Cycling a new tank

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Bandalyn

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Hi,

I'm planning on combining my 20 g tank and my 10 g tank into a 36 g or 40 g in the near future. I'm looking for advice on how to do this safely. I'm still pretty new at this and have been going by advice from the pet stores and what I can find online.

My 20g tank has 6 tetra glofish ( black skirt tetras) and the 10 gallon has 5 zebra danio glofish.
Are they going to be okay to keep in one tank?

There is also a pleco in the 20 g tank and a small snail that suddenly appeared in the 10 g tank. I didn't put it in there intentionally and just saw it during a water change. I don't know if it's going to be a problem.

I was planning on changing the tank in December to give the Danios a chance to grow a bit but they are already growing and I may be doing it sooner.

Please help! I don't want to do this wrong and lose anymore fish.

Thanks,
Brandi
 
Thanks! How long would you recommend cycling the tank. I will have to get a new filter but l can use the water from the old tanks.

Also, should I wait for the Danios to get bigger? They are still very small. I've only had them a month but they are doing well and fun to watch! The tetras are at least 18 months old and much bigger than the Danios.

I recently lost some fish and I think it's due to improper cycling and aggression between different species of fish. I don't want to go through that again.
 
Zebra danios and black skirt (aka: black widow) tetras can get along but you have to watch the black widows because they are fin nippers. If you have long finned zebra danios then I would keep them separate. But short finned danios should be ok.

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If you have an established tank with an established biological filter, you can set up the new tank with tap water, gravel, plants, etc, and let it run for a week. Then transfer the old established filter and fish into the new tank, and it will be cycled due to the established filter media you move into the new tank's filter.

If you want to keep all the tanks running, then put another filter in the established tanks and leave it there for 4-6 weeks. These filters will develop beneficial filter bacteria and you can simply move these filters into the new tank and it will be cycled.

When you first move the filters into the new tank, keep the feeding down for the first week and monitor ammonia and nitrite levels and you're good to go.

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Snails come in as eggs on plants or as baby snails. If you post a picture of the snail we can ID it for you.

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If you have a suckermouth catfish (bristlenose) in the tank, make sure you have a piece of driftwood for it to chew on. They need the wood to help with digestion.
 
Here is the picture of the snail.
 

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These are the danios. Will these ones be okay with the tetras?
 

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If you want to keep all the tanks running, then put another filter in the established tanks and leave it there for 4-6 weeks. These filters will develop beneficial filter bacteria and you can simply move these filters into the new tank and it will be cycled.

Sounds like a plan. Thanks :yahoo:
 
The snail is a common pond snail (Lymnaea sp). It would have come in on plants as a baby snail or jelly like egg sac.

The albino bristlenose catfish does need driftwood so if you don't have any driftwood in the tank, try to get a piece some time in the next week or two. It doesn't have to be a big piece of driftwood, just something for the fish to hide under and chew on.

The danio is a shortfin variety and should be fine with the black widow tetras. But monitor the fish for the first few days after they are put together to make sure the tetras don't decide to go after the danios.

The danio in the picture also appears to be quite skinny. Is that the picture or is the fish skinny?
If the fish is skinny and the filters are established and you have no issues with ammonia or nitrite in the water, perhaps try feeding them a few more times each day. Danios have a high metabolism and use a lot of energy and need frequent feedings to stay in good condition.

If you do feed more often, monitor ammonia and nitrite levels for a few days to make sure the filters can cope with the extra food, they should be fine but its a good idea to make sure.

If the fish does not get fatter after a couple of weeks of extra feeding, it could have intestinal worms and will need treating. However, try feeding more often and see how it goes. It could just be the picture :)
 
It's not a very good picture. They don't stay still very long. But they are very small. The ammonia and nitrates are at zero as of last Friday. I'll increase the feedings .

Where can I get driftwood? Do they sell it in most pet stores?
 
It's not a very good picture. They don't stay still very long. But they are very small. The ammonia and nitrates are at zero as of last Friday. I'll increase the feedings .

Where can I get driftwood? Do they sell it in most pet stores?
Yes, driftwood is sold at most pet stores, try checking a local fish store and they also sell it online.
 

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