moving a large shark??

[Hunter21]

ok....gotta dilemma.....my sister has a 10 G hex aquarium(don't ask...her stupid b/f bought it for her for christmas last yr. before they knew what they were even doing) lol anyway....she's got a LARGE iridescent shark in it along with a large plecostamus. the shark's about 5 and a half inches long and very fat! she's gotta transfer him to her new 29 G long and she doesn't know how!!! so any help would be appreciated on how to do this the easiest way possible........if that's even possible! lol  also she's transferring the lrg pleco in that 29 as well...so we need to know how to transfer him too! 

PS.....Jack's near my house has an iridescent shark in there large freshwater aquarium and that thing's over a ft and a half long...so she knows this thing is going to get bigger....so the 29 is only temporary till she can get a much bigger tank for him! lol 

[slandis3]

Is there a problem getting it out of the tank its in now or, you just want to know the safest way to transfer from one tank to the next?

[Hunter21]

well she's only gotta bout an inch of leeway between the shark and the corner of the tank! this shark can't stay in that tank much longer! he's very stressed and he's thrashing around alot, splashing water everywhere once he gets stuck in a corner...so anyway to get him out, is the best way! she can't get a net in there since she doesn't have much room with him being too big for the smallest net to actually fit in her tank!

[slandis3]

Well i had a oscar in a acrylic tank with a small opening. I also could not get a net in there so i drained the tank as low as i could and picked him out by hand. He lived another 3 years in his new tank. So it didnt stress him to bad. she could try that if it come down to it.

[ohioreef]

That's what I would suggest, drain the water down and take him out by hand.

[Hunter21]

ok.....I'll have to talk her into using her hands since I told her this is what would happen....leaving him in there too long! lol 

[Slicktrax]

can you get a cup in the tank to at least get most of the fish in to?  if so, you can avoid putting your hands on the fish.  this will also transfer some water from the old tank to the new (helping get the bacteria established).  the shark should be relatively easy to manuver into a cup.  the pleco may take some more effort.  i have had to drain the tank completely and almost pry plecos off the glass before getting them out of the tank.

[Hunter21]

I don't think we have a cup small enough to get between him and the corner of the tank...but we'll try and see....and if that doesn't work...we'll use a bag as well! lol 

[Secondgen]

By hand is the best way for both the pleco, and the shark. Tell her to make sure her hands are well rinsed so that any soap residue is gone. Maybe even dip some water out of the tank and rinse her hands off in that before handling the fish.

[Jay]

you may be able to bait a ziplock bag or the like with food... frozen brine or krill. =)

[Hunter21]

well she got the 29 set up with gravel and her decorations about a week ago....which I gotta say thanks to Joel!!!  so she's just waiting for the water to mature a little more....then get the shark and pleco in their new home! still unsure of how to get them in the new tank....it's gonna take a lot of time and prolly gonna be exhausting on the fish...but we're gonna try to do it as painless as possible! lol 

[Simpte]

I dont understand why she is waiting for the water to mature.  The biological part is the key.  Water itself holds very litle bacterial.  I resides in the filter, gravel, and on decor en mass.  Moving the old filter to the new tank is a great way to seed.  YOu can also put the old substrate into a nylon bag (or pantyhose) and set it on top of the new substrate for an even quicker jumpstart.  The best way would have been to siphon the mulm (gunk you gravel vac out) and place in under the new substrate with a dusting of peat moss.  That "gunk" is where a good amount of the bacteria resides. 

Anywho, using the old tank water in the new tank will help stabalize the ph and temp, keeping the water closer to what the shark and pleco were used to.

[Hunter21]

she put her betta in the 29 to help with the cycle as well.....and she's planning on moving the old filter over once she gets the shark and pleco to the 29.

[micki]

Erin when I moved the 55 into the 125 I did it all in one day. I used as much of the old water as I could.  I used all new sand, but put some of the old sand in 2 stockings and left int he tank for 2 weeks to seed the ew tank. I had no problems at all.  I agree with Simpte she shouldn't need to wait at all. 

[Simpte]

I agree with Simpte she shouldn't need to wait at all. 

Shhhhh!!!  Dont let too many people hear you say that!  You may lose your credibility

[micki]

LOL, I think I lost that a long time ago.