Downsizing help

[Plecomom]

I have two fish tanks. A 75g and a 29g long. I got into this hobby because of my husband. I came home from work one day and there was a fish tank set up in my living room. I thought whatever. A month later, I suddenly have a common pleco in that tank. After researching, and reaming out my husband, I knew the pleco needed at least a 75g so I got Tiggs, the pleco, a 75g tank. Many fish have come and gone. I went the live-bearer route which I regret. Tiggs passed away this summer. I actually cried. We buried him/her in our yard. I miss that guy. Immediately after he died the green nightmare has begun. Lol
Anyways, I need to get rid of one tank. I just do. Like I said, my husband got me into this. I do all the cleaning, feeding, maintaining. I enjoy it but now that Tiggs has passed it's not as fun.
In my 29g long, I have a clown pleco called Fathead. Never see him until water changes. Lots of wood and two live plants growing on rocks. I don't do anything to these plants but they are thriving big time.
I my 75g, I have a lot of guppies. A big piece of wood and fake plants.
Honestly, I am pretty sick of guppies. But they are under my care so here they are.
My general question: will the plants and Fathead be okay to go into the 75g. If so, how do I go about that.
I worry about the guppies picking on the little guy and I worry that the thriving plants will die.
Any advice, answers or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Aiken Drum]

A pleco should be fine with guppies. If the water parameters and temperature is similar in both tanks then just move the fish. If they are different then acclimate the pleco to the water in the bigger tank. Half fill a bucket from the smaller tank, move the fish into the bucket. Then gradually fill the bucket with water from the bigger tank over a period of 20 to 30 minutes.

The plants growing on rocks are probably anubias or java fern. They are low demand plants and as long as your bigger tank has a half decent light they should do just fine too. They might benefit from a weekly dose of an all in one plant fertiliser like seachem flourish, but if they are doing good without then no real need.

 

[Andy Sager]

The clown pleco shouldn't care which tank he's in as long as there is also some wood for him to chew on. The plants just need similar lighting par to what you have on the 29 as long as you continue with whatever fertilizing you do.
There is always the choice of adding another Hypostomus Plecostomus ( the big ones) and letting it grow in the 75.

As for the Guppies, if you do not have a store that will take them from you, you always have the option of putting a fish that eats them in the tank.

But the reality is this: you need to choose which tank will give you the most pleasure to have running. The bigger tank will require larger water changes which will take a bit more time than in the 29. The 29 is still a relatively small tank so it's always possible that you will get or want a fish specie that requires a larger tank ( which you already have) and so you would need to get another larger tank. So there is no easy answer to which one to take down.

 

[Plecomom]

Thank you for your reply.
But...you got me looking at plecos!
Where do you all buy fish?
I got the clown pleco at PetSmart. I guess I was lucky he was healthy.

 

[Plecomom]

Oh! Thank you for the great advice. I will get some fertilizer. I have one of those smart lights that can adjust to lighting for plants on the 75g so perfect!

 

[Plecomom]

I'm to much of a wuss to get a fish that eats guppies! Lol
I put the up on Craigslist for free but then when people got a hold of me I couldn't stand the thought of them being feeder fish. D*MN guppies!

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for your reply.
But...you got me looking at plecos!
Where do you all buy fish?
I got the clown pleco at PetSmart. I guess I was lucky he was healthy.

I can't speak for others here because I still have connections to wholesalers but I have always found that finding a good mom & pop shop ( vs a box/chain store) is the best place to get fish from. Granted not every Mom & Pop shop is a great shop but there are a lot of them out there. Do a search and look at reviews of the places you find. Look for new reviews as well. ( I see a lot of reviews of stores that are years old as their "newest" reviews. That tells me something is wrong. ) If you have any local fish clubs, join them as you can get some good quality fish from other members or you can ask where they like to get their fish from.

As for the Guppies, The law of the jungle is that big fish eat little fish. That is why there are so many little fish species in an area and just a few larger fish species in that same area. When all else fails, they make good fertilizer for the rose bushes in the Spring.