switching tanks

[jdruff8]

hi, right now i have 4 discus in a 55 gallon. Can i move them to a 30 gallon, since their all still small? THe 30 gallon has africans though. The Ph in the 30 is 7.6 and the 55 gallon is 7.3. How would i go about moving them

[peter_griffin]

I hope you are planning on taking the africans out first. BTW you may want to pick up somemore discus they are happier in groups of 6-10 ;D

[jdruff8]

i'd love to pick up some more discus, but ive called everywhere and no body has any at all :-\

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, if they are small they will be fine by themselves in a smaller tank for awhile. You will have to find somewhere else for the Africans. The slightly higher pH is not a problem.

I would pull all the gravel, etc. out of the tank. wipe it down with white paper towels and refill with 86 degree dechlorinated water. Let it run for 6 hours or overnight and add the discus. Are you going to move the filter on the discus tank with the discus or use the filter on the smaller tank? Do the filters need to be rinsed too?

[jdruff8]

all of that was what i am unsure of. I'd be placing the africans in the 55 gallon and the discus into the 30 gallon. How long can they even stay out of the tank? Can i just remove the decorations from both and put them in the other tank, then add the fish? SHould i switch filters?

[Carol_Roberts]

Tell me again - why do you want to move the discus?
Is the 55 bare bottom now?
What type of filter does it have?

What type of filter does the 30 have?

You would be putting fish in buckets while you were cleaning and resetting up the tanks. Stressful for the fish . . .

[jdruff8]

hi, the 55 gallon has gravel. The 55 has an emperor and whipser and the 30 has to whisper 40's on it. I want the africans to haave more room and since i can't find any more discus than the 4 i have i figure ill move them to a smaller tank

[Haywire]

And the irony is that within a year you'll be doing it all again, once the discus get larger.

[Carol_Roberts]

Put the africans in buckets with airstones. Pull the gravel out of the 30 and wipe it down. Fill the 30 with aged water. The emperor filter is too big, so if the whisper filters are the same size use the discus one. If the discus filter is smaller and the africans are healthy keep the african whisper on the tank. Add discus.

Put the Africans in the 55.

[jdruff8]

carol, personally is this a good idea or am i at a large risk? lol

[Carol_Roberts]

Personally, I'd pull the gravel out of the 55, wipe it down and put the discus back in. With daily water changes they will outgrow the 30 in a few months anyway.

[jdruff8]

o so these 4 discus cant even live in the 30 forever?

Good advice Carol.

I also think it would be better to give the 55gal to the Discus. As already said, growth factor or additional Discus along the road will anyway place them in the 55.

Ronald