new 10 gallon tank help

[bilmarjess]

I want to get my daughter a 10 gallon tank for her birthday,but since I had a 15 gallon before and had an algea problem(too many windows)I wanted to know what fish would work the best .I had goldfish before and since everyone says they are dirty and need a bigger tank any suggestions would be great.She will be six and fish are the only pets my husband will allow so I want to do this right.:) Thanks in advance

[OrionGirl]

Fresh or Saltwater? If fresh, I will move this thread.

Otherwise, I really would not suggest a 10 gallon tank as a first tank for a saltwater setup. Smaller tanks are a lot more work than a larger setup--they are prone to instabilities, and easily crashed by simple accidental overfeeding.

[bilmarjess]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place I wasn't sure what kind of fish so I didn't know where to put it.I have been reading up on live bearers here and guppys sound like something that my daughter would enjoy.What would it take to set those up in a 10 gallon tank ?I would imagine I would need a heater?Thanks again.

[OrionGirl]

Moving to FWN. OG

Guppies are easy to care for, and will do fine in a 10, as long as you plan on having babies, or get just males (the one with the pretty fins). Females are not as colorful, and will drop a batch every 30 days or so of up to 50 fry, which can quickly overcrowd a tank. Other fish will eat the fry, but a) you may not want to have to explain this to your child and b) enough will survive to crowd the tank. The same is true of many livebearers, though fancy mollies are probably an exception. For a guppy tank, a heater would be better--the stability of the temperature makes fish healthier. A 10 gallon tank would need only a small heater, 50-75 watts. The tank will need to be cycled (introducing/establishing bacteria colonies for the nitrogen cycle, not just moving water)--there are several threads in the Freshwater Archives that cover the process very well.

[TKOS]

I highly suggest getting the 10 gallon tank as the present and not getting any fish until you explain the proper care of the fish to her. You can always return a fish tank if she shows no interest but returning fish is much harder.

Also try not to overcrowd the tank. The reason you had problems with algae before was probably due to excess waste in the tank. Sunlight is not a cause but a catalyst. Algae is a plant and needs food. So you can avoid this problem (there will always be a little algae) with frequent water changes (weekly is standard for many people) and not having too many fish in the tank.

Also avoid getting an "algae eater" for your tank. Generally these are plecos and these guys are poop machines. If you think goldfish are messy these guys tend to be worse. And they can grow to be 18 inches depending on the one you choose.

Stick to small bodied fish like guppies, or platies or a nice school of tetras. If you want a bottom feeder for a tank of that size then dwarf cory cartfish (3-4) make a wonderful addition and are fun to watch.

[Anne L.]

Bilmarjess, I just did this exact same thing for my kids as a Christmas present.

What we did is this: I explained to the kids (they are 5 and 9) how a fishless cycle is and how it is better for the fish if they are put into a fully cycled tank. You will find a great deal of information on this if you search here.

I cycled the tank using pure ammonia and an ornament from a coworker's tank (you don't have to have this).

It took about 39 days, and this past weekend, we added our first fish; 4 harlequin rasboras, and 3 glowlight tetras. This coming weekend, we are going to add 3 cory catfish as bottom feeders.

It's been a learning experience for all of us, and our fish are happy and healthy so far, though it's only been a week.

The people here are a great resource, and I was a complete newbie to this.

Good luck!

[tomm10]

FWIW I started with a 10g and wish I started with a 20. Its not much bigger in footprint but the extra water volume is helpful both with the amount and type of fish you can put in the tank and the stability of the water's chemistry.

Fishless cycling the tank will give you plenty of time with your daughter to research the types of fish she would like both right away and in the future.

[bilmarjess]

Thanks for everyones help and suggestions.I had a tank before so my daughter understands that there is work and patience involved with it and not just adding fish.I am glad I found this site ,everyone is helpful and I will be looking at the filtering process right now.I already explained to her that we have to let the tank sit with out fish for awhile ,thank goodness she is a very patient kid or she might drive me crazy waiting;) .