do fish stay in or out during rescape?

[dougmac]

hey everyone, bit of an issue last night - one of my malaunas spotted some food in a gap in the rock work and decided to investigate. my 4" firtideflow have no problem swimming in and out of this area, but the malauna's a bit bigger, about 5", and he got stuck. had to pull the rocks apart to rescue him, and now they look a mess - just can't seem to get them looking right again. thinking of just taking them all out and replacing them with some river boulders, nice and low to the ground so they can't be knocked over. got a 120l tank that i could move some of the bigger fish to if i do decide to rescape.

anyway, my question is - when you're adding or removing rocks, or rescaping your tank, do you leave the fish in or take them out?

[fluidic]

I've done it both ways, but I'd say it's better to rescape with an empty tank. The first time I did it, I had fish in, but that was last year and I was still learning. This time, I removed the fish and it was much easier.

I'd suggest taking the fish out, along with the plants, and just leaving the water and equipment in. Dirt can settle on the leaves and kill them, so it's best to remove them too.

[discusfan2]

Take the fish out, and drain the water. That way, you can give everything a good clean without getting soaked. If you're adding plants, just put a few inches of water in, then do the planting - it's a whole lot easier that way.

[dougmac]

Issue is, my spare tank's only 120l and I've got 37 malawis that need a home while I redo the scape, which is a bit of a problem since it's not big enough to house them all.

[discusfan2]

hey everyone, bit of an issue last night - one of my malaunas spotted some food in a gap in the rock work and decided to investigate. my 4" firtideflow have no problem swimming in and out of this area, but the malauna's a bit bigger, about 5", and he got stuck. had to pull the rocks apart to rescue him, and now they look a mess - just can't seem to get them looking right again. thinking of just taking them all out and replacing them with some river boulders, nice and low to the ground so they can't be knocked over. got a 120l tank that i could move some of the bigger fish to if i do decide to rescape.

anyway, my question is - when you're adding or removing rocks, or rescaping your tank, do you leave the fish in or take them out?

No need for a separate tank, just use a large plastic container or box, add some water from your tank, and keep the filter and heater running in it. I've used a big plastic storage box when I've done mine, the fish will only be in there for a few hours max, they'll be fine. Less stress for them, and less risk of injury while you're messing around in their tank.

[dougmac]

I've been thinking about getting those storage boxes for water changes, you know, to make life easier. I'm currently using a mix tap and thermometer to match the tank temperature, but I always worry that it changes while I'm filling it, so I end up staring at it for ages. I thought, why not get two 100 litre boxes, fill them the night before, dechlorinate each one and pop a filter in each, then get a pump to empty them into the tank. That way, I can be sure the water's just right. Thanks for the advice, I think I'll move the fish if I do rescape, I don't want to stress them out.

[_Vodnik]

hey everyone, bit of an issue last night - one of my malaunas spotted some food in a gap in the rock work and decided to investigate. my 4" firtideflow have no problem swimming in and out of this area, but the malauna's a bit bigger, about 5", and he got stuck. had to pull the rocks apart to rescue him, and now they look a mess - just can't seem to get them looking right again. thinking of just taking them all out and replacing them with some river boulders, nice and low to the ground so they can't be knocked over. got a 120l tank that i could move some of the bigger fish to if i do decide to rescape.

anyway, my question is - when you're adding or removing rocks, or rescaping your tank, do you leave the fish in or take them out?

To be honest, I don't think you need to stress about matching the temperature exactly. I just use the mixing tap and a hose, and I've had my fair share of accidental cold or hot blasts. My fish seem to enjoy the surprise, they just dance in the current.

[floriana]

I've done it both ways, but to be honest, I'd rather remove the fish when working with rockwork. Don't want to risk knocking one on the head with a rock, that'd be a disaster.

[dougmac]

hey everyone, bit of an issue last night - one of my malaunas spotted some food in a gap in the rock work and decided to investigate. my 4" firtideflow have no problem swimming in and out of this area, but the malauna's a bit bigger, about 5", and he got stuck. had to pull the rocks apart to rescue him, and now they look a mess - just can't seem to get them looking right again. thinking of just taking them all out and replacing them with some river boulders, nice and low to the ground so they can't be knocked over. got a 120l tank that i could move some of the bigger fish to if i do decide to rescape.

anyway, my question is - when you're adding or removing rocks, or rescaping your tank, do you leave the fish in or take them out?

Thanks for the reassurance, I was getting a bit anxious about the temperature difference - my tap water is around 24 degrees, but my tank usually sits at 26. I appreciate the advice, it's good to know I don't have to be too precise with the temperature matching.

[_Vodnik]

hey everyone, bit of an issue last night - one of my malaunas spotted some food in a gap in the rock work and decided to investigate. my 4" firtideflow have no problem swimming in and out of this area, but the malauna's a bit bigger, about 5", and he got stuck. had to pull the rocks apart to rescue him, and now they look a mess - just can't seem to get them looking right again. thinking of just taking them all out and replacing them with some river boulders, nice and low to the ground so they can't be knocked over. got a 120l tank that i could move some of the bigger fish to if i do decide to rescape.

anyway, my question is - when you're adding or removing rocks, or rescaping your tank, do you leave the fish in or take them out?

That tiny difference is nothing to stress over. For freshwater fish, adding cooler water is pretty much like a gentle rain shower in the wild - they probably won't even notice a 2 degree drop during a 25% water change.