moving fishtank

Question
QUESTION: I have to move a 20 gal. tank which holds 6 fish- 3 angels, 2 ?? smaller, orange....a danio and a 5" placo.
I haven't a clue how to do this, and we don't want to kill our fish!  I know that somehow I must use the same water but beyond that I could really use your advice!

Thanks so much,
Lisa

ANSWER: Move to where?

You can empty 90% of your water and just move the whole tank if it is a quick move.

If it is longer you have to take all the fish out, put them in individual buckets, drain the tank and move everything one at a time.

-Nick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks much for your reply, Nick.  My tank is glass (of course!) and heavy...I'm afraid of breaking it!  90% seems an awful lot, the fish would barely be underwater ...really that would be ok?  And what about the rest of the water?  Should I haul that in buckets and then refill the tank with it when we reach our destination?  I know that the temp. change and changing water could affect ammonia etc. and fear losing the fish by adding new water.

Hope to hear from you again,
Lisa

Answer
90% is just a very rough number, remove as much as you can while keeping the fish underwater would be a better choice of words.

I would bring enough water in buckets so that the tank is filled up 70% of the way. The other 30% you can add in tap water when you get to the destination. Think of it as a water change.

Make sure the water you add is the same temperature as the water in the tank, and do not feed your fish for two days prior to the move, no food, no waste, no ammonia. They will be fine for two days, and just continue feeding as normal when they arrive at the destination.

-Nick