goldfish on the move

[Tracy]

OK, in a few months we are going to move 18 hours away. I have 1 betta in a 10 gallon (new home as of yesterday) and 2 golfish just cycling the tank for a 10 gallon. Movers will be moving everything- I will be moving the animals.. so.. my question is.. i can handle the cats- what about the fish? After the move. I plan to get a 55 gallon when we get to connecticut for the goldfish- plus a couple of friends. (I don't want the movers to break a nice tank) The betta will probably get a guppy or two then.
1. What can I do to prepare these guys for the long journey now?- I've got two months to do research.

2. When I move- What do I transport them in.. keeping in mind that I will have 2 cats (probably in carriers most of the times) and 2 rats (caged)- and how do I make sure that oxy levels are okay?
Do they make outlet plug converters- to car adapters for the bubble curtain and filter?

3. The betta?- minimum size for 18 hours?

We will probably stop after 10 hours for a hotel.
ANY help will be greatly appreciated.

[AngelMom]

Wow, tall order for a move that far!

Let's see.......first let me say that I know only a little about bettas & goldfish, but if I were needing to move my tropicals, here's how I would approach it:

First, get some large Rubbermaid containers (or other sturdy food quality containers - as large as you can find). Transfer all the gravel, plants (assuming they are plastic), ornaments, etc as well as all your filter inserts into the containers and fill them with enough tank water to cover everything. You will need to do this to ensure your bacteria survive so you don't need to worry about repeating a cycle of the tanks.

For the fish, you could probably find an inexpensive cooler (Igloo Playmate or something like it?) so you can insulate the fish to temperature extremes. Place the fish into large Ziploc bags (maybe the 2 gallon if you can find them) with some of their tank water. You can get battery operated air pumps.....they will only drive a single airstone though. I'd place one in each baggie & seal the top as much as you can to prevent spills. Then you can place the fish in their baggies in the cooler with the battery air pumps running.

If you want, you could get another container for extra tank water & replace about 1/2 in each baggie just before you leave your hotel stop.

I would not feed them during the trip, or for the first night after you have them in the new home. Make sure to use StressCoat when you bag them and after you set the tanks back up.

Good luck!

Oh, BTW, if you need a resource for the battery operated pumps, you can buy them online here: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113402