Fish can make great, low maintenance pets and an aquarium can be a delightful addition to your home. There is also something relaxing about the gentle trickle of water in the tank and the beauty of watching colorful fish glide through the tank. That said, fellow fish fanatics will agree that moving an aquarium to a new home isn’t quite so simple. It may seem like moving a fish tank is as easy as dumping out most of the water and then loading the tank onto a truck. However, this isn’t ideal for the fish and you may even arrive at your new home to find that some of your fishy friends didn’t survive the trip. Moving an aquarium actually requires a bit of care and preparation. If you are moving to a new home, consider these helpful hacks for transporting your aquarium (and your fish) safely.

Gather the Right Moving Supplies

You will need to gather the right supplies, just as you would to move any other fragile items. Some of these supplies are similar to what you would need for any type of packing:

1. Boxes
2. Bubble wrap
3. Packing paper
4. Packing tape

 However, there are a few packing supplies that you will need in addition to these, that are specific to moving an aquarium. They include:

1. a few 5-gallon buckets (for transporting large fish)
2. plastic bags (for transporting smaller fish)
3. Buckets for plants
4. Siphon hose (for removing water from the tank)
5. Duct tape (for securing the lids on buckets)
6. Fishnet (for transporting your fish from the tank to their container)

Prepare the Fish for Moving

Fish are very sensitive to the changes in their environment so they require very careful handling for safe transport. Here are a few steps you should take to ensure your fish arrive safely at your new destination.

1. Five days before moving, change 20% of the water each day to make sure it is clean
2. Don’t feed your fish for a day or two prior to moving (this helps keep the water clean)
3. Fill plastic bags ⅓ full with water from the aquarium and place one small fish in each bag. Secure the bags with a rubber band. Place the prepared bags in an empty cooler and close the lid because the dark will help to reduce stress.
4. Do the same for large fish, filling the 5-gallon buckets ⅓ full with water from the aquarium. Poke holes in the lid for air and secure the lid with duct tape. You can place 2-3 fish in a bucket.