29 gallon to 55 gallon transfer?

Question

Hi all,

i currently have a 29 gallon freshwater tank with dual filtration (30 gallon whisper filter + 10 gallon whisper filter). In my tank i have a variety of plants and the following fish: 4 guppies, 2 albino cory catfish, 1 baby whale, 1 mustard spot pleco, 1 apistogramma borelli, 1 yo yo loach, 1 rainbow shark. I want to move the entire setup to a 55 gallon freshwater setup. How do I do that while minimizing fish loss? And should I get two 50 gal Whisper filtration units? Finally, i wanted to add a black ghost knife, and 2-4 blue/god ram cichlids--any problems with that? Thanks!!

Answer 1

A fish transfer should be fairly easy. Set up your 55 gallon tank - and I suggest you get a new filter and just get one filter that is powerful enough for your tank. An Aqua Clear 70 would be a good HOB filter, or a Rena XP2 would be a great canister filter.
Then cycle your tank. I suggest you take some of the filter media from your Whisper 10 and some gravel from your 29 gal (put it in a nylon sock if you're going with a new gravel in your 55gal and dont want to mix them up). Then feed the tank a bit of fish food every day and test daily until your ammonia and nitrites and 0, and your nitrates are 10 to 30ppm.

Then take about half the water from your 29 gallon and put it in your 55 gallon. This will minimize the shock for the fish because the water will be similar. Of course make sure it's the same temp etc. Then I would just transfer your fish with a fish net. Then you can put the rest of the water from the 29 gal into the 55 gal to make it even easier for the fish.

As for the fish themselves, I suggested you end up with:
4 guppies
6 corydoras (get 4 more - they like to be in schools)
1 baby whale
1 mustard spot pleco
2 apistogramma borelli (get another - they like to be in pairs)
4 yoyo loaches (they like to be in schools)
1 rainbow shark
2 bolivian rams (i suggest bolivian rams and not gold/blues because gold/blues are much more particular; they are shier, more delicate and more sensitive. if you want golds or german blues, I suggest you use your 29 gallon for that purpose, and make it a perfect home for them).

Forget about the ghost knife; they need 125 gallons as adults and are not good candidates for community tanks.

Answer 2

It's very simple and pretty much already been suggested.

Most of the healthy bacteria is in your filters now, so simply take all of the media in the old filters and put them in the new ones. Same fish, same bio-load, same bacteria - the tank will continue as normal.

The use of old water depends. If you tend to neglect your water changes then the old water will probably be different then the tap water, and using some of the old water is probably a good idea. If you are good with your water changes then it really shouldn't make a difference, just make sure you run the new tank over night with the new filters to oxygenate it. Either way, the bacteria you are looking to transfer is in the filter media and not free swimming in the water.

The ghost knife is a larger fish that should really be in a large aquarium catered to it.
I would be concerned about the apisto and rams getting in each others faces, and would either get more apistos or lose the current one and go with the rams. No matter how you look at it, if you plan on keeping multiple cichlids they will form pairs and mate, and become extra territorial because of it. This could potentially cause a problem with one or more of your other bottom/cave dwellers (shark, Corys, loach, whale). This doesn't mean it can't be done, but it does mean you should be careful.

Answer 3

Transfer over all of the filter media you can. Beneficial bacteria does not reside in the water, forget about any water transfers at all. No knifefish, it will get too big and some of the other fish aren't good tankmates for them.

Answer 4

their shouldnt be a problem at all with that...just try to keep some of the water from the old tank some the fish can maintain their proper nutrients...try using a net to scoop the fish from the water and quickly put them in there new tank...make sure that u dont wash the new tank with soap before you set it up...make sure you ONLY use water because soap and other chemicals are harmful to the fish