There will come a time when you may need to move your fish tank decorations to a different aquarium. This could be for a variety of reasons, for example because the number of fish you have has exceeded your current tank, or it could be that someone has given you a second-hand aquarium decoration that you would like to use. For whatever reason, you will need to follow a few rules to ensure that your fish tank decoration is safe for use in your new fish tank.
Why all the fuss about transferring the aquarium decoration
Can’t we just remove the fish tank ornaments from one fish tank and drop it into the other? Why is there so much fuss or is it necessary to have proper preparation? The main reason is microbes.
You see, your fish tank decoration has been soaked in tank water for a long time. Even with the best cleaning program, these ornaments are perfect surfaces for breeding bacteria and fungi. This is especially true for tank accessories that have detailed carvings and rough surfaces. The cracks and gaps between the details make it very difficult to clean properly and will allow the perfect hiding place for these microbes.
Taking the decoration out of the old tank and putting it in the new one without any preparation will cause these microorganisms to transfer to the new tank. Since the conditions in the new tank are right, it will cause a bacterial bloom that is very unhealthy for your fish.
Also, if you have new fish in the new aquarium that are not used to the microbes from the old tank, they will definitely get sick and die. Therefore, preparation is necessary when transferring the aquarium decoration.
But bacteria are not the only concern here. There are also snails. While it is fairly easy to see a snail perched on one of the ornaments when you remove it from the water, its eggs are almost invisible to the naked eye. Without proper preparation you would be introducing these snail eggs to the new tank and once they take over the tank they are really hard to remove.
How to properly transfer aquarium ornaments
It really is not that difficult to transfer the tank decoration in the right way. The key idea here is to properly sanitize the accessories and make sure there is no microbial transfer. Here are the steps to follow:
- Remove the item from the old tank and rinse well. Do this to get any larger residue out of it so we can clean it up properly later.
- Using a soft toothbrush, scrub the decoration well. Note that cracks and trim details are ideal places for microbe colonies, so scrub them well. Soak the decoration in running water from time to time to get rid of the things that you rubbed. Do not use any type of soap or detergent for this, running water is sufficient. Soap and detergent will leave a chemical residue no matter how well you wash the item, and this could poison the water later on.
- Once you’ve thoroughly scrubbed the item, rinse it well one last time under running water. Then air dry the items in the sunlight. This is something that I have always practiced every time I wash my tank decoration. Sunlight has ultraviolet rays that will kill any microorganisms that may still be on the ornament. Leave it in the sunlight for an hour or two.
Your fish tank decorations are now ready to be replaced in the new aquarium.