Inherited fish

[Tallulah]

I have 3 parrot fish (Ron, 4" / Reg, 3" / Charlie, 2") a cichlid (Dave, 4") and a plec (Colin, 4")

Now, these boys are in a tank 24 x 14 x 14...... a real squeeze, so Ive ordered a new tank.....32 x 24 x 16.

Question 1 - Ive ordered the glass tank and am having the lid made up by a friend who can...what lighting do i need?

Question 2 - Is it going to be big enough?

Question 3 - is my Fluval 4 equivalent big enough?

Question 4 - how do i go from one tank to another? That sounds dumb, but i need the filter in the original tank while the boys are still in there - but it also needs to be in the new tank to do this cycle business....

HELP! as they are orphans I'm very very fond of them and want to do whats best for them!

 

[semper fi]

you can buy lights at lfs in whatever lengths you might need.

i would put the parrots in a tank by themselves. do not know what kind of cichlid you have. would think about keeping him and the plec in a tank seperate from the others.

you can keep the filter in the existing tank. put the fish in a bucket with water from the old tank, transfer the gravel still wet to the new tank. also transfer the filter and whatever other equipment you have also. add all the water that is leftover. put the fish and the water they are in to the new tank and refill with replacement water. there is no need to recycle the new tank unless you do want to keep both up and running.

 

[Tallulah]

Thanks for that!

i'm not sure about separating them a they have been together for many years succesfully apparently!
do you think they should be separated because they couldnt get on? there certainly seems to be a pecking order but theyre all very friendly on the whole...

Dave the cichlid is black (which changes in the light) with a couple of faint stripes.
(excuse my ignorance!) )

 

[semper fi]

if they have been together then they may be okay. parrots ar hybrids and have deformed mouths which make them pretty much defenseless. especially cichlids which are aggressive.

are dave's stripes vertical or horizontal and what color are they? do you have a pic that you could post? maybe we could identify dave for you.

 

[Tallulah]

i dont have a photo of him at the moment, but i'll do that tomorrow !

his stripes are vertical and a darker shade of black than his skin!

the parrots run that tank! (hence the names ron and reg!) so their little deformed mouths dont seem to be giving them a problem.


thanks for your help - any responses are gratefully received!