Adding New Decorations To Tank. Newbie Help!

[jessithebuckeye]

Hello!
 
I have some questions about adding things to my tank. When my Gold Dust Molly had 14 fry, we had to rush out to the store to buy a 10 gallon tank so we could fit the breeding tank in with mama Buzz.
 
It was from one fish in a 2.5 gallon to 14 fry and one adult Molly in a 10 Gallon! Needless to say, the tank was not exactly beautiful and set up the way I want.
 
Right now it's very lack-luster. There is no gravel at the bottom, we have one big castle, and some floating artificial plants (along with the breeder tank with 3 fry she had a month later!)
 
Needless to say - how do I go about adding gravel/more decorations to the tank without disturbing the fish too much? I still have the 2.5 gallon tank that could hold them while I change things out but then wouldn't I have to cycle the tank all over again and 15 fish plus 3 fry?
 
I want them to have a happy tank with lots of things to do, but don't want to have to spend the extra money on a whole other tank, since I don't have much room in my apartment for that. How do I go about this?

 

[JAB]

I'm sure they wouldn't mind too much with you carefully placing gravel/decorations in whilst they're at the other end of the tank, just be careful not to squash any fry!

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

While you're doing your decorating, place your fish in a separate container, or your 2.5 gallon tank.  I would not put gravel in with fry in the tank. 
 
What kind of filter are you running?  During decorating, perhaps you could run the filter in the 2.5 gallon tank with the fish in it.  If not, just make sure to keep your filter media wet in old tank water.
Key point to keeping the tank cycled: keep your filter media wet in tank water.  Never let it go dry or you will have to re-cycle the tank again, and the fry won't survive that.  Also, don't use fresh tap water (because of various chlorine compounds in tap water) to keep you filter media wet.
 
Don't rush the decorating as long as your filter media is wet.  I've redecorated/rescaped established tanks while my filter media sat in a small tub filled with tank water for half a day.

 

[jessithebuckeye]

I use an Aqueon 10gal and the 2.5 is also Aqueon. The fry are safe in their plastic breeding cart, and the other 14 are almost 2 months old, so they are doing well. 
 
I'm not quite sure by keeping the filter media wet? I don't exactly know what that means. Haha I'm sorry.

 

[jessithebuckeye]

Sorry, so if I gradually add some gravel and things in (keeping a close eye on my pH and things and not squishing fry!) things will be okay?

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

When you cycle a tank, you are establishing a colony of beneficial bacteria that decompose ammonia to nitrite to nitrates.  I bet you heard this before, but it is the nitrogen cycle.  The bacteria involved live in the filter media mostly.  So whatever is in your filter, the sponges, biowheel, etc, your bacteria live there.
 
If the filter media becomes dry, then your beneficial bacteria will die.  Whenever you turn off your filter for any reason, make sure the filter media stays wet, or the bacteria will die and you'll have to cycle the tank again.
 
Gravel purchased from a store in a seal bag shouldn't have an effect on pH.  Read the bag carefully and see if they mention it at all.  Rinse the gravel thoroughly to get any excess dirt and dust out of it.  If the gravel didn't come from a sealed bag, then you'll have to wash and soak it thoroughly before putting it in the tank.  Gravel that could affect pH dramatically shouldn't really be used in a freshwater aquarium in my opinion.