How much of a change can a channel catfish live with after it has been swtiched in tanks?.?

Question

I switched my 1ft blue channel catfish into a 55 gallon tank from a 20 gallon tank.

Things that have changed-
-35 gallons (obviously)
-Another 2 ft long, 1inch wide and 2inches high.
-Minimal temp difference
-Much less Ammonia
-Much less Nitrite
-Little less Nitrate
-A change of +.5pH.

Will he stand a good chance of living?
He's swimming around fine at the moment, but he has a bit of a cloudy eye, so occasionly he will bump into the sides of the tank, but it's not that bad.

Answer 1

The move to a larger tank shouldn't hurt him.

Is there a reason the pH shifted - is it just due to less ammonia? Do you have the old water from the small tank? Put that water in the big tank.

Did you properly cycle the 55 gal? In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish, and your fish will exhibit symptoms of "new tank sydrome" which includes lethargy, sitting at the bottom or just floating at the top of the tank.

If his eye is cloudy, he may have a gram-negative bacterial infection. Treat with Maracyn-2 or whatever your petstore carries for a gram-negative bact. infection.