Seachem Stability - Transferring Fish to New Tank

[tgfitz1]

Hi Everyone,

I'm going to be transferring my fish this week over to my new tank which is something that I've never done before, I've used Caribsea Life Rock that is infused with bacteria spores, Red Sea live sand as well as some live rock rubble from my old tank to boost bacteria in my system. I've also bought 500ml Seachem Stability, it's got decent reviews but I'm just wondering if anyone has first hand experience with it? Also if anyone has transferred fish to new tanks and has some tips I'm all ears!

Thanks guys!

 

[Brew12]

Hi Everyone,

I'm going to be transferring my fish this week over to my new tank which is something that I've never done before, I've used Caribsea Life Rock that is infused with bacteria spores, Red Sea live sand as well as some live rock rubble from my old tank to boost bacteria in my system. I've also bought 500ml Seachem Stability, it's got decent reviews but I'm just wondering if anyone has first hand experience with it? Also if anyone has transferred fish to new tanks and has some tips I'm all ears!

Thanks guys!

Seachem Stability is a fine product but the bacteria it uses are in a dormant state. You will want to add it to the new system well before you move your fish over.

Transferring the fish shouldn't be a problem at all. Have you done anything to test how well the new tank process ammonia? If you can get pure ammonia it is a good idea to add some to the tank and make sure it can process it prior to adding the fish. I consider a tank ready when it can go from 2ppm ammonia to zero in 24 hours.

 

[tgfitz1]

Seachem Stability is a fine product but the bacteria it uses are in a dormant state. You will want to add it to the new system well before you move your fish over.

Transferring the fish shouldn't be a problem at all. Have you done anything to test how well the new tank process ammonia? If you can get pure ammonia it is a good idea to add some to the tank and make sure it can process it prior to adding the fish. I consider a tank ready when it can go from 2ppm ammonia to zero in 24 hours.

Good to hear, yeah I thought that was the case.

I haven't done anything to test ammonia yet, the tank has only been wet since Saturday evening.

My plan is to ghost feed, add the stability and shut off the skimmer today, test for ammonia in a few hours and if I get a reading I'll leave it overnight and test again in tomorrow evening. Then following that result, tomorrow or Wednesday I thought I'd add my Firefish as he's a low energy fish that doesn't produce too much waste just to help the tank find it's feet, see how he goes and test a few more times, if all is well start transferring the other 5 fish over on the weekend and do a 10% water change on Sunday.

Sound good?

 

[Brew12]

Good to hear, yeah I thought that was the case.

I haven't done anything to test ammonia yet, the tank has only been wet since Saturday evening.

My plan is to ghost feed, add the stability and shut off the skimmer today, test for ammonia in a few hours and if I get a reading I'll leave it overnight and test again in tomorrow evening. Then following that result, tomorrow or Wednesday I thought I'd add my Firefish as he's a low energy fish that doesn't produce too much waste just to help the tank find it's feet, see how he goes and test a few more times, if all is well start transferring the other 5 fish over on the weekend and do a 10% water change on Sunday.

Sound good?

Sounds like a good plan. I wouldn't add the Firefish until Wed at the earliest. You need to give the ghost feeding time to break down into ammonia to verify the operation of your bio filter. I would be very surprised if you did develop an ammonia issue with the steps you have taken.

 

[tgfitz1]

Sounds like a good plan. I wouldn't add the Firefish until Wed at the earliest. You need to give the ghost feeding time to break down into ammonia to verify the operation of your bio filter. I would be very surprised if you did develop an ammonia issue with the steps you have taken.

Cool, I'll add the Firefish on Wednesday then. I've never actually ghost fed before, would a cube of frozen brine do the trick? That's very reassuring to know, I'll go ahead as planned!

 

[Brew12]

Cool, I'll add the Firefish on Wednesday then. I've never actually ghost fed before, would a cube of frozen brine do the trick? That's very reassuring to know, I'll go ahead as planned!

Yup, that should work. Even cheap flake food will work (see, there is a good use for flake food! )

 

[tgfitz1]

Yup, that should work. Even cheap flake food will work (see, there is a good use for flake food! )

Thanks for all the advice! [emoji16]

 

[buckroe07]

Sounds like a good plan. I wouldn't add the Firefish until Wed at the earliest. You need to give the ghost feeding time to break down into ammonia to verify the operation of your bio filter. I would be very surprised if you did develop an ammonia issue with the steps you have taken.

I agree. With ghost feeding you need time for the food to break down which can take a while with nothing in there to physically eat it. If you add the ammonia and clears in 24 hours, your tank is well seeded with enough bacteria. Especially since you add live sand and rock rubble from an existing tank. I've set up tanks using sand and rocks from existing tanks and transferred fish and even corals plenty of times!