[COLOR=purple]My mother has a 10 gallon tank with 1 - 6" Comet. It has no gravel, only water, a heater. She was kind enough to take him from us, since we had problems with him when he was smaller, he was too aggressive with our goldfish group. He couldn't stay in our tank any longer, we tried.

We would like to buy a larger tank for him and my mom. Since this tank is without gravel, how would we go about adding it to a new tank using the existing water of course? It would cause a new cycle to happen, right? I was thinking to take 1/2 the existing water and add to new tank with more water added and the gravel and ???

Any suggestions? IS gravel needed for the good bacteria or can this type of tank be okay and healthy for the Comet named "Comet"??? [/COLOR=purple]

thanks again!

Lynn

[COLOR=purple]This tank has been housing the Comet for about 6-8 months now. If this makes any difference?


Lynn again

it is my understanding, that most of the bacteria, or at least a large part of it, grows in the filter media. a good deal does grow in gravel at the bottom of a tank, but i dont think it is essential. i know there are a great many who prefer bare bottomed tanks. i like having gravel in my tanks, as it gives the fish something to do. they all seem to love poking about in it for bits of food, or sometimes it seems my fish are just moving stuff around.

if you have a log or something in your tank, it is also a place where bacteria can grow, so if you dont want gravel, i would suggest doing that. but listen up to see what others say first!

Gravel isn't essential in a tank. I think, like anything, it has it's pros and cons. I use it in my tanks because I think my fish enjoy foraging in it but plenty of people don't and never have any problems. It's down to personal decision I think.
When you change to the new tank use as much of the old water as you can and also include any ornaments or plants that were in the old tank. These will all hold the friendly bacteria to some degree. Also, transfer your old filter over to the new tank, even if you are going to buy a new and more powerful one (run them alongside each other) and leave it there for about 6 weeks to aid the cycling.