I've made ALL the mistakes!

[RatherGray]

2 50%s

You'd technically be doing a 75% water change over all (50% of the old water the first time, then 25% of the new water and 25% of the old water the second time). Doing two separate changes gets rid of most of the old water, but keeps the water levels relatively high so the fish don't hit panic mode. It's just a method to keep their stress low

 

[Territoons]

Hello fishie friends!...I'm going to be completely redecorating my 55g tank. I'm keeping the sand but I am getting rid of the fake decorations and the plastic plants, and I will be removing the real plants and then replanting them when I am done rearranging.

My question is, what do I do with the fish while I am rearranging the fishie furniture? Do I leave them in the tank while I am taking out and putting in large decorations? I am going to be using a giant piece of drift wood. Ok...maybe not giant...but pretty big..and I am going to be stirring up and vacuuming the sand....it's going to get messy. And I am guessing it will be very stressful for the li'l guys. But what do I do with them? leave them in the tank? Or put them in big buckets full of the old aquarium water?

I really like my fish.....

How do I best keep them safe?

Thanks in advance...

Terri

 

[McLumpy]

Hi, Terri! I haven't had a chance to read through the thread yet, but, I thought I would chime in on your last question about redecorating your 55g.

IME, I've always kept my fishies in the tank when I rearrange things. I even kept them in there when I installed my UGF system. I just focused on one side of the tank and my fishies would swim over to the other side. Even my frogs know to vacate when I start moving stuff around. lol

I think as long as you keep a close eye on where everyone is located, (so they don't accidently get stuck under your decor and such), you should be fine. I wouldn't be too worried about you stirring up nasty stuff and having it stress them out. I had quite a mess when I removed one of the UGF plates out of my tank and a pwc, along w/ my HOB filters, cleaned it right up.

Have fun w/ your rescape!

 

[Clynnking]

Hi Terri-
Getting rid of fake stuff in your tank is great! But...you had such a pretty tank last I saw it...you have lots more energy than I if you are reaquascaping already. Guess its easier than rearranging your living room! I really like the natural look in aquascaping and have ordered online plants secondary to your influence on this thread-still waiting for their arrival. Be sure to post pics when you get done.
I think I'd leave the fish in the tank- they are gonna be stressed no matter what you do.

 

[Territoons]

what kind of fish?

Lol..I'm big on furniture rearranging, too. My husband used to work nights and I'd have to leave the lights on so when he came over he didn't trip over the new furniture arrangements! And I made all of the desks in my classroom modular so they could be easily rearranged, and I rearrange them at least three times a week!

Thank you for the compliment on my tank. I was proud of it. But I hope to be even MORE proud of it when I am done with this re-arrangement. I have been looking at "aquascape" on the internet and have been very inspired by what I have found.

I am going to be carving and sculpting a big hunk of manzanita...we bought a special drill bit for it last night! I am anxious to get started!

However before I do get started I have a question for everybody..anybody. I bought these new fish at the LFS, and I thought they were really cool looking..but no one at the LFS knew what kind they were. It's a good thing I have a QT tank, because they have come down with ICH, which I am now treating for.

But my question is this:

what kind of fish are they? I think they look almost "ethereal"..ghostly even, especially since they kind of "hover", or "tread water" in one place sometimes. Their eyes really are "see through" or orangey....it's not the flash on the camera. One of the LFS guys said he thought they were a "hybrid" and wouldn't breed (not that that was my intent, anyhow)..but what do YOU guys think of them?

I hope they survive the ICH.

 

[Clynnking]

Does look like a cross with a sailfin molly? Maybe a sword? They really are colorful-hope they survive ich too!
Gotta share an experience with the lfs yesterday. I hopped in there with my crutches to see if they carried the neon rainbows I will soon be looking for. They have lots of tanks of course and I didn't see what I was looking for so I found an employee cleaning out a goldfish tank. They had the huge fancy long fin type (each the size of a baseball or larger) at least 25 of them in a 20 gallon tank. I mentioned I thought they looked a little sick and upon further inspection-one of them had had both eyes eaten out by another fish. Here is this fish with no eyes just swimming there. Many of the fish had what looked like hole in the head disease. YUK! The clerk said the owners daughter was coming in to "adopt" the now blind fish. Guess I won't be buying any fish there!! Isn't that awful? I am planning to order my fish online and not have to deal with the local stores in my area...

 

[Clynnking]

Made me feel bad-like I should adopt all those fish and rescue them. (I can't of course as I have heated tanks)

 

[Territoons]

OMG! that is terrible! I have a couple of LFS's around here (I live in San Diego area) that I like a bit, but I still try to do my own research... I don't teally blame this pet shop for the ICH, because I have always had the feeling, I don't know why, that these fish were more "vulnerable". Just a feeling I have. I'm going to try like crazy to cure this ICH, and see if they can thrive in my 55.

Hey..that sounds cool!

"Thrive in my 55!"

At least my ICHHY fish won't have to tolerate the stress of the new "furniture move". They are off in my 10G QT tank infecting the otehr fish I bought that day

-_-


My problem with ordering fish online is that it seems like the shipping is very expensive, and not necessarily worth it if you aren't buying large numbers of fish. Do you agree?

 

[Clynnking]

When I was at the lfs I noted the prices they were charging for rainbows (not the ones I want tho) and I found that online they were half that price and then I have to consider the shipping but even considering that I would pay about the same price but can avoid having the lfs house them. Seems they would be more healthy shipped direct to me. I am considering 6-8 fish so the shipping would be the same for 1 or 100.

 

[Territoons]

hmmmm...well, I'll consider that when I decide to get some more fish. I'm pretty full, now, though...

 

[Clynnking]

Know you are probably stocked.....I am waiting as my tank has to finish cycling then I am not sure I would add 6 -8 fish all at once. I wouldn't actually tho I could keep track of my ammonia, etc and do PWC as needed. I have a 38 gallon tank.

 

[Territoons]

i would think it would be okay to add that many fish at once, IF you have been feeding pure ammonia a couple times a day during your cycling, and your BB's are eating it all up within 12 - 24 hours...but please don't listen to me. I feel far too "young" in this field to be giving advice...

 

[Coursair]

But my question is this:

what kind of fish are they? I think they look almost "ethereal"..ghostly even, especially since they kind of "hover", or "tread water" in one place sometimes. Their eyes really are "see through" or orangey....it's not the flash on the camera. One of the LFS guys said he thought they were a "hybrid" and wouldn't breed (not that that was my intent, anyhow)..but what do YOU guys think of them?

I hope they survive the ICH.

They are Longfin Koi Swordtails.
Swordtail = species
Koi = color
Longfin = variety

 

[Territoons]

Well, here it is...my 55tank remodel. And all of my fish survived and seem happy this morning!

It's a good thing that this isn't a photography website, because these photos kind of SUCK. But you get the idea.

I spent hours yesterday with my husbands power tools cutting the manzanita to size (there are two pieces) and hollowing out the insides so the fishes can have some cool places to swim through and hide. I tried to make it so there are different "levels" for the fish, and I tried to make it so the viewer (my kids) can see the fishes swim around in the caves and tunnels.

All the plants are live, and some are looking a little worse for wear. They aren't quite as happy as the fish. But we'll se what comes back and what I'm going to replace.

I think I am going to replace the "photo" background in the tank with black. I think it might show off the fish better.

So...what do you guys think?

 

[Clynnking]

Awesome!! Just when I told you not long ago that the other was beautiful- you outdo yourself!! Wanna come do mine now?

 

[Territoons]

Thank you! I can't waiit to get some moss and some more java fern and maybe a couple lily pads? More plants. And a couple more bottom feeders (khuli loaches and cories?) and some red shrimp.... And and and....

 

[Territoons]

-_-

Sigh..... As much as I like my new tank layout....my manzanita is dying my water yellow. It's not effecting the fish....but it sure is UGLY! Anybody have any idea how long this in going to last? Frequent PWC's is obvious....thank gawd I made my nifty little semi automatic PWC'er....

The challenges never end, do they?

 

[McLumpy]

-_-

Sigh..... As much as I like my new tank layout....my manzanita is dying my water yellow. It's not effecting the fish....but it sure is UGLY! Anybody have any idea how long this in going to last? Frequent PWC's is obvious....thank gawd I made my nifty little semi automatic PWC'er....

The challenges never end, do they?

That wood is awesome and the tank looks great! Nice job!

As far as the water turning yellow, it sounds like the wood is leaching those nastly li'l tannins. There's really nothing you can do at this point other than LOTS of pwc's or you could remove the wood, soak it in extremely hot water, (in your bathtub), for a week or so, then place it back in the tank once the water is clear.

Oh, and no, the challenges never end! But that's what keeps this hobby interesting.

 

[Deckape]

-_-

Sigh..... As much as I like my new tank layout....my manzanita is dying my water yellow. It's not effecting the fish....but it sure is UGLY! Anybody have any idea how long this in going to last? Frequent PWC's is obvious....thank gawd I made my nifty little semi automatic PWC'er....

The challenges never end, do they?

This is one of the few times when Carbon can help. If you dont like the tea colored water, you can run carbon in your filter to help remove it.

 

[Territoons]

Thanks. I think 'll put new carbon in AND do lots of PWC's.... although it looks better this morning even before the PWC.