Need help Transfering fish to a bigger tank

[dunnyrummy]

Hello, I found this fourm on google and hope you can help. First of all let me tell you I know nothing about fish or caring for fish. I'm doing this to help my mother who is an elderly person who inherited her mother's fish. My brother-in-law set up the fish tank when it was transferred to my mother's house while he was here on Christmas holiday, but he lives in Michigan and I and my mother are in a different state. It's just a small fish tank with only one fish and it but my mother went out to Wal-Mart and bought a bigger tank and some more fish and wishes me to perform the task. All I know is that she said when the new tank is filled with water it weighs about 200 lbs.

So back to the issue at hand, would there be any web sites can help me help my mother on this topic? Or any information or comments here of this thread would be most appreciated. Basically I need information on safe guidelines for transferring fish to a different tank and also preparing the new tank for the fish. Thank you in advance!

 

[gadazobe]

Without knowing anything about the new tank, it's difficult to advise you how to go about the transfer. Is it heated, does it have a filter and are the new fish cold water or tropical. Can you give us some answers so we can help you better.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

What did she do with all of those new fish? Did she just dump them into the tank? If you can't give us the volume your tanks can hold, can you give us the dimensions of the tank(s)?

What supplies do you have right now? You need:
Food
Net(s)
Heater (for tropical fish)
Filtration
Dechlorinator
Maybe some aquarium salt
Melafix or stress coat supplement

Also, did your mom keep the receipts? If so, then tell us what fish you have. Otherwise, a discription of the fish and quantities should help us figure out which fish you have.

 

[dunnyrummy]

Well I found out my mom has two Petra fishes, 1 beta & 1 plemco (I think) - some kind of night bottom feeder, a new 20Gal tank kit (but we used the old filter pump- Whisper Power Filters® 20-40 ), no heater (do we need one?), Gravel (which was rinsed and treated within the new tank for 24 hrs). The kit came with a lighted lid (do we leave it on 24\7??)
Here’s what we did. I got some 1 gal storage bags, filled them with the old water then netted the fish in storage bags. My mom had treated 15 Gal of water with some kind of fish water treatment 24 Hours before I came to her house but she didn’t know she had to have a water test kit so we took a chance. Anyway having move the old tank and replacing the new, I proceeded to add the ornaments from the old tank (and I took your advise of NOT washing them) and some new ornaments my mom bought. Then I added the treated water PLUS 20 % of the old water and set the BAGGED fish into the new tank so they could adjust for an hour or two, then released them into the new tank. I just hope the cloudy water clears up so my mom can enjoy seeing her fish (she had some king of solution to clear cloudy water up though which I added). Please score how good I did and comment on any thing I might have over looked.
TIA!

 

[MasterDrummer]

yes you need the heater and you shouldn't leave the light on 24/7, fish need sleep to.