My conscience and my tank size

[bethyMT]

hi all. It seems like all i do is whine on here, but i,guess i just need to know if i am doing right by my bosemans and one australian. There are three bosemans, nearly full grown ifnot there already, and my 9 year old australian girl. Two male, one female boseman. Currently they are in a twenty gal. This is not good, i now know. I am cycling my new 55 gal long tank for then, but i have read some stuff that says this isnt long or large enough. Will it be sufficient for them? Could i add a couple more for a school,of six?

I really cannot do any larger than the 55. But i really want the fish to be happy. I have not been as good to them as i should have been in the past.

Thanks for your experience and opinions.

[Aeonflame]

The 55 certainly is a lot better than their current tank.

[bethyMT]

Yes, aeonflame, it is. It would be difficult to get worse, yes?

I have thought about it. I will not be giving them to the LFS, even if my tank is not ideal. I have the funny feeling that if I sell them, they will be purchased by someone who may also put them in a 20 gallon, and have no plans to expand...I suspect rainbows get bought a lot because they are so pretty with no thought to what they need (hey I did it).

So I will keep them and look into the smaller rainbows if I choose to add fish later to the larger tank. I have a strong powerhead in there, and better than adequate filtration, and they will have four feet to swim as opposed to two. I will adjust things as needed to optimize the tank to them as much as I can. If a fabulous tank and a fabulous potential owner comes along, I'll give them away.

That will have to be good enough for now. Feels kind of like I am talking to myself here, but at least I came to some conclusion as opposed to just feeling guilty and waffling about it. I will do my best to make this work.

[Amelia]

It's very nice that you are trying to do the best you can for your fish. Everyone makes mistakes when they are starting out.

55g is not ideal but it's better than 20. I'm sure they will be much happier in there, although I would not add any more as that tank will become crowded quickly. You may be able to get away with a few Neon Dwarves.

[bethyMT]

Thank you Amelia. I will not be adding any more fish to the large tank...well maybe a few guppies. My four males need more company to stop the nipping.

I even thought about about donating the rainbows to the cleveland zoo, but then i remembered that the rainbows there are very crowded, and that would just be another bad situation, and likely a very stressful one. Althougni dont feel 100% ok with this decision, i really think it is for the best. But if anyone here has a big tank, wants rainbows, and lives or will drive to northeast ohio....free rainbows are yours!
thumbs2: thumbs2:

[hydra01]

If you are upgrading, I see no reason why you would have to part with your fish. As long as your tank is cycled, they should be fine. Test the water to make sure. A 4ft tank is fine for the amount of rainbows you have.

I am in the minority that believes you should re-acclimate fish that are moved between your own tanks. Better safe than sorry. Good luck

[Lady Hobbs]

I even thought about donating the rainbows to the cleveland zoo, but then i remembered that the rainbows there are very crowded, and that would just be another bad situation, and likely a very stressful one. thumbs2: thumbs2:

Sometimes what we may find as stressful and crowded may just be the way they live in the wild. Some fish like being in schools of many. Neons, for instance, are in the thousands in their schools.

I am giving my bows to my son. They dominate their tank too much.