Changing from tropical to freshwater

[George&Ade]

Hi.Have decided to change from tropical fish to freshwater.
Me and the wife have been thinking about it for a while now,(its ok...these tropical fish will be going to a good home..her sister)
The questions i have are.....i realise i will have to start afresh...completly clean tank...filters....gravel....ornaments etc etc...
Are fresh water fish basically the same to look after as tropical as regards to water levels(nitrites/nitrates/ammonia/ph)....regular water changes etc....
Also...will the type of plants i have in my tank already be ok to use in the freshwater one? (obviously ill buy new ones)
I realise this may sound strange to some people,but we thought that as we now have the garden pond as well,we may be able to rescue some of the fry from the pond,and develop them in the freshwater tank until they are big enough to put back in the pond.
Sister in law has been pestering us for ages to let her have our tropical fish,and we were thinking of getting Oranas instead.
All help appreciated.

 

[ryan]

Freshwater tanks are Tropicals tanks, tropical tanks refer to the temperatures, so there is also Coldwater.....Freshwater refers to the salt content in the water, so there is also Brackish and Saltwater....

 

[MAM]

what do you mean by "tropical" and "freshwater"? do you mean warm to coldwater?

 

[Cat]

Freshwater =cold
Tropical= warm

Sounds a gread idea George &Ada

 

[Paul_MTS]

With the fry out of the pond you could do this but if you catch a big batch then it might over stock your tank and make it very dirty very quickly, needing lots of water changes.

Also as I discovered, when i wanted a few more fish in my tank that you have to be carful with your choice as some will mke snacks out of your fry!

 

[George&Ade]

WoW...thanks for the replies.
Yes,i meant changing from warm water to cold.
Yep,i also understand about the problem of too many fish in the tank(fry from the pond).Just wanted to try and save a couple of the little fellas before the parents eat them.
Would i be right in saying that i need to add some "sresscoat" to the water before i begin and allow the tank to "settle" for maybe 3 or 4 days before adding my first fish??..(i think 2 or 3 would be ample to start with....it is a 190 litre tank)
Also,can the same sort of plants be added to the tank(like the ones i had with the tropical fish?)

 

[ryan]

You would need to cycle the tank there is some info here I believe;

http/www.fishforums.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10099

Before adding the water to a tank with fish in it it should be decholrinated, yes.

 

[boris321]

Hi whynot try some small koicarp they are warm water fish most people keep them in cold water aquariums
If you try keeping goldfish in a warmwater aquarium you will notice they double in size compared to keeping them in a cold water aquarium ?maybe we assume they are coldwater fish but ty from a very warm climmate

 

[George&Ade]

Thank you

 

[Paul_MTS]

Hi whynot try some small koicarp they are warm water fish

Koi are not tank fish unless you have a tank the size of a pond!!

they grow way to big for tank keeping and need alot of space to begin with.

 

[ryan]

Hi whynot try some small koicarp they are warm water fish most people keep them in cold water aquariums
If you try keeping goldfish in a warmwater aquarium you will notice they double in size compared to keeping them in a cold water aquarium ?maybe we assume they are coldwater fish but ty from a very warm climmate

The reason coldwater fish grow quicker in higher temperatures is because the nutrition taken from food can be used for growth more than keeping the fish warm. If you want your fish to grow fast you can raise the temperature but not at tropical temperatures. Goldfish were breed from a native fish called the Crucian carp (Carassius carassius), they are designed to survive coldwater and have several traits which enable this, in normal life they are slow moving fish constantly looking for food to preserve energy levels.....Koi Carp are similar although they don't do well in really cold temperatures that Goldfish can survive especailly Japanese Koi, and if you planned to keep Koi in a tank you would need a very very big tank!