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I am wonder what steps I need to take when switch a natural native tank to a tropical tank this spring, to prevent problems for the tropical fish. I would to plant the tank during the winter, but it might be safer for the tropical fish to wait until spring and completely clean out the native tank and filters before I start planting. This is the current set up. Aside from 3 plants, everything I have in the tank came from Owasco lake (NY state finger lakes). The tank is a 55-gallon room temperature tank that I never quarantined. All the fish seem very healthy, but I know from preparing bigger versions of these fish to eat, that they almost always have parasites. I have removed a few leeches from fins in the fall when I set up the tank. I haven't seen any lately. I think the fish ate the rest, but you never know. The fish in the tank are: 3 bullhead catfish that are the last that I raised this summer, a bunch of blunt nose minnows, 3 banned killifish, a rock bass, and 4 or 5 sunny/bluegills. (all small, probably less than a year old) There are also several large snails. I think Guppysnail thinks they are apple snails. There is one rusty crayfish. There were a lot of small snails, but I think the bullheads ate all of them. I have put in large number of scuds to feed and seed the tank, but I think the fish have eaten most of them. There is a wide variety of plants floating about, as well as some living in pots with rockwool. I have 4 HOB filters, some with media, others with plants. I also have an internal Marineland filter. I have gravel, pebbles and rocks at each end of the tank and an arrangement or large rocks going from one end to the other. I think I have 3 options. 1) I am hoping I can start planting the 55-gallon tank at one end, and work toward the other over the winter, (with the native fish still is the tank) Then in the spring, move the native fish to my 120 native tank (in the garage when the weather warms) and add heaters and then my tropical fish to the 55-gallon tank. 2) I may need to wait until spring. Then remove the native fish and completely empty and clean the 55-gallon tank & filters and start planting it and cycle it before I put the heaters and tropical fish into the tank. This would be to make sure that the native set up did not have anything harmful left behind for the tropical fish to get infected/infested with. 3) possible do option one, but add a complete quarantine trio on the 55-gallon tank after I take the native fish out, and wait a week or 2 before putting the tropical fish in, while feeding the tank fish food to keep it cycled? There may be many other options I haven't thought of that might work out better. Please let me know what you think. Thank you, KittenFishMom