I have a black moor and a fan tail in small tank. They must be about 7 yr old. I have never checked water levels etc or the temperature. I very often clean out tank completely, scrub gravel and ornaments etc put clean cold tap water in and the fish have just got on with it! I have just bought (second hand) tank, bought and rinsed new gravel....got filter going with 3/4 filled water. Never consulted a fish forum before this week but now scared to death to move them in case flake!
I have to move them as the tank they are in is way too small as now they are ab out 4-5inc long.
Please can someone advise me
Thanks

Hi and welcome to FK

The fish would love an upgrade I'm sure.

If the fishies are 7 years old then they should already be at full size really about 8 inches or so. Given they are a bit smaller I would assume stunting may have happened which is when fish are kept in too small a tank Good article here on fancies and tank size. For two fancies you would be needing a min of 180 litres with external filtration:

http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles ... -size-life-expectancy.htm

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You need a good testing kit and thermometer. Most of us here use this to run weekly tests before a water change (you can buy a thermometer for a few pounds at your LFS) :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fro ... w=api+freshwater+master++

Temp can affect 'floatyness' most fancy keepers here set this to 20-22 degrees. Seems to assist digestion.

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No need, generally fishkeepers change 25% a week undertaking a gravel hoover at the same time and wiping the panes for green algae. Water changes are dictated by readings. So the tank ammonia, nitrite and nitrate once you have a kit, will assist.

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I 'assume' you are treating all tap water/tank water for chloramine and chlorine though? Both of these in tap water will a) prevent all the bacteria you need in the filter to grow to deal with fish waste and b) cause stress/illness in the fish. 100% water changes are not recommended and may cause pH shock in fish.

To undertake an upgrade you can undergo an immediate cycle ('if' the existing tank is cycled).

This generally involves moving all of the existing media/filter over, having water parameters the same, pH, GH, temp etc and then bagging the fish as you would have with new arrivals.

Hi Violet, thank you. I have never treated any water I just top up the tank from the tap???? Always have done. Until this week I just thought I had two gold fish!!! Nothing special as I don't treat them special. The tank they are in is a clear seal 25lt....I am now in process of sorting a 2" 6 x 12" x 12". I am scared to move them now lol!! What is 'media'?

Thanks
Sandra

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As mentioned earlier, tap water contains chemicals and heavy metals that affect fish health. Whilst these additives make the water safe for us humans, it should always be treated for fish to remove chlorine and chloramine first (toxic to fish) and so that bacteria can grow in the filter. You do have a filter I assume? It's the bacteria that live in the filter that convert the ammonia a fish produces into less toxic substances.

This is known as the nitrate cycle and we have a good article here which explains how this works (ignore the part about adding liquid ammonia - you already have fish in the tank doing that now):
http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles ... hless-cycling-article.htm

Prime is a great treatment. You will need a plastic dosing syringe from the chemist as a little bit goes a very long way

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The new tank is likely to hold about 59 litres once you knock off 10% for gravel etc and is really still too little for these fish. Whilst it will make a much better temporary home than the 25 litres, ideally you would be needing about 180 litres to house two fish. If the fish are a few years old you would be expecting to see them at virtually full size (8 inches or so). It may be that they have stunted due to the small tank so moving them would be a wise move

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Filter media, usually sponge or sometimes noodles and the like. Media is housed in the filter. Media should also never be washed in tap water - only a bucket of old tank water for the same reasons as stated above.

Hope that helps.

Hi Violet,

Just an update. Yesterday I went to local aquatic shop and took water samples from both tanks. They tested them and told me they were much the same so fish could go straight in. I bought 'Tapsafe' to add to the water. They told me to do a 25% change for next 3 days and also to not feed the fish for 3 days? I forgot to ask the relevance of this!
So far so good.....fish are doing ok and seem to be enjoying their new home.
Thanks for your help
Sandra

Hi

A 25 litre uncycled tank with 2 fancies will 'certainly' have very different water readings to a non-cycled 59 litre with just pure fresh tap water

Did you get the shop to write the actual results down and show you? I fear they are not being very honest I'm afraid

Check the Tapsafe bottle, some earlier stock of this only deals with chlorine and not chloramine You need both.

What filter have you added?

Given you are now doing a fish-in cycle you are looking at 4-6 weeks of daily 25% water changes minimum not just 3 days (again, rather bad advice). You need to keep ammonia and nitrite uber low if you can each day. Avoiding feeding the fish means less ammonia so you get better water but hungry fish

Worth investing in your own kit to avoid trips to shop each day

Lot's of us here use this one:http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fro ... kw=api+freshwater+master+