How to Move Saltwater Fish to a New Tank

Saltwater fish are typically much more difficult to care for than freshwater fish in terms of feeding, housing,and even transporting them from tank to tank. If you ever need to transfer a saltwater fish to another tank because it's sick, overaggressive, the victim of a bully or too big for its surroundings, remember that moving the fish is a delicate task.

Things You'll Need

  • Bucket
  • Cup
  • Plastic airline tubing, 4 feet long and one-fourth inch in diameter
  • Marker
  • Net
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Instructions

    • 1

      Ensure the new tank is well-established--that is has been running for at least a month and is chemically balanced. Preferably, the tank already has healthy fish in it.

    • 2

      Fill the bucket with about 3 inches to 4 inches of water from the current tank. You might need to put more water into the bucket depending on the size of the fish. Make sure the fish can be fully submerged.

    • 3

      Scoop the fish out of its current tank with the net and gently place it into the bucket.

    • 4

      Bring the bucket to the location of the new tank. Be careful not to jostle the bucket and stress your fish.

    • 5

      Place a mark on the inside of the bucket that is approximately three times higher than the current water level. For example, if you put 3 inches of water into the bucket, place the mark at 9 inches.

    • 6

      Start a siphon with the air line tubing, transferring water from the new tank into the bucket. Suck on one end of the airline tubing while the other end is submerged in the water, or by vigorously pump the tube's opening under the water until it begins to siphon.

    • 7

      Tie a loose knot in the air line tubing so that the water doesn't stream, but rather drips into the bucket. Ideally, you'd like the water to drip about once per second. Loosen or tighten the knot until you achieve this drip rate.

    • 8

      Monitor the bucket until the water level has reached the mark on the interior, and remove the air line tubing.

    • 9

      Scoop the fish out of the bucket with the net, and gently place it into the new tank, allowing it to swim out.