Need Advice For Upgrading Tank

[JennyG123]

Hey All!

After nearly a year in this hobby, I finally decided to upgrade my 12 gallon to a 30 gallon!! Now that I have purchased everything I need and consider myself knowledgeable enough to manage the bigger tank, I realized that I still have some questions about the process of setting up the new tank which hopefully you all can help me with.

1) What is the best way to transfer things from the old tank to the new? I plan on keeping the 12 running, however I understand that the best way to expedite the nitrogen cycle is by taking gravel and such from the old tank. How much should I take out without disturbing the fish?

2) What is the process for acclimating my fish into the new tank? I plan to move all of the fish into the new tank except for my ottos because I figure that since there won't be any algae established for a while that they will be more comfortable where they are.
~Can I simply net the others and put them directly into the new tank?
~Must I acclimate them like when I brought them from the pet store?
~Should I transfer some water as well? If so, at what point in this process?


Thanks so much for your advice with this. My fish are now almost a year old and have been extremely happy and healthy fish, which is why I feel like they deserve more space. My only concern is that because they have been living in this current tank for a year, they will be extremely stressed by the change of tanks. Again, thanks in advance for your suggestions!!

 

[boxman]

I have literally done very similar to this in the last 2 months so I'll tell you what I did - I'm sure there are other ways just as effective but I've done this many times and has always been the easiest on me and most importantly, the fish!

1) Setup the new tank in the location you're going to keep it.
2) Fill the tank about 3/4 with tap water (I personally use a 4/5 tapwater 1/5 RO mix) and treat with relevant dechorinator etc..
3) Assuming you want to move all your fish into the new tank then I would bag them up (not forgetting to leave plenty of air in the bag)
4) If you can put some filter media from the other tank (or even the filter would be perfect!) as well as ornaments etc, as much as you want across, the more is best - gravel doesn't have to be any if you have filter media etc. I personally at this point put (if poss) the last 1/4 of the tank water from the old tank.
5) Leave all filteration running (obviously tank should be at prime temperature) and I would personally leave the lights off as the fish can't get away from the glare.
6) Free your fishy friends after an hour or so - some people like to put some tank water into the bags every now and then to get the fish used to the change in parameters (no matter how slight) - depending on how hardy the fish you intend to move are I have found just releasing them after an hour works well.

Some mistakes I've made in the past are

a) Buy new fish at the same time as a tank move and put them in - bad idea, all the fish will be stressed by moving into new tank. Tankmates will not only be stressed which can trigger disease but again, depending on tank mates, in my experience because no defined 'territory' has been established then fighting can occur.

B) Popped fish straight across from one tank to the next - I've had disease outbreaks from this as well as deaths due to not transferring seeded materials / media across. I've also had success this way but I definately wouldn't use this method!


I have two pl*cs and have found they like to stick to their own little area on 'their' bit of bogwood - I prefer to transfer these things over as it's almost moving their territory with them. Also my Syno lives in his little wooden treestump ornament so best he had his little house moved as well!

Obviously some of these things may not be possible or over/under the top so but as I said, these things have worked well for me in the past and to be honest as I'm presuming your tank water is coming from the same source and your fish have been happily living in your existing setup for a while they should be used to the PH etc so keep doing what you do normally and they will be fine I'm sure.

Good luck and enjoy your new tank!

 

[JennyG123]

Thanks so much for your reply!! Very helpful!

The tank is now up and running and everyone seems to be adjusting very nicely. The hardest part was netting up the fish to transfer them (although I'm sure it was harder for them than for me! ) My tank now consists of a pair of tiger barbs and a pair of rainbow cichlids.

Interestingly, once they all got over the initial shock of being in a new tank (although it is decorated the exact same way except for a few more plants and lots more space!), both pairs (or shall I say, males of the pair) began displaying spawning behaviors. Both pairs have spawned several times each, but I'm curious if there is a reason why they would immediately find themselves in the mood? Or, were the males just trying to regain their dominance over their partner in their new environment? In any event, it was fascinating to watch... and I could barely peel myself away from the side of the tank. I had so much fun watching them explore their new tank, the barbs especially seemed thrilled to have all that space to chase each other.

Now I just have to decide what else I want to add to the tank. I plan on waiting a month to make sure everyone is adjusted properly... but these four fish have lived together for almost a year now existing very peacefully (and quite enjoying each other's company given that both pairs have spawned multiple times). I'm very hesitant to add anything that will upset the mix. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears I know barbs are supposed to be kept in bigger groups, but I initially had started with 5, but once the barb pair formed they decided that they didn't want the company anymore and slowly chased the other 3 to death.

Thanks again for the advice on upgrading my tank! And thanks for reading my post, my friends and coworkers are beginning to think I'm a little wierd with all my fish stories, I'm glad I have this forum!


29 Gal:

2 Tiger Barbs
2 Rainbow Cichlids