10g tank without aeration?

[gsparsan]

I have an old 10g tank that I have setup outside (tropical climate) with lots of small plants, mainly to prepare plants for the main aquarium. It has been sitting outside for about a month and looks quite good, with a thin 1/2" layer of basalt gravel, no filter, no aeration and lots of all sorts of plants. Its gets 12 hours of natural daylight but only 1 hour of direct sunlight. In the morning the water is quite cool and at midday, it is warmer but still slightly under air temp.

The plants are doing well. I have even put it some non-aquatic plants but they seem to be doing well. The leaves that were on the plants before I put them under water usually turn yellow and I have to cut them off but the new shoots do well.

I am tempted to put is some guppies but not sure if they will thrive under such conditions. Any recommendations?

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

Thrive? Not likely. Survive...possibly. It'd help if you could get some real temp measurements. If you're getting sub 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning I don't think those guppies would last long.

[lazyNode]

I'm surprised the tank isn't covered in algae! Non aquatic plants will live under water for a little while, but will desperately try to get above the water surface

[gsparsan]

I thought I'll just add a pic

[gsparsan]

Thrive? Not likely. Survive...possibly. It'd help if you could get some real temp measurements. If you're getting sub 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning I don't think those guppies would last long.

The water will be near 20deg celcius in the morning. 70 deg F??

If guppies won't like it, what will? any other suggestion? I want to put in only 1 or 2 pairs of some small fish. Survive is not good enough. I want something that will actually live well.

I clean up the algae. Plus, it hasn't been out for long.

[lazyNode]

You could have
* a mystery snail
* some shrimp (check http://www.theshrimpfarm.com/ for some species)

They will eat some of your algae, but you will need to feed them some other food as well.

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

wow, 70 in the morning. nice living. i'm not too sure what you'd put in. i'd suggest coldwater fish but if it's gonna get hotter later on they won't do too well then. is this the hottest temps you get? or will it get hotter? if it's gonna get hotter, you can probably do the guppies.

[OldMan1947]

If your temperature is at least 20 in the morning and no more than 26 by evening, you should be able to keep guppies in there. They prefer a relatively constant temperature but that is well within their temperature range.

[chinnp]

Have you considered moving the tank inside? Then the temperature thing wouldn't be an issue.

[ansbfish]

bloodfin tetras?
they live 64-82F

[Reddog80p]

Any addition of fish you should add a filter.

[Lupin]

bloodfin tetras?
they live 64-82F
How did you come up with 64 degrees? That is too low for a tropical species.

[gsparsan]

Have you considered moving the tank inside? Then the temperature thing wouldn't be an issue.

I wanted the tank outside because of the natural light good for the plants and also because there won't be space for it inside. Plus, if I have to keep it inside, it will have to look much better than that or my misus wont have it!

It is summer now and in winter, the water will drop to probably 16 deg c at night. I was just guessing that guppies will be ok because in the wild, they will be exposed to similar conditions. Won't they?:confused: We used to find some varieties of fish that look similar to guppies but not so fancy coloured before in the wild here. That is before all the factories opened up next to rivers! Not sure if they were actually guppies though.

[gsparsan]

Any addition of fish you should add a filter.

Even if its only 2 tiny lil fish? With regular water changes? Please educate me.

[khombre]

I was just guessing that guppies will be ok because in the wild, they will be exposed to similar conditions. Won't they?:confused:

You should also consider the fact that wild-caught guppies may be different from the ones being sold inf the lfs. The ones in the lfs could be descendants of many generations of domesticated guppies meaning they are no longer used to or wont probably thrive in "wild-like" conditions. Just a thought :)

Good luck with the planning though :)

[Animallove]

You could probally keep a guppy or 2 in there, I don't know how well they'd do though (without any filtration, aeration, or a heater) if you can find wild guppies 1 or 2 would do O.K. you could also try for some rosy reds, not more then 3 though, with a filter you could get from 5 to 10.

I'd just like to say your tank is gorgeous! I wish I could plant a tank as well as you! Maybe if you get a filter, some fish, and some fish tank lighting your misus will allow it inside.

[ansbfish]

How did you come up with 64 degrees? That is too low for a tropical species.
Every literature I've ever read on Bloodfin Tetra says they do fine in said temps.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Mgamer20o0]

I wanted the tank outside because of the natural light good for the plants and also because there won't be space for it inside. Plus, if I have to keep it inside, it will have to look much better than that or my misus wont have it!

It is summer now and in winter, the water will drop to probably 16 deg c at night. I was just guessing that guppies will be ok because in the wild, they will be exposed to similar conditions. Won't they?:confused: We used to find some varieties of fish that look similar to guppies but not so fancy coloured before in the wild here. That is before all the factories opened up next to rivers! Not sure if they were actually guppies though.

to cold if temp. another thing in rivers and lakes it take a longer time to lower the temp of larger bodies of water. leave it a plant only tank. if you want to move it in get a filter and heater to help regulate the temps.

[syddakyd]

i would suggest a paradise gourami it will "thrive"

[syddakyd]

and not only will it so well in those temps but the 10g is adequate for it plus its just that fish so a low bioload plus many plants = natural/biological filtration...not to mention this fish is an anataboid. i would suggest just doing water changes once a week accordingly maybe about 1/4 a week.

[Lupin]

Every literature I've ever read on Bloodfin Tetra says they do fine in said temps.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
I find it wrong in my opinion and would consider the minimum for tetras to be 72.

[Rbishop]

You could get away with minimal fish of the correct species and no filter, with a heavily planted tank. You would need to do regular water changes, maybe a bit more frequent than normal.

[ThePBM]

minnows would be perfect. you could either get some cheap rosy reds or white clouds.

[Born4spd]

I always thought mosquito fish look like guppies. I used to catch them and put them in our pond. they lived in there until we moved.

Gambusia something is there name i think... (it was on dirty jobs)

[gsparsan]

I've given it a try with 2 female and 1 male guppies and 2 weeks on, they are doing fine. I've stopped feeding them a few days ago when i saw mosquito larva in the water. And today, to my surprise, I found one very small, almost transparent lil guppy! There must be more of them but there is too much hair algae to see.

My biggest problem is the algae. I was expecting a lot of green algae on the glass walls and I was prepared to clean that weekly just before I do 25% wc. But the hair algae is something else. I might have to move it in just because of that. Or give up on the whole idea.

Yesterday, I transplanted some small plants to the main tank. The plants were full of hair algae like a green cloud all around them but it took less than 10 mins for the Angels to clear it completely. I had to replant them as in the process, the angels had uprooted the plants.

I think I'll wait another couple of weeks to see how things progress. I had to remove a couple of plants that started decaying but others are doing well. I just hope the baby guppies do well.

[Animallove]

If you get a filter you could get a platty, I heard they eat hair algea. I'm not sure if the dwarfs do, but its possible.

[Lupin]

I always thought mosquito fish look like guppies. I used to catch them and put them in our pond. they lived in there until we moved.

Gambusia something is there name i think... (it was on dirty jobs)
It's Gambusia. There's another named similarly but scientific name is Heterandria formosa.

[gsparsan]

I tried hard but couldn't find another baby guppy. I thought guppies produce a lot of fry. Then why a single one survived? Did the others get eaten?

Also, is there a substance that will get rid of hair algae. I dont think I'll put algae eating fish in there as 3 guppies is already enough for those conditions. Would shrimps help if I add a couple? I'm not worried about aeration at this stage as the surface is sifficient to provide enough 02 for the 3 lil fish. The plants are also helping in keeping the tank in good condition. If only I could get rid of the algae, this can be a nice little tank.

[gsparsan]

Somebody on another thread suggested the use of tooth brush to remove the hair algae like spageti. With that in mind, I tried using a bottle brush I use to clean filter tubes. It works marveloously! I just have to put in the tank and twist and a big lump of hair algae gets attached to it. Its not too much hardwork and I can easily do it on a weekly basis. Some hair algae is left attached to the plants near the base but I can live with that.