Swapping Fish From Little To Big Tank

[zeegee]

Hey everyone

Have come here a few times for advice and everyone has always been really helpful so here goes again

My current fish tank is 24 inches x 14 inches x 12 inches (17.46 gallons / 79.37 litres) I have a clown loach, a neon and 2 common plecos. I had 1 pleco then a friend gave me another, saying it would be fine in the small tank, but when she bought it over it was clearly way too big. He has been great in the little tank for a few weeks whilst I arranged a bigger tank and am now ready to set up the big tank.

My new fish tank is 36 inches x 19 inches x 12 inches (35.54 gallons / 162 litres). Just bought a new filter and heater for it, it already has some gravel in it and a light. It hasn't been used for a while though.

So now its time for me to move over the fish and I would rather not have both tanks running at once, to cycle the new fish tank if I can help it, and did read that if I put the gravel, ornaments, plants and as much of the water as possible from the old tank into the new tank you can eliminate the need to fishless cycle a new tank. Any advice on moving the fish over as quickly and stress free as possible?

Thank you guys

Zx

 

[catfish4ever]

Drain the water from one tank to the other with a bit of fresh water dechlorinated obviously with thye same filter try keeping the fish in an container of fish bag

 

[@ombomb]

have you bought the new tank yet or just the equipment?

if not, i would stop and rethink this completely.

the larger tank is still no where near big enough to home common plecs or clown loaches.

you either need to go seriously big (100G+) or rehome them really.

 

[fluttermoth]

+1 to the above!

If you want to eliminate the need for cycling in the new tank, you need to move all the old filter media into the new filter; it is the media that holds the bacteria; there's none loose in the water, and a negligable amount on substrate and decor.

 

[zeegee]

have you bought the new tank yet or just the equipment?

if not, i would stop and rethink this completely.

the larger tank is still no where near big enough to home common plecs or clown loaches.

you either need to go seriously big (100G+) or rehome them really.

I do already have the new tank.

The clown loach .... I think its a clown loach anyway, that's what I was told, is only about 1.5 inches long, and isn't still growing. My neon fish is like 1cm long, my plec (called Sid the Sucker lol) is quite small and doesn't seem to be getting any bigger, have had him for a couple of years now and he has always been happy in the small tank, he eats is really active etc, the plec I was given is probably half the size again of Sid, he is also active and eating in the small tank but I am fully aware the small tank is too small for him (I wasn't given honest size information before it got delivered), which is why I have a bigger tank. The new tank is more than twice the size of the current one ... is it really too small .... its MASSIVE lol?

 

[fluttermoth]

A 36x19x12 tank is not massive; average, I'd say. Clown loach and common plecs can easily grow to a foot long, so yes it's too small.

Fish produce hormones, and once those hormones reach a certain concentration in the tank, it inhibits the growth of the fish. This is called stunting, and it leads to all sorts of health issues for the fish resulting in increased suseptibity to illnesses and an early death. It may already be too late for your fish; the damage may already have been done, but they do sometimes start to grow again if moved to an appropriatly sized tank.

This is why people should never put large fish in small tanks saying, "I'll get a bigger tank when it outgrows this one"; the fish very often never does 'outgrow that one' because it's stunted or dead

 

[zeegee]

A 36x19x12 tank is not massive; average, I'd say. Clown loach and common plecs can easily grow to a foot long, so yes it's too small.

Fish produce hormones, and once those hormones reach a certain concentration in the tank, it inhibits the growth of the fish. This is called stunting, and it leads to all sorts of health issues for the fish resulting in increased suseptibity to illnesses and an early death. It may already be too late for your fish; the damage may already have been done, but they do sometimes start to grow again if moved to an appropriatly sized tank.

This is why people should never put large fish in small tanks saying, "I'll get a bigger tank when it outgrows this one"; the fish very often never does 'outgrow that one' because it's stunted or dead

See now I feel bad, but in my defense, Sid the Sucker came with the fish tank he is in now I got from someone else as a package of tank media and fish that they didnt want, and the big plecco came from someone who also had it in a tank the same size as my new one, but they were going from tropical to marine. Sid was a good 2 years old when I got him and Carpman Plec the big one was at least the same age when I got him too, so I haven't bought them as baby fish and not housed them properly they were obviously not housed properly before I agreed to take them off people's hands. So advice now I guess is, is it too late to rehome them to someone with a GIANT fish tank, or do I put them in the new fish tank I have and just make sure I make them as happy as possible? I do love both my pleccos, I talk to them and everything lol, Id love to keep them both, if that's the best option for them now, but obviously Ill try and give them to someone with more suitable size tank if I have to :'(

The clown loach also came from the same people and tank that had the bigger plecco, so obviously "Papa Loach" wasnt housed properly before I got him either.

 

[fluttermoth]

I know your fond of the fish, but in their best interests you should try and re-home them. An advert on Aquarist Classified (if you're in the UK) would probably be your best bet.

 

[soybean]

See the other thing is that clown loaches require company of their own kind. Your new tank isn't big enough for one clown loach - consider how big a tank you would need for 6+!

I would try to rehome these fish as it's in their best interest to be housed properly. As alternatives you could look at a bristlenose plec which stays smaller, or zebra loaches which are similar to clown loaches - these also need to be in groups, but do stay smaller.

 

[zeegee]

Thank you for all your advice I think I will look into getting rid of everything, I only took the first tank on cos I fell in love with Sid the Sucker, and was simply helping out a friend with biggy plec, at least I can do the right thing by the fishes now :'( Thank you everyone.