new tank

[aarone]

I am getting weary of the costs of SW habitats. I would like to keep my tank, but maybe just shrink it. I was going to buy a 15 or 20 gallon, and transfer everything into it. I have about 30# LR
1 true perc, 1 strawberry pseudochromis, and one blue damsel. with two turbo snails, maybe 4 hermit crabs. one large one. and thats all. oh and about 80#ls. I know i cant get all of the LS into the tank but thats ok. I want to have a nice aquarium. The 55 i have now is nice but its just too empty. would this be a good idea? i would use all the same water and everything. I wanted to change the 55 into a freshwater tank with many plants and things. any opinions?

 

[ivanfj]

I once had a blue damsel and the strawberry pseudochromis in my 20 and they fight day in and day out. I would just a pair of clowns for a small tank.

 

[col]

I see no reason why you can't transfer to smaller tank.
The fish you have may get along ok , or may not in a smaller enviroment, wait and see huh?

 

[aarone]

yeah thats what i was thinkin. But well wait and see. i already bought a 29 gal and im in the process of transferring. I hate moving sand around. Any suggestions?

 

[col]

Any way you can keep the fish in original tank for a while in case there is a mini cycle when you stir up and move sand around?
Or do you have QT?

 

[aarone]

yeah im keepin them in a 20 gallon with the LR and a heater for the night to monitor the tank. I dont have a QT.

 

[cb]

Since you are not going to use all the sand anyway I would just scoop off the top layer( that is where all the good stuff is anyway ) and then just lay it in the smaller tank as gently as possible( a childs play plastic sand shovel would work great for this). Then when you add the water pour it into some thing like a small plastic bucket that you have set down into the tank so you do not disturb the sand too much. and as long as you use the same ls and water and filters you should probably not even have a mini cycle.

 

[aarone]

i was going to use as much of the sand as i can get out. I want a dsb. I didnt have one with my old tank but now i should have a good 4" of sand. This is tough i have been working on this since about 5 o clock. Gotta love tha fishies!

 

[aarone]

you should see me. i have one hand siphoning water and the other typing

 

[cb]

Bet that's a sight to see.

 

[aarone]

i think i going to turn my 55 into a reshwater oscar tank with lots of plants. They are interesting fish and as close to pirahnas as i can get.

 

[col]

They are interesting fish and as close to pirahnas as i can get
Why not get pirahnas?

 

[aarone]

i dont know where to get any for relativly cheap

 

[horus]

I had some black fin sharks in my freshwater.... they were awesome to watch. Closest freshwater fish there is to a shark. If you get them and the oscars at the same time they get along pretty well. When I switched to saltwater I gave mine to a friend with a bigger tank. His Oscars and the sharks frenzy at the same time... pretty funny.

 

[cb]

Actually the closet thing to the pirahna Is a red belly pacu. My brother has a big one looks just like pirahna.

 

[cb]

And I believe that they belong to the cichlid family.

 

[crazy8]

Well, back in my college days, you could actually find pirahnas if you were discreet. Some LFS used to sell them as Silver fish. When they are small they look very similar. I think they were illegal in every state around except Penn at the time, but they are probably illegal to sell anywhere now. I would just try asking, you would be surprised what you might find.
But either way, get ready to spend a lot of money on feeder fish, unless you go with oscars and only feed pellets. But they will love you more with goldfish in there