how long to stunt?

[poeticpyro]

i just read the "obese" thread and now i'm worried. i've kept my babies for about 6 months in a pretty small tank, it doesn't have a big footprint since it is a cube. 20 x 20 x 20... they ave grown, they're not that large right now (largest is shy of 4" the other three are still about 2-3") they're going into a 6' long tank in about a month. will they be okay?

[TammyLiz]

That's a very small tank. I can't say from experience because I don't have clowns, but based on what I have learned of them, I would not have put them in there no matter how small they were. 3-4 inches is definitely much to big for a 20 inch tank for 6 months. Get that new tank asap, don't wait if you can get it now. We can't be sure about the particular fish in the obese thread, but its best not to take chances with your own fish.

[poeticpyro]

i have already gotten the tank we're waiting on a complete cycle. they clowns have been growing, so i don't think that they're stunted. i haven't lost one since hmm... the temperature plumeted to around 69-70 because the heater went. the tank is upstairs and will be hopefully ready for fish within the next two weeks. i don't want to throw clowns in there to throw clowns in there. i was told that they'd be okay before, and i'm just double checking. the width of the tank is larger than the tank they're going into, so it shouldn't stunt them, plus they're still growing well, but better to be safe than sorry.

[TammyLiz]

Have you seeded the new tank with filter material from the one the clowns are currently in? That will hurry the cycle along a lot. It shouldn't take a month. In fact, if you move the whole filter from the little tank to the big one and run it alongside the big filter, you could move the clowns over immediately. No use dragging things out, unless you have other fish you are keeping in the cube and can't move the whole filter. Are you doing a fishless cycle on the larger tank?

[poeticpyro]

there isn't water in it yet. i'm filling it this weekend hopefully. i have fish in the cube, yes. but i'm going to be adding the tiger barbs into the tank after about 24 hours of the new filter being set up. the new filter is an eheim and it will have ALL of the cube's biological filtration stuff in it. *the balls and tube things* i'm going to add the clowns later next week hopefully. my parents think i'm rushing this, and i told them the quicker the better for the fish. the gouami will also go over quickly, than the yo-yos. clowns will be LAST, since they're the most fragile. I have another tank for loaches, but it's too too small. 10gallons. i have a couple striata in there and some other smaller fish. the striata are full grown adults i'm thinking 3" each almost. one is just a hair smaller. i hope the clowns aren't stunted, i didn't know a lot about them when i got them, the people said they'd be fine. i measured them again to make sure i had the numbers right and here is what i have. (not sure if they line up or not)
largest (alpha loach) -3.5"
scrat (baby)- 2" (barely)
captian hook- 2"
mushu- 2.6" or so, he's under 2.75" by quite a bit, but over 2.5" lol way to be a middle child. they have been growing, the yo-yos grow like weeds...

[TammyLiz]

If you are moving ALL of the cubes bio filtration, you have to move ALL the fish from the cube over at the same time as the filtration media. Otherwise, those left in the cube will be in an uncycled tank. If you move half of the fish over, move half the media. And don't move the media over, wait a few days, and then move the fish--do it at the same time. Trust me on this one, otherwise you will end up killing off those beneficial bacteria and neither of your tanks will be cycled. Your mom may feel otherwise but don't listen to her if she's telling you to seperate the media from the fish. She must not understand how it works.

[poeticpyro]

will the clowns be okay with a quick move?

the tank should be fine, it's very clean and the water pH etc will match the cube's. i want to add fish within two-three days of filling the tank, is this reasonable?

someone was trying to tell me i have to wait a month...

[TammyLiz]

They should be OK. This is what I would do. Set up the new tank, add dechlorinator, and run it without fish with the new filter and no old media for a day or two, just so you can let the substrate settle and the heater adjust.

Then move the old filter over to the new tank and run it alongside the new one. Immediately move all the fish over into the new tank. With the old filter on the new tank, there should be enough bacteria to keep up with the same number of fish there were before. There is a slight chance that you'll have an ammonia spike, but it will most likely be minor, and sort out fairly quickly. Dechlorinating the water properly is very important, I'd go overboard a little just to make sure.

The other option, if you don't want to move everything (I'm still not clear if anything is staying in the cube), is to move some, but not all, of the filter media from the cube to the new tank, and move the fish you want. If you're moving about 3/4 of the fish over, move 3/4 of the filter media over, you know?

Its not foolproof, I can't make any guarantees it'll go perfectly, but its the best way I've found to keep the bacteria kicking, and that is the most important thing. I doubt you'll lose any fish if the pH is not far off. Still acclimate the fish, a little new water at a time. You can do it in a bucket.

[poeticpyro]

thanks so so so so so much!
i have two plecos, striata and a ram that will be calling the cube their permanent home. i'm going to go out and buy the bacteria booster... i've used it before and had no problems. i'll definately go "overboard" on the dechlorinator... i have to in GA the water is full of it... hate it. but thanks for all of your help. i'm going to be shifting about 3/4 of the biological stuff over. the gourami is going to be the "tester fish" along with the barbs. so i'm going to put those guys in a few hours before the loaches since well... the loaches take longer to acclimate anyway and if i lose a barb or gourami i won't be so sad, they're easy to replace. whereas a nice 3" clown with interesting markings is not. i don't think i stunted them, i've been reading up a lot and i have noticed growth. my two little ones ( i got them when they were about 1" have doubled in size over the past month or so).. gotta love it. well. take care and thanks so so much!