Mustafa, I noticed from the earliest posts on this forum that you previously lived in NY and then moved to CA, so you're probably the best person to ask for this, but anyone else can chime in.
I'm currently between universities because my spouse got hired by a think tank in the Research Triangle Park in Durham and I couldn't make the commute to my previous university. We've talked about my unhappiness out of school and have floated several choices for continuing my BFA, and we might be looking at moving to Portland, Oregon in a year's time while my spouse telecommutes as there's some excellent art schools for my specialties in the region.
I'm not leaving my shrimp behind. I know how to move cats, dogs and snakes in large moves, but I've never been allowed to keep aquatic critters when I moved as a kid. How did you manage it? I mean, they're hardy little critters, so my thought would be to pack them like you did in the styrofoam box in a bag mostly full of air, probably after fasting them for a bit, and the snails can be packed similar, with the chaeto... but if there's any other way to handle it I'd love to hear how.
Moving With Opae. (Not immediately, fortunately!)
Moderator: Mustafa
Re: Moving With Opae. (Not immediately, fortunately!)
I talked about my move in my topic if you want to skim over that. But basically, it was only 2 hours in a car on interstates and I was worried. I had plans to put the Opae in a breather bag sort of how they were originally shipped to me (Note, I got mine from a forum member on a different forum, so the shipping method might have been slightly different if Mustafa used a different kind of bags or something). I ran out of time and had to leave them in the tank. I took out the macro algae, some of the rocks, and 2/3 of the water; then covered the tank with some tin foil and tape to keep the water from sloshing out. Although they were stressed, hidden, and lost their color, I didn't have any deaths. They're really hardy creatures like you say.
If I had do it again, I would definitely start planning earlier. I'd get myself a small net and some breather bags to transport the Opae. I'd put some of the macro algae in there with them to hold on to, and no air so that the water doesn't slosh around. I'd leave the snails and some water in the covered tank. But that's just my idea of how to do it. I don't have experience shipping shrimp all the time like Mustafa does.
If I had do it again, I would definitely start planning earlier. I'd get myself a small net and some breather bags to transport the Opae. I'd put some of the macro algae in there with them to hold on to, and no air so that the water doesn't slosh around. I'd leave the snails and some water in the covered tank. But that's just my idea of how to do it. I don't have experience shipping shrimp all the time like Mustafa does.
Re: Moving With Opae. (Not immediately, fortunately!)
I hate moving...it always involves so much trouble, but it must be done sometimes. My move was a little bit more complicated, as I had to fly over to San Diego, look for a place to live and put up tanks, put up the tanks, fly back to New York, package thousands of animals in a hurry, dismantle the tanks (I left them in NYC), fly back to San Diego to receive the animals.... I could not even wait for the tanks to get cycled in San Diego, so the losses were significant.
In any case, you don't need kordon breathing bags. I used to use those until I found out they are mostly just a gimmick...a very fragile (and expensive) gimmick at that (they puncture and rip easily). You can use any sturdy 2 mil fish bag the same way as "breathing bags" as they also allow gas exchange. You don't need any air in them. Just make sure that the shrimp have something to hold on to and that the bag(s) are packed in a styrofoam box in a way that they don't move around. You don't need to starve the shrimp, either, as long as you don't feed them the day of packaging. The snails can be packaged similarly. Just do it the same way I did. You still remember how you got the package from me, right? Send it priority mail right before you leave for Portland. Done.
Oh yes, make sure to get long enough poly bags so you can put a knot in them to seal them instead of using rubber bands (rubber bands tend to fail).
In any case, you don't need kordon breathing bags. I used to use those until I found out they are mostly just a gimmick...a very fragile (and expensive) gimmick at that (they puncture and rip easily). You can use any sturdy 2 mil fish bag the same way as "breathing bags" as they also allow gas exchange. You don't need any air in them. Just make sure that the shrimp have something to hold on to and that the bag(s) are packed in a styrofoam box in a way that they don't move around. You don't need to starve the shrimp, either, as long as you don't feed them the day of packaging. The snails can be packaged similarly. Just do it the same way I did. You still remember how you got the package from me, right? Send it priority mail right before you leave for Portland. Done.
Oh yes, make sure to get long enough poly bags so you can put a knot in them to seal them instead of using rubber bands (rubber bands tend to fail).