CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

I was recently given an Oscar and Pleco by a friend.  He said he would give me the tank and everything else with the fish and said he believed it was a 30g.  However, when I went to his house to feed I found that it was only a 12g tank.  I immediately realized that I needed to get a new tank for this fish as it is probably about 8-10in already.  I was wondering if there are any tips for moving him into the new tank.  Also, if anyone knew of places to get tanks for reasonable prices that would be a greatly appreciated.

I would buy a new tank and set it up. I personally would fill it up halfway and let the temperature reach the temp in the tank he is in now. I would then fill it the rest with the water from the tank he is in, and add him in.
(But I would wait for other replies. I might be totally wrong!)

I got my 150 gallon from a fish tank that was going out of business and got it for a good price, with all the filters and everything that was used in it. Look for bargains, if your city has an online classifieds, classifieds in the paper. Put ads up, talk to people at the pet store. All that type of stuff.

Your right, he needs a new tank asap. It is very very cruel to keep an 8-10 inch Oscar in a 12 gallon tank. A fish is still a living, breathing thing! I would go for 75 gallons + for him.

Thank goodness he is giving the poor thing to you. I think he'll be treated much better with you.

Good to see you're looking for a new home for him, as much space as you can afford is the real answer on tank size, although the recommended minimum for an O is 55g and you'll need a good level of filtration to go with it.

I've transferred my O from a 115g to a 180g recently, but I had ready matured filters and carried out a series of water changes on the old tank over a period of days mixed with new treated water (also kept the filters going by feeding with ammonia whilst there was no fish in the tank).

On the day of the transfer, I did an ammonia & nitrite test to make sure everything was 0, then took around 60% of the water out of the tank and transferred it to the new tank.  It was then catch a fish and transfer it through to the new tank in a bucket with a lid.  I let the new tank then sit for a few days with a lower water level and topped it up whilst prepping water for my next water changes on other tanks.

With such a small tank that he is coming from this might not be feasible for you and you will more than likely have to mature some new filters, however using the water from a couple of large water changes will help to kickstart the process and I would also be tempted to take some of the gravel from his current tank to help the process.  Another way to help get filtration set up would be to run the new filter alongside the old one in his current tank, that way it will mature quicker, when you move him you can then move both filters and continue the process.

If you can't get enough water from the smaller tank, you will then have to try as Amy has suggested, but carry out pH tests as well as you will want these to be as close together as possible.

Hope all goes well for you