what's the best way to .....

[jwarre29]

transfer alot of livestock??? I have a friend that is selling me about 5 fish and alot of coral and live rock from his 90 + gal tank that I will be putting in my empty 55 mixed reef. Should I buy a big rubbermaid for the coral and rock or bag it all or what. I am just not sure where to start. I have no idea of whAt I will be getting but I think a little of evrything. Can any coral ever come out of water or should it always stay submerged??? Sorry for all the questions but I am new and clueless. Thanks j

 

[stickx911]

sponges are the only thing I can think of that have to stay submerged. Double ziplock on the corals, and go out and get those semi-reusable plastic ziplock or whatever brand containers big enough for the fish to at least turn around in. Separate everything for the move, you can put them all in a cooler, box, or whatever, but I would recommend against combining into one container.

 

[jgoal55]

also, when you say your 55 is empty, does it have rock, sand, or at least water in it? If so, how long has it been running. I ask because you have to be sure its completely cycled before you add too much livestock? If not everything you transfer could easily kick the bucket and not necessarily from the move.

Corals and lots of fish are very sensitive to the cycle process while most inverts can handle it ok. If your tank isnt cycled, you may want to ask your friend for a few pieces of Live rock and then have him hang to the rest of the stuff for 3 weeks to a month or so.

 

[stickx911]

also, what fish? that many fish at once in such a small tank is pretty dangerous

 

[linda lee]

Do you have any Q/T tanks set up? You could get a few buckets of the system water the fish are in and put them in Q/T with that, then acclimate them later at your leisure.

What distance will this livestock be traveling? You might consider an battery-operated pump in a rubbermaid. If these are not large fish and are accustomed to co-existing, they should be okay for the trip.

Starfish is another critter that should stay submerged.

Inverts (shrimp especially) should be carefully acclimated to adjust for salinity/ph changes.

 

[stickx911]

Linda Lee;296397 wrote: Starfish is another critter that should stay submerged.

I knew I was forgetting something.

 

[jwarre29]

Hey everyone thanks for all the quick responses. My tank has been running for about a month with live sand and live rock. I also have an anenome and two clowns so cycle should be done. As for the q t tank I have. Bio cube that has been running that I could use. I am pretty sure that would work right?
Thanks for all the great info

 

[jwarre29]

Linda Lee;296397 wrote: Do you have any Q/T tanks set up? You could get a few buckets of the system water the fish are in and put them in Q/T with that, then acclimate them later at your leisure.

What distance will this livestock be traveling? You might consider an battery-operated pump in a rubbermaid. If these are not large fish and are accustomed to co-existing, they should be okay for the trip.

Starfish is another critter that should stay submerged.

Inverts (shrimp especially) should be carefully acclimated to adjust for salinity/ph changes.

Only traveling about 5-10 miles shouldn't be anymore than thAt so I imagine I should be okay for that short of a trip. And yes all fish have been living together for a while so they should be okay right?

 

[linda lee]

jwarre29;296419 wrote: Only traveling about 5-10 miles shouldn't be anymore than thAt so I imagine I should be okay for that short of a trip. And yes all fish have been living together for a while so they should be okay right?

The fish will probably reestablish territories in a new system and watch for your clowns to become very protective of their 'nem, if they're hosting.

Any idea what kind/size fish? Biocube would be too small to Q/T something like a tang or an angel for any length of time.

 

[jwarre29]

Good call

I do believe there is a tang and angel as well as a blue regal and more clowns
Ahhhhh what am I going to do that's a lot if fish. What would be too many fish in a 55. I believe all of these fish are med siZe fish

 

[derek_s]

You can probably plop it all in there, but you will need to be very vigilant of your parameters for a few weeks. Watch ammonia and nitrates closely. Feed a little sparingly unless the fish seem ill.

You can use certain products to help jump start your bacteria population, helping with ammonia or nitrate spikes. Such products include Seachem Stability, Brightwell MicroBac7, BioDigest, etc.

Also running a good filter media such as Chemi-Clean can help remove organics and make give the system more time to adjust.

Good luck, and just be sure to seperate everything into seperate containers when possible.

Also be sure to have spare water on hand for waterchanges if needed.

 

[linda lee]

jwarre29;296441 wrote: Good call

I do believe there is a tang and angel as well as a blue regal and more clowns
Ahhhhh what am I going to do that's a lot if fish. What would be too many fish in a 55. I believe all of these fish are med siZe fish

You could very well be asking for trouble. I wouldn't put two tangs in a 55g and adding clowns to a tank that already has a pair, especially with an anemone to compete for could mean a fight to the death.