Lonely Gourami?

[Chenell]

I've had my dwarf gourami for almost two weeks now, and the past couple of days he hasn't been eating. He ate when I first got him up until recently. Now, he just seems to swim around when I feed them and watch his reflection in the glass. Does he want a companion? I've been advised against it since I only have a 10 gallon tank. My other fish are eating just fine.

Please help!

Chenell

[fishdude]

i have a ten w/ three dwarf gouramis and they are doing fine (just a few arguments now and then) but the reason wy hes not eating might mean hes sick. Also wat is the temp/ph/nitrites of your water?

[Chenell]

Temp is 76, ph is 6.6

I found what may be the cause, my nitrates are spiking, they are between 20 and 40 ppg. After seeing this, I did a partial water change and vacuumed the gravel.

I did not expect the tank to start cycling so fast! I had 2 fish left after my guppies were killed by my betta and then the betta died of some cancer like disease. I gave up on guppies and bettas altogether, I have had two bettas, and countless guppies, they just seem too tempramental.

I also switched to a power filter instead of my undergravel filter. I've been gradually adding fish... well not as gradually as I should... but hey, I was excited.

Started out with one cory which survived from the original setup, when the betta died I got another cory, then I added a sword tail a week or so later. After that is when I picked up the dwarf gourami. Two weeks after getting the gourami, my fiance picked up a clown plecto because the algae started growing like crazy (usually a sign of the nitrates.. I should have tested!). Then he wasn't cleaning too much so he picked up two small otocinclus(es?) a week or so after that. And the other day I picked up 3 diamond tetras. I guess I have had the gourami a little longer that a few weeks... it's hard to remeber.

The swordtail is the pig out of the bunch. Also, the otocinclus are pigging out on the algae. The tetras and the dwarf gourami are eating, but not much, and usually the second time I feed them in the day.

Will they start eating better after the nitrate spike is done? What should I do to make sure the nitrates don't kill the fish?

Thanks,

Chenell

[fishdude]

to keep the nitrates down you should do a partiall water change every 2-3 weeks with 25% water and gravel vaccum

[yashinfan]

All those fish in a 10 gallon?!!

[stik6shift98]

i would buy him a friend...
but that is sure as hell a lot of fish in a 10 gal

goodluck

[Chenell]

Yeah, I know it is a lot of fish. The guy I talked to at one of the local fish stores said I could put nearly 15 fish in it since I have the power filter now. I doubt I will be getting any more, maybe one more dwarf gourami, but that will be it.

Chenell

[yashinfan]

Let me just get this straight. In a 10 gallon, you have:

1 dwarf gourami
1 clown pl*co
3 diamond tetras
2 ottos
2 cories
1 swordtail

???

Okay, let's discuss some issues here.

First, gouramis like to be in small schools, so that may be why it is lonely. But adding more fish into that tank will SURELY cause the bioload to explode. This tank is destined for disaster! Secondly, swordtails should NOT be kept in a 10 gallon! That is MUCH TOO SMALL! I am even hesistant to put them in a 23 gallon, so I've decided only my 30 would do! Now, I do not believe in the "one inch per gallon rule" and lord knows you don't :) but, honestly, I think you need some more tank space!

[Chenell]

How is it different form fishdudes 4 dwarf gouramis, 6 glowlight, tetras, 2 albino corys, and 1 loach in a 10 gal?

Chenell

[matty150]

yashifan seems to be overeacting a little bit here. your bioload is not going to EXPLODE contrary to what he thinks. just keep up on your water changes, regulate your feeding, and watch your ph. once your tank is cycled you should not have ammonia or nitrite spikes but your ph will slowly become more and more acidic, so just keep an eye on it. ive sold fish for years and we have tanks your size with alot more fish than you have, however you must keep up on maintenence. nitrated levels can be controled simply by routine water changes.

[fishdude]

A good rule I always use to figure the amount of fish I can have is to find the surface area of your tank (length x width) and then divide that by 12 for freshwater. That's the max inches of fish you can have in your tank.

[Rometiklan]

Wow, that's a lot of fish for a 10 gallon tank. Like most aquarists, there are times when I have kept a lot of fish in a tank for one reason or another, but I always counter that with vigilant monitoring of the water paramters, frequent water changes, and adequate filtration.

Until your tank is fully cycled, it's not a good idea to stock your tank so heavily. That's often the downfall of a lot of set-ups.

When you switched over to the power filter, did you keep the undergravel filter running until the power filter was biologically active? If you turned off your undergravel filter before your power filter was biologically mature, your tank would have undergone a mini-cycle (ammonia and nitrite spikes) which could account for some of your losses. If you couple that with the addition of more fish sooner than you should have, the bioload would have been too much for your new filter to handle. You can speed up your cycle by adding a biologically active sponge from an establised aquarium filter to your power filter. Or you can add a cup of gravel from an establised aquarium to your 10 gallon.

For an overstocked tank, I would do weekly water changes of 25-30%. This may seem like a lot, but for a tank which has a lot of fish, it's just something that needs to be done. I would also be extra careful about how much you feed. I feed once a day , maybe twice as the absolute maximum, with a day of fasting every week (Sunday). Do you have live plants? I find live plants also eases the burden of a heavily stocked tank.

[Chenell]

Well, the dimensions of my tank are 21" x 11.25" so by your rule I can have 19.69 inches of fish in this tank.

I did not keep the undergravel filter running becasue there was no area for me to put the air tube in once the power filter was in. I have an acrylic tank that has the hood part permanetly glued on and only two open spots.. one for heater and the other for the filter. The tank was cycled before adding the power filter. I then used bacteria starter weekly and put it in where the filter pad is to get the bacteria growing on the filter material. I have been feeding a little twice a day. Unfortunately my filter does not have flow control , so I turn the filter off when they are eating so it doen't launch the food all over the place before they get a chance to eat it. I do not have any live plants either.

Anyway, I am done with adding more fish, maybe one more dwarf gourami but that will be it... and not for a while. I can't even think of anything else to put in it.

Once I move in March I am looking to get a 50+ gallon tank. This 10 gal will become my hospital tank. I am also thinking about trying to add live plants in, but I really don't know much about them. Any suggestions on easy to keep live plants?

Does anyone own a Tenecor aquarium? I am thinking about getting one of their flat back hex models.

Chenell

[yashinfan]

Okay, so I know that you believe that I am over exaggerating by saying this is way too many fish, etc... But honestly, if there are deaths and problems, I am going to have to believe it could be part of the cause!

I honestly, have overstocked tanks like MAD before. I doubled the filtration, did water changes 2-3 times a week, monitored pH, temp, etc.. And ADDED FISH SLOWLY!!! That way, I haven't had any deaths at all.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that unless you are going to put a lot of effort into keeping your tank up to par, you should think about investing in another tank.

PS: I am a girl, why does everyone always call me "he"???