Moving an Mbu abroad

[Irisis]

Heya guys, this is my first post here!

Basically I was wondering if any of you have had any experience of moving a pufferfish abroad and how you went about it! At some point in the near future I hope to move to Belgium from the UK and I'd never consider leaving my fishes behind, especially not my Mbu, Winston.

This is Winston:


I've contacted DEFRA about any possible laws/restrictions behind it and awaiting a reply, but while I wait I thought I'd see if anyone else had ever attempted this!

Thanks

[LilGreenPuffer]

Were you planning to fly? 'Cause that would probably be easiest on Winston, as long as the airlines handle him properly.

[puffertt77]

I don't know

Maybe there's a strong plastic tank available somewhere that can be sealed with a special lid for it and has a heater in it?!

Maybe you'll have to make yourself one

I reckon you could put him in a strong sturdy cooler bag/box that you put your beer in etc, you might be able to get one with wheels and a long handle which would be ideal. You might be able to use those gel packs you can get which when you press a little metal popper in it the gel turns rock hard and gets really hot, they're mainly used for putting round your neck or back to sooth pains. Perhaps if you bought a few and experimented as to how many you need to heat the cooler box to 78f and how long they last. Ask the plane staff if you can take it on as hand luggage and when you're on the plane ask them if they can keep it somewhere safe. This maybe better than bagging him up and putting him in a box and then trusting the luggage handlers with him.

Also find out if there's a lfs near where you're moving to in Belgium and phone them in advance and ask them if you can let Winston stay with them untill your new tank in Belgium has cycled! They should let you since they'll be getting business from you from then on

Belgium must only be about an hours flight from the UK so hopefully that will help keep the stress down for him

Let us know how it goes

[LilGreenPuffer]

Yes, a one-hour flight sounds much better for him than several hours of bouncing around in the car! It would be expensive, though.

[flash.dan]

Yes, a one-hour flight sounds much better for him than several hours of bouncing around in the car! It would be expensive, though.

most customs will hold any animals for at least 24 hours. your best idea is a van with tank / box preferably deep and a small generator powering a basic internal filter / heater. car movement wont be a problem water is only disturbbed at the water line / level so any fish at the bottom will be happy as larry

[Irisis]

Thanks for the response guys

The idea about asking a LFS to look after him once I get there is a good one, however I plan to have a shiny new tank ready and cycled for him to move straight into, sell the old tank here and take my external filter with me as a 2nd filter on the new tank

I usually get to Belgium by eurostar, which takes about 2.5 hours from London, and is possibly the quickest route. Not sure if they would allow it or not though (will ask that next time I go ). From Brussels its just 45minutes to where I am hoping to move to.

The only thing I am a little concerned about is the change in water hardness. I have already tested the tap water there and there is a pretty major difference in the hardness since I live in a hard water area and Belgian water is soft! Will this cause Winston any problems?

[puffertt77]

Sorry mate not sure about the water issue

Just wanted to say good luck with it all, sounds like you've got it under control

Hope Winston loves Belgium as much as you do

[Nick]

I suspect that standard slow acclimation, bucketing water in and out of the holding container before adding him(or using drip) would get him mvoed over fine if hardness is the main difference.

[puffertt77]

Hey Irisis

I'm not sure if you have a container to transport Winston to Belgium but I've found some 1000litre containers on Ebay for £35 each!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... h_SO:SI:IT

You could clean it out and cut a hole in the top, they're got cages round them so they're strong enough

[Irisis]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!
I haven't sorted out his moving container as it depends on the method of transport, how long the journey is going to be, and how long it takes me to actually get the move sorted as to how big Winston will be! Thanks for the info about those containers puffertt77, I'll definately keep that as one of the options!

As far as the difference in tap water goes the only major difference is the hardness. Does anyone know what a change in water hardness would do to a pufferfish if the change was rapid? Don't worry I am not planning on that, just curious he is far too special to risk any harm to him

[Sponge bob]

What a lovely MBU.Thats all I wanted to say,I don't know much about moving Puffers and stuff,Just one question how many gallon tank is he in?

[Irisis]

Thanks he's the sweetest thing in the world!

He's currently in a 4ftx1.5ftx1.5ft tank, which is just temporary until I move won't be long (couple of months at the most)

Not really related, but I built him an archway out of bog wood in his last water change (4 days ago) and he discovered it this morning! Was the cutest thing to watch. First he went through really slowly, then swam back around and did it again, and again, and again lol! Took him about half an hour to figure out he could go the other way too, and then he couldn't decide which way to go! I'm not sure he's the brightest puffer in the river, but maybe one of the cutest

This is his current tank set up:



Never did figure out why all the fish were down one end though...very strange!

[Irisis]

Just realised you asked how many gallons. Have to be honest I have no idea how to work it out, can anyone help me with that?

[Sponge bob]

Lol.Im not to good with that though. The tank looks pretty big.they need 1,000 us gallons each

[puffertt77]

Just realised you asked how many gallons. Have to be honest I have no idea how to work it out, can anyone help me with that?

Your tank is 67.32 gallons and will weigh around 658 pounds when full!
I found this site that works it out for you
http://www.aquariumlife.net/galcalc.asp