About two and a half years ago I moved from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. I have had a freshwater fish tank since 1997 and still have one of the original fish. I didn't really want to give the fish away and wouldn't think of flushing them so I needed to find a way to keep them alive for about 12 hours in the car plus the time it took to set up their tank at the new location.
After some investigating this is the plan I followed –
Supplies:
One 3 - 5 gallon bucket (or more if you have more fish) with a lid.
One aquarium air pump.
An air supply line and air stone for each bucket.
A gang valve to provide air lines for more than one bucket – if needed.
One DC to AC converter that you can plug into the car cigarette lighter to provide AC electrical outlets for the air pump(s).
I bought my DC to AC converter from a camping supply site online, but these devices have become popular for powering all kinds of AC electronics in cars such as computers and PDA's. Here's a DC to AC converter from Belkin available through Amazon.com. These are available with more than one outlet if needed.
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F5C400-Anywhere-Portable-Converter/dp/B00000J1TP
Drill a hole in the lid of the bucket that is just large enough to pass the air tubing through. Connect an air stone to the tubing inside the bucket. Drill another small hole in the lid to allow excess air to escape.
For the last 24- 48 hours preceding the move don't feed the fish. This will help keep the water clean while on the road. Further, keep their tank cool and dark. I had my tank temperature down to the low 70's. This will slow down the metabolic rates of the fish and may actually induce a hibernation-like state.
On the day of the move make transferring the fish one of the last thing that you do. Take a tank vacuum and use it to fill the bucket with water from the tank. Catch the fish and put them in the bucket. Seal the lid, attach the air tubing to the air pump, and plug the pump into the DC to AC converter in the car. You're ready to roll!
It should be a no-brainer but don't forget the fish are in the car! In the summer keep the air cooled to the low 70's - in the winter keep the car warmed to the low 70's. Avoid putting the fish bucket near vents - you don't want very hot or very cold air blowing on the container. If you have to stop for any length of time try to maintain the environment in the car as close as possible to the low 70's.
My fish have survived about 24 hours in their moving bucket with no problems whatsoever. Once you have this set-up you now have any easy way of transferring the fish to new tanks or to take them out of their current tank for major changes.
Other alternatives I have read about for larger tanks and fish or longer moves - follow the directions above, but use a cooler instead of a bucket to carry the fish. The cooler provides more room and will do a better job of maintaining the water temperature for healthy fish.
I have used this process for moving my fish on 12+ hour moves several times now and am happy to report I have had no losses.
Happy travels!
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