Are my fish ready to move over?

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Tomie

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As most of you know i've had a 120 litre aquarium waiting to move my fish over from my 25 litre. I went out today (about an hour ago) and purchased the Tetra SafeStart and about ten minutes ago i applied it to my aquarium. I was told that for my fishes good I should move my fish as soon as i can into the bigger tank. How long should I wait before I transfer them? My 120 litre tank has been running for a week now, but I have only just applied the Tetra SafeStart. I have already applied TapSafe just incase anybody thinks i've not applied anything at all.

Just did a test on the tank here are the results;

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
PH - 6.5
KH - 20
GH - 0

Also, if I was to transfer my fish, what would be the best way to move them?
 
Yes, move them over. There are only six small tetras/rasboras. Net them out of the small tank and into the larger. Make sure the temp is basically the same, or warmer; colder is more of a shock.

As long as the pH is below 7, ammonia will change to ammonium immediately, and is basically harmless. The bacteria will take up ammonia/ammonium the same. Still worth test ammonia, but just remember it is harmless ammonium at an acidic pH so nothing to be alarmed about, though I doubt you will detect any. And nitrite, just in case.
 
Yes, move them over. There are only six small tetras/rasboras. Net them out of the small tank and into the larger. Make sure the temp is basically the same, or warmer; colder is more of a shock.

As long as the pH is below 7, ammonia will change to ammonium immediately, and is basically harmless. The bacteria will take up ammonia/ammonium the same. Still worth test ammonia, but just remember it is harmless ammonium at an acidic pH so nothing to be alarmed about, though I doubt you will detect any. And nitrite, just in case.

The 120 litre tank is a tiny bit cooler than the 25 litre. Should i wait for it to warm up?
 
The 120 litre tank is a tiny bit cooler than the 25 litre. Should i wait for it to warm up?

It doesn't need to be bang on, I use my hand to gage temperature. Easiest way is to remove just a bit of water and add some hot tap water, will probably only take a liter or so.
 
It doesn't need to be bang on, I use my hand to gage temperature. Easiest way is to remove just a bit of water and add some hot tap water, will probably only take a liter or so.

After doing a temperature test we was incorrect. The 120 litre tank was actually a tiny bit warmer than the 25 litre. We've successfully transferred all fish over to the 120 litre tank and the two lemon tetras the the rosy tetra's have gone straight into hiding. The two harlequin's are just darting up and down and round the tank. Is this normal? Yikes, worried ha ha.
 
After doing a temperature test we was incorrect. The 120 litre tank was actually a tiny bit warmer than the 25 litre. We've successfully transferred all fish over to the 120 litre tank and the two lemon tetras the the rosy tetra's have gone straight into hiding. The two harlequin's are just darting up and down and round the tank. Is this normal? Yikes, worried ha ha.

Probably nothing to worry about. Fish do not like being moved, and netting a fish is the highest form of stress because it triggers the "predator/flight" response. Just leave them on their own, maybe turn off the tank light (unless you have floating plants), don't feed them. If they have places to hide they will settle better, so let them be.
 
Probably nothing to worry about. Fish do not like being moved, and netting a fish is the highest form of stress because it triggers the "predator/flight" response. Just leave them on their own, maybe turn off the tank light (unless you have floating plants), don't feed them. If they have places to hide they will settle better, so let them be.

Thanks, the two harlequin's seem to be absolutely fine just casually swimming around the tank together now, if anything i'd say they're pretty happy that they have more room to swim lol. Hopefully everything goes okay, thanks again for all the help.

Just for future reference, i'm in no rush at all to add more fish but to save me making another thread and annoying you all (lol), how long would you wait before adding more fish?
 
Thanks, the two harlequin's seem to be absolutely fine just casually swimming around the tank together now, if anything i'd say they're pretty happy that they have more room to swim lol. Hopefully everything goes okay, thanks again for all the help.

Just for future reference, i'm in no rush at all to add more fish but to save me making another thread and annoying you all (lol), how long would you wait before adding more fish?

Do you have live plants? Floating plants are highly advisable for these fish, they prefer cover on the surface. I would wait a week, with daily tests for ammonia and nitrite. The SafeStart if used according to directions should do the job. When you do get more fish, do it by species, so another 5 to 7 rasboras, or 5-7 lemon tetras, or 5-7 rosy tetras. All of whichever species at the same time. Fish settle in much faster the more of them there are being added.
 
Do you have live plants? Floating plants are highly advisable for these fish, they prefer cover on the surface. I would wait a week, with daily tests for ammonia and nitrite. The SafeStart if used according to directions should do the job. When you do get more fish, do it by species, so another 5 to 7 rasboras, or 5-7 lemon tetras, or 5-7 rosy tetras. All of whichever species at the same time. Fish settle in much faster the more of them there are being added.

Yes we have 5 live plants in the tank. We also have a bubble blower to give the fish oxygen. Would you recommend me buying some floating plants too?
 
Yes we have 5 live plants in the tank. We also have a bubble blower to give the fish oxygen. Would you recommend me buying some floating plants too?

Yes. Floating plants make a big difference to the water and the fish. The fish will be more relaxed, and show brighter colouration. Water Sprite is ideal. Similar plants are Water Lettuce, Frogbit. Some stem plants grow nicely left floating, Pennywort is one.
 

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