Multi-Tank Syndrome - Confessions Of An MTS Sufferer By Littlefish

I started this thread a long time ago with this confession:
My name is Donna, and I'm a fish addict. 
Tanks have completely taken over the living/dining room, and have expanded into the hallway and spare bedroom (downstairs).

It's time for another confession.
Due to the imminent start of a new job, and the very likely prospect of having to relocate within the next 12 months, I'm in the process of reducing the number of tanks that I own. 

It's a big step for me, but I won't have the time to look after the huge number of tanks I currently have. Sometimes other aspects of life have to take priority, and a good dose of common sense smacks you in the face.

Technically I will admit that I am cheating slightly. Earlier this year I bought some larger tanks, so my plan is to combine some of the stock from smaller tanks into these larger tanks. I don't plan to get rid of any of my fish or amphibians, but am aiming for significantly less tanks.

I will be keeping several of the empty tanks to help with relocation as necessary, but this is such a big change for me, and I'll probably have a massive struggle with not buying any new fish. 

Still, I'm sure that this is a situation that many people face at some point, even if not quite on the same scale, so I thought I'd share whatever I end up going through. More to follow as and when. 

Good luck with the hatchlings. I see some Panda Cories in the photo, which I find funny because pretty much everything is a breeding trigger for mine. Water change? Lay some eggs. Seasonal weather change? Eggs. Frozen food day? Eggs. If I look at them funny they'll probably start breeding... good job the tank lights are out!

I started with six almost two years ago and periodically take the babies that survive down to the LFS. At one point I found I actually had 13 in the tank when some had taken to hiding out of view. >_>

Well, as expected, all the peru gold stripe cory eggs are gone. In a tank with a plec, corydoras, tetras, shrimp, and snails, the chance of eggs surviving more than 24 hours is always unlikely. Oh well.

My rice fish breed constantly. It is quite obvious with these fish as the eggs stick to the female's vent until they get scraped off as they swim though the plants. I don't bother to look for the eggs and they must be eaten as I've never found a fry in this tank.


But a previous betta was incredibly laid back, and I used to take bits of water sprite from the main tank as it didn't do well in the betta's tank and needed replacing on a regular basis. There must have been eggs attached to the water sprite as I had a total of 4 rice fry appear in the betta's tank - which he compeletely ignored.

Big day yesterday, I spent all day setting up the aqua Oak 150 in the living room so I could move the river fish back to their original location.
I spent a considerable amount to time in the cabinet, poking hoses up the back of the tank, and fitting an FX6 and 2 FX4 filters.
I had stored the original river rock in a stack box, so after a quick rinse it was placed in the tank, along with lots of wood, anubias, and bucephalandra.
The actual catching/relocating the fish was traumatic for all involved, and I finally sat down at around 8.30pm. I think we all deserved a quiet evening after that.
Its not really possible to aquascape the tank as such. The water flow is very strong, and the bottom feeders are constantly shifting the sand, which is why I only have plants attached to wood. The anubias was a more recent addition as I was temporarily storing some (intended for the axolotls) in their other tank, and found that the garras and loaches had taken a shine to resting on the leaves. Sorry axolotls, but your plants have been stolen by the fish now.
I'll leave the fish settle for a few days, then I'll need to do some minor adjustments. Today I'll be clearing out the Aqua Oak 120 that the river fish were in. The plan is to get it ready for some South American fish that are currently in the living room, which will then free up enough space for the new mudskipper set up. I'm aching quite a bit from all the lifting and shifting required yesterday, so I'm not sure I'll get everything done today, but I'll try.

Generally successful day, and now enjoying having the fish back in their correct tank.
The bulldog plecs have been having regular tussles over who sits on which rock. Everyone is finding their way around the tank, and there's still a lot of activity around the cucumber/algae wafer combo. I can't stop watching them. 

Tomorrow I need to rinse some more sand, then I'll have time to look at moving the sand & manzanita from the Roma 200 to the Aqua Oak 120. 

 

Thankfully, yes Sue, though I admit that when I sit down to watch tv I spend most of the time listening to the tv & watching the fish. 

Thankfully, yes Sue, though I admit that when I sit down to watch tv I spend most of the time listening to the tv & watching the fish. 

Ditto! 

I can't tell you how very relieved I am to read this - you would definitely be like a fish out of water if you were minus any tanks in your new location!

Yes, it is, in fact it's a little bit softer, which will be better. That was one of the first things I checked. 
The water here is 17dH, nitrates 40ppm.
The water in the relocation area is 15dH, and nitrates 37ppm.
So I'll still be using my nitrate filters, but won't need to use as much RO for the river tank, etc.