorations — clean, dry, and pack
  • Place live plants in another bucket of reserved water from fish tank
  • Remove gravel in the tank’s base with a wire strainer or colander
  • Place the gravel in its own bucket to keep it damp to maintain good bacteria
  • Wrap lid separately

Then protect the tank itself by wrapping it in a moving blanket and place it in a moving box. Put bubble wrap or foam pieces between the box and the tank so that the tank is stable and doesn’t shift around inside the box.

Make sure to label all of the boxes and containers with your fish supplies as “fragile.” 

3. Transporting your fish.

For your fish, plan to transport them in your own car. Pick up a few fish bags from your local pet store. These bags are chemical-free and won’t harm your fish, and with a little practice, you can tie them off with some air inside to last through the trip. A few other tips to keep your fish safe:

  • Keep the bagged fish in a place out of direct sunlight
  • Be mindful of temperature requirements for the type of fish you have and try to hold close to that temperature in your vehicle

4. Reassemble the Tank

As soon as the tank arrives at your new home, start the reassembling process. 

  • Replace the gravel, rocks, décorations, and plants
  • Refill the tank with the reserved  water from the bucket
  • Set up the filtration system, pump, heater, and light
  • Before adding your fish, regulate the water, temperature, chlorine level, pH balance,  and ammonia level 
  • Return your fish into the tank 

Simplify Your Move with Professional Help

Moving with any pet, including fish, can be a little nerve-rattling. Make sure you reach out to professional movers to help with the rest of your move so that you can focus more time on your beloved pets. Get a free moving quote from us today. Let’s get your moving process started.

First Areas to Clean When Moving into Your New Place

No matter how clean your new home looked when you examined it before purchase, you’ll still want to clean and disinfect before you unpack your belongings. Despite a previous occupant’s efforts to clean before vacating, you never know what grime or germs might be lingering behind. 

It’s much easier to clean your home before you move in any furniture or unpack your boxes. If you have the advantage of getting into your new home and taking care of the cleaning before you move in, you will be ahead of the game. If not, don’t worry, just don’t overlook the importance of cleaning before you get too settled. 

The following are cleaning tasks to prioritize when moving into your new home.

Supplies You’ll Need

Before you get started, collect all the supplies you’ll need to expedite the process. Plan to have rubber gloves, sponges, buckets, cleaning products, cleaning rags, paper towels, scrub brushes, old toothbrushes (for those hard to reach or small stubborn spots), toilet scrubber, broom, mop, and vacuum.

Kitchen

You can put off some chores, but cleaning your kitchen should be done immediately. Ideally, you will want to get this accomplished before moving in any food, dishes, or silverware.

  • Give the refrigerator a good sanitizing — remove the shelves and drawers to simplify cleaning and to be more thorough
  • Dust the light fixtures and ceiling fans (this way, you can sweep up the dust when you clean the floor)
  • Wash down walls and wipe around light switches and outlets
  • Scrub the stove and dishwasher inside and out
  • Disinfect sink and countertops
  • Wipe down cabinets, inside and out (don’t forget handles)

Bathrooms

Cleaning bathrooms is one chore many of us dislike, but it’s got to get done. When moving into a home previously occupied, pay close attention to every detail in this room when cleaning and disinfecting because germs love bathrooms.

  • Scrub toilet (plan to replace the toilet seat)
  • Disinfect sink, bathtub, showerhead, and faucets
  • Wash floor, including any nooks and crannies
  • Disinfect storage under the sink, shelving, linen closet, etc.
  • Wipe down light switches and any high-touch points

As you clean, check for any mold growth or excess condensation. If you find any, you’ll want to kill the mold and monitor to see if there is a condensation issue.

Other Rooms

After these two areas are thoroughly cleaned, turn an eye to other rooms. Wipe down window sills, doors, doorknobs, and walls. Give the light fixtures a good dusting or wipe-down as well. If you’ve got a laundry room, give this area a good cleaning treatment, sterilize the washing machine, and wipe down the dryer.

Carpets and Floors

Once you’ve got everything necessary cleaned, you’re ready to tackle the floors. For tile, linoleum, wood, or engineered tile floors, give them a good sweeping and then mop with a cleaner suited for that type of floor. Ideally, for carpets, you want to steam clean (either hire or do this yourself), unless you have verification they were steam-cleaned by the previous occupants. Then give all the carpets a good vacuum to remove any accumulated dust or dirt. Whatever type of floor you’re cleaning, remember to hit all edges and corners.

New Home

Moving into a new house or apartment is exciting. With a brand-new start, the thrill of arranging rooms is like no other. However, like all good goals, you need to do the work before reaping the rewards. When it comes to prepping for and moving into a new home, always begin with the basics – use muscle and elbow grease to give a good deep clean throughout the house to ensure your health, safety, and provide yourself a “feel-good” experience.

Do you need help with your move? Contact us for a free quote. We can get you to your new home stress-free.