jack dempsey and oscar moving into a new tank

[RachelRae]

i have had my 2 guys (oscar and pepperjack, pep for short) in a 10 gallon tank (i know, very bad, keep reading though!) for some time now, and they are both just fine. I have recently learned that they need a larger tank (i am a beginner) so i got them a 55 gal tank. it has been up and running for a week, it is a perfect 78 degrees.

how long should i wait before the boys move in? i am going to incorporate some of their current water so the bacteria and what not can grow, but is a week long enough? i will be devastated if they die from a "too clean" tank. that happened to me once before and i still feel guilty about it.

any feedback will be much appreciated! thanks in advance.

[BettaFishMommy]

move them over now, move all your filters, gravel, plants, decorations, everything over. don't bother moving over any old water, as the good bacteria is in the filter and on surfaces, not hanging out in the water column. you may experience a small mini cycle, but as long as you keep testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and keep the ammonia and NitrIte at zero with water changes, you should be fine.

what size are your fish and how long were they in the 10 gallon? there is the possibility that they are stunted. and you really should consider getting a larger tank than 55 for them, as the oscar alone will get to big for that tank at full size. kudos though, for realizing they needed more space.

also, your filtration will most likely need upgrading. what are you running for a filter now?

[RachelRae]

well i have new gravel in the tank, and we were going to move more gravel over from the old tank. they have been in there about a year, and both of them are about 4", maybe slightly smaller. ummm the filter in the new tank is for a 60 gallon, not sure what else to tell you, im very much an amateur at this. its a top fin, charcoal filter if that helps describe it. we will also be moving over the decorations too

[Oscars]

When you move all your decorations over, try not to let them dry out - Do not rinse in chlorinated tap water - If a rinse is needed, save the tank water and rinse in it,

[BettaFishMommy]

well i have new gravel in the tank, and we were going to move more gravel over from the old tank. they have been in there about a year, and both of them are about 4", maybe slightly smaller. ummm the filter in the new tank is for a 60 gallon, not sure what else to tell you, im very much an amateur at this. its a top fin, charcoal filter if that helps describe it. we will also be moving over the decorations too

as Oscars mentioned, don't let anything dry out, as that will kill any beneficial bacteria living on the surfaces of decor, plants, etc.

your new filter sounds like the standard topfin dual output hob filter that comes with most new 55 gallon tanks. got it at petsmart, didn't ya?

i would recommend a better filter, as the ones that take cartridges (such as your topfin filter), IMO, are not good for fish that are messy keepers, such as oscars. they become nitrate 'factories' really quickly and you don't have a whole lot of options when it comes to what media you can put in them. you can stack them as you would a normal hob filter (like an Aquaclear hob) but your flow is reduced a fair bit. trust me on this, i tried it with my topfin filter and it didn't quite work very well.

you would probably do better running two filters on the 55 gallon tank. move over the filter you have on the 10 gallon when you move the fish over and run that one plus the topfin one until you have the chance/funds to get a better filter. i would suggest a canister, and a Rena XP2 or XP3 would be a good one. overfiltering is always a good idea, especially with larger, messy fish. once you have the canister filter i would run both the canister and the topfin filter on the tank.

and i know this is going to be tough to hear, but your fish are stunted (a very unhealthy and possibly lifelong condition) from living in too small a tank for so long. an oscar should grow much more than what yours has in a years time. i've had my oscar since March and he has gone from 2.5 inches to just over 7 inches. your fish may never reach their full size potential, just so you know.

[RachelRae]

well we moved them yesterday... they seem to be doing well, thye r both hiding in their fav sphere. i did get the new filter at petsmart, buti will look into getting the type you mentioned, we do have a few aquarium stores in the area. and since they are stunted, what should i do? will they die? they seem healthy, very active. can i get another cichlid to put in there since i have the space? i always wanted a blood parrot...

[67chevelle]

Do not add anymore fish.A 55 is barely big enough for 1 Dempsey,and definitely not big enough for a Oscar and a JD.
In all honesty it is amazing they are still alive.They are both definitely stunted.Oscars usually grow about 1 inch a month for the first year,JD grow a bit slower,but yours should still be much bigger than that.
Stunting is when the fish's body stops growing,but their internal organs do not.Just let them be for now and see what happens.They may start growing again and lead long and healthy lives.You may want to look into yet another larger tank though.A single Oscar needs a 75 gallon for one.The JD should be fine in the 55.Or a 90 gallon for both.Look on craigslist for tanks and filters.You can find some good deals there.
Good Luck!

[esparonisproud]

its still better than tht 10 tho but like everyone said start looking for 90+ for these to fish for life

[tonytheboss1]

they have been in there about a year, and both of them are about 4", maybe slightly smaller.

:cool: Are you sure about that?? Anyway, glad you're attempting to correct. As stated, moving your present filtration to run along side the new filtration is very important. Not much you can do about the past so lets just make the future brighter. "T"

[excuzzzeme]

It is unfortunate that these fish are likely stunted which will eventually cause early death. An Oscar can grow to be in excess of 15" but usually not much more than that. A 55 is only 12.5 and would be too small for an Oscar. Not only do they benefit by the extra width, the also benefit from the extra water as they are a messy fish. If you keep only a JD and Oscar (1each) you could make do with a 75 provided you ran double filtration. I run 2 Emperor 400's on a 90 tank for 3 fish. I run a 150 wet/dry on a 100 gallon tank, and have a 200 gallon wet/dry for a 150. Over-filtration is an absolute essential when keeping Oscars.

[andyjs]

Really at this point, I doubt the fish will grow anywhere near their maximum sizes, so the 55 might be enough room for them, but I really wouldn't add anything else to give them the opportunity to grow as much as possible.

I've had my oscar for around 6 months and he's already about 9", so 4" after a year is very badly stunted

[bgcoop8784]

i agree with all of the above, the single topfin is for sure not enough, i have 2 of the same filter on a 55 gal grow out tank i have set up and it still doesn't do what i want, adding a couple scrubbies to both sides of the filter behind the filter pads is something that i do that adds a lot more bio-material, do that and it will help some, and when you get a canister filter put the dirty scrubbies in it to seed your bacteria, personally seeing how the fish are so small now it gives you a little time to get you a canister. deff. keep your old filter running on the new tank.

[excuzzzeme]

I have 2 that I have only had 2 months and are already pushing 7 inches. They were 3.5 when I got them.

[johnny_zanni]

first of all good for you being one of the smart ones and actually finding out about your fish (a little late but better then never) as everyone else is saying you will want to get a bigger tank the 55 will be good for now but if you notice fighting or them having trouble then thats the sign to get the new tank ASAP but try not to wait

[mostlycichlids]

Well this happens and as the OP has said he needs support and is a newbie fish keeper. First things first...good move getting them out of that 10g. Also get some more filtration on there...you also want to get a dechlorinator for water changes...you will want to not overfeed and do 50% weekly water changes on the tank. First start looking for filtration though another HOB filter maybe a bio wheel filter. Clean, pristine water is going to be key to getting these fish back on track as well as a high quality diet.