Swapping fish aquariums.

Long story sort.

How or what is the best way I can swap out 2 125g tanks and causing the least amount of stress on my Festaes?

The fish are about 4 months old now.

Tank one(Lv room):
Pool filter sand rocks and driftwood. And housing the Festaes.

Tank two(Bk Room):
Is set up and running with some Convicts and JD cichlids in it. It has aquarium gravel. and some flowerpots in it.

Reason for the swap is that the back tank is cleaner, newer, taller stand, more room and bigger doors in the stand.


I think this is a lame question to ask. But I spoil and focus mainly on the Festaes. So If I were to do this. I was looking to see if there is a better way then what I was thinking that may also cause less STRESS on the FESTAE then my basic thoughts.

My idea was to fill a bucked of the nice tank and then toss the fish and a airstone in the bucket. Then strip it down and move it to the Living Room. THen do the same with the Festaes tank. Strip it and move the nicer tank in place of the older festae tank. And I dont know... Fill the tanks again and just pour them back in?

Seams to me im going to stress them out. And are there any real chemicals I can get to help them in the transition? I used to use that Stress Coat Stuff that sid it had slime. But over time I have switched to SeaChem SAFE. And I think that stuff is only good for water conditioning.

Thanks Yall.

lp85253 said:

I wouldn't change the tanks ,when swapping fish ...,make it 2 different activities....swap fish ...let them adjust to new surroundings then swap out the tanks (the insides ) later,or are you gonna actually change out the aquariums?my personal thinking is... that's a LOT OF WORK and STRESS..on the fish

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The 125g in the back room is nicer and the glass is clearer and the stand is better. And the tank in the living room was our first craigslist tank and stand. Ill include pictures in a bit. But yes... I would like to swap the entire tank out. I want the front room tank in the back and the back room tank in the front. But still keep the festaes in the front room and the other fish will also stay in the back room. Im not worried about how much work it will be. My only work issue is finding someone to help me move the tanks. But my real consearn is the 4 month old festaes I have. I guess in the long run. It would be best to just keep them alone in the same tank they have been in since they were only 4 weeks old. Sighhhh :/ If they were any other type of fish or if they were not F1. I may not be so concerned, But both the ol' lady and I really like the FESTAEs. Thanks

Mount_Prion said:

Sorry to clarify, are you just looking to swap the fish in one tank to the other and vice versa? Or are you moving the other items in the tank as well?

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Im talking the entire tanks and stands being swapped. But keeping the Festaes in the front room ware there is always movement and 90% of the 20 little Festaes all come to the glass when anyone comes by. And Id think having them in the back room. Would cause them to stress or hide more as they get older because they will get used to less activity in that room. Dont know if any of it matters but the idea of having Festaes as "water pets" sounds real cool. Vs. the text books saying they are a bit shy.

Dial92 said:

are you swapping out a 125 for a 125?

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yes

Mount_Prion said:

Moving the filtration as well?

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I guess Ill keep the current filters with the fish. Meaning just the tanks and stands. But keeping the filters in there current rooms. All the tanks have 2 rena Filstar xp3's. But the Festae tank has a Rena Filstar xp4 also.