Tank Transfer From 10g To 55g

[machineninja]

I am fairly new to the the hobby and completely new to the forum. i will be getting a new tank due to the $1 gallon sale at the local petco which will either be a 40g breeder or 55 g tank really cant decide. My current tank that i will be transferring from my current tank. A Half Moon/Circle 10g tank that my gfs mother gave up on after the fish died. I ran a fishless cycle for about a week. The tank has a Tetra Whipser 30g fully submersed filter and a submersed heater and a led light. and the substrate is small/medium gravel.

After the cycle I added
2 Tiger Barbs then a Spotted Cory

I know have
3 Tiger Barbs
2 Spotted Cory
1 Juli ( I wanted all Juli the store messed up and gave me spotted instead)
I also have anubias on driftwood.
What I want to stock my tank with is:
1 Shark - Either Rainbow or Red Tail
5 Tiger Barbs
5 Albino Tiger Barbs ( Will the albino's school with the regular tiger barbs?)
6 Corydoras (Spotted) any suggestions since I randomly have the Julii?

This is what i know i want to stock the tank with. Looking for some ideas on how i should transfer and start the tank, what other fish could i possibly have, substrate, plants, and etc

My current plan is to make a rock background, have a few plants along with more driftwood, and once the tank is cycle I thought adding the albino tiger barbs to the new 55g tank to start off.

 

[phoenixgsd]

first of all welcome to the forum, i hate to be the bearer of bad news but your tank isnt cycled, please read the link in my signtaure on cycling, and dont add any more fish at the moment, also i suggest to always go for the biggest tank option as your fish will thank you for it, do you have a liquid based test kit?, it will be like your bible throughout the cycle so i also suggest you get one if you dont already have one

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Hi and welcome.

I second the information from pheonix. Cycling takes much longer than 1 week, and without a test kit, you will find yourself constantly guessing regards the conditions in the tank. Ammonia poisoning is an issue, but it also can lead to many other secondary issues as well. Fish that are struggling with ammonia are more susceptible to other illnesses. And bigger is always better in the world of aquarium tanks. You don't need to fully stock the tank to its utmost capacity, but more than likely you will want to. And the bigger the tank, the fewer the limitations on fish options.


As far as your question goes: albino tigers and regular tigers will often shoal together. But, you never can be sure. Hopefully they will because ultimately, tigers are best kept in large shoals - I recommend 12 as the smallest number, but others would say at least 6. BTW, a 10 gallon tank is too small for tigers normally. They are very active fish, and will love the extra space in a 55 gallon tank.


If I were you, I'd get the bigger tank and move all the fish into that tank as soon as possible. Be sure to move as much of the decor in the small tank as possible. These items may have some of the beneficial bacteria you need to cycle the tank on them, plus they are also helpful in maturing the tank as a whole, not just dealing with the nitrogen cycle. Secondly, I'd move all the filter media into the new filter for the larger tank. The vast majority (90+%) of the beneficial bacteria for the nitrogen cycle are located in the filter, specifically in the media. Rather than starting over, this will give the new tank a bit of a jumpstart in the cycling process.


Plus, the extra volume of water will give you more time to catch an ammonia or nitrite spike before it becomes a major issue for the fish. Hold your stocking exactly where it is right now until you have a properly cycled tank. Then, I would suggest you set-up the 10 gallon as a quarantine tank for new fish. It is always best to quarantine new arrivals for at least 2 weeks to ensure that they are disease free before releasing them into you main tank. This process will also keep your stocking increases to a minimum as well, which will help everything. The biggest mistake new fishkeepers make is they buy too many fish at the same time and have massive ammonia spikes in their tank as a result of the increased bioload. Your 10 gallon tank will help you to stay in control. You really should not add more than 10 inches (rough estimate) of fish to that tank, which means that you will only be able to get a few fish at a time to add to the 55 gallon tank. Honestly, adding new fish can be very exciting, but it needs to be done carefully. Slow is the best way to go. First, it is healthiest for all the fish. Second, it spreads out the amount of time of stocking and increases your pleasure from the tank. Each time you add new fish you will find yourself spending more and more time watching.

 

[machineninja]

Yeah going with the 55g and I had the water tested at petco before i added the first two fish and then again before i added the third. I also had decor from when the tank was going before so maybe it helped some.

Also on the 55g im planning on create a background to add some caves and space for plants so it may be about a month before i can get everything together.

Ill get on all that as soon as possible...

other than that any suggestion for plants and any other possible tank mate combos that i should consider.
another thing is where is a good place to get large bogwood, or driftwood to use as a centerpiece?

Thank you for all the help hopefully i can get the hang of this soon

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Where are you? UK, US, elsewhere?


I usually get my mopani from Petsmart. But, instead of looking in the "fish" section, I go to the reptile section. Their selection is bigger there. I've gotten 4 nice pieces of mopani from there - actually 2 came from Petsmart and 2 from Petco. Just look in your LFS/pet store for it.

Plants really depend on what you have for lighting and what you are willing to dose fertilizer wise. What's your lighting situation, and are you willing to dose ferts, or are you looking for very low maintenance plants?