10 gal. maintenence? And other questions...

I think 6 tetras would do great in a 10 gallon. You should also add a couple cories to take care of the bottom and maybe some live plants.

I would think that the water changes would depend on how quickly your tank gets dirty. 6 Neons won't have that large a bioload. Most of the time 25% water changes on a weekly basis can keep you tank looking great.

You could do weekly or bi-weekly water changes. Different people with different ideas with tell you different ideals.

I tend to get in a water change in any given aquarium whenever I can, but no aquarium goes longer than 2 weeks without a water change of about 45%.

(Yes, I use a python or gravel vac during this time too)

With live plants and a light fish load in a 10 gallon you could go for 2 weeks, but I would suggest that weekly water changes using a gravel vacuum are the best way to go.

6 neons and 2-3 cory catfish would be a very good stocking for a 10 gallon tank. Not overloaded but a decent level. With 6 neons they will stay active.

Make sure with cories to drop in some sinking food tablets every other day for them at least.

water changes of 20-30% a week with that load will make for a healthy tank.

The only reason I say that you could go bi-weekly in water changes is that on my tanks that do go 10-14 days without a water change, the nitrate levels are still below 20 come water change time.

For larger aquariums, I recommend the python system. However, if you were cleaning an aquarium of 30 or less gallons, I wouldn't use such a fancy process. You can go out to any aquatic store and get a gravel vacuum. I believe you could get a smaller one for something like 2.5 or 5 gallons as well as a medium sized vacuum for a 10-gallon tank.

Yes, you could probably put in a female Betta with most tropical community fish. Because they are still Betta’s, some might react differently with different fish, but the females certainly will not go around trying to eat every fish in sight!

Plants are a difficult subject... you need adequate lighting for plants, they need certain elements in their water, and I wouldn't recommend live plants for a beginner. First get the tank cycled, then get your fish, and then read up about plants... you should make your decision from that point.

I like a black backdrop, but I also like the backdrop with stuff on it like a picture of plants and driftwood or something. Of course, I would only "cheat" like this for a smaller aquarium so it looks more full and bigger than it really is.

Gravel - I like small black gravel. I use it for most of my community tanks, just because it goes with 95% of fish out there. But like with my Goldfish, I like the natural looking gravel (tan color).

Hope this helped!

In all my tanks I change the water at least once weekly. The one with the sponge filter gets more frequent changes to get solid wastes out of the tank.

I give the filters a good look over (check chambers, impeller, sponges) while I'm doing the changes and if they've accumulated a lot of gunk, I clean them in a bucket of old tank water.

I don't have any tanks smaller thank 10g, but I've kept fry in a small container (probably about 1-2g) and used the same gravel vac to clean them out as I use on the 10s. Now I've a fry tank, so I don't need the bucket anymore.

Any gravel vac will do, it's just a syphon. A python is the most fantastic water changing tool ever, but from my experience, using it on a 10g is pushing the lower limit of it's usefulness.

For getting plants, try posting a want ad in the forums. There's probably a member near you who throws out bags full of stem plants.

Ghost shrimp would be fine, they're pretty cool, but you'll need to add some iodine to your water. They need it for moulting.

Try to find a dark gravel, but it's not the end of the world if you can't. In a well planted tank, they'll pop just fine.

Hi, Rava! We have been to pet stores all weekend, and bought a few extras for the tank. The vacuum that we got didn't cost much, just about 3-4 dollars. We got it at Wal Mart and it worked well as a siphon for water changes, though I had to give it a start. Some aquarium kits don't have everything you need.

I read that neon tetras love lots of vegetation and darker aquariums to show off their colours. We also got an African Dwarf frog and in the store it was in the same tank with neon tetras, so I take it they get along well together. Snails are also good as natural algae collectors.

As far as a gravel vac, 2.5g, 5g, and 10g could easily all use the ame vac. I have one that I use for everything smaller than 55 and a big one for 55's and a huge one 1" hose for my 115. With the small tanks maintenance is very quick and easy even without a python, remember you can carry one bucket only and do a 40-50%change in a 10g.

As far as decor and backgrounds, black really sets out the color in fish, and makes your tank look much deeper. I highly reccomend the oceanvisions self adhesive background. It looks as good as paint and is much easier to apply and much less expensive. I have just started using it, so I don't know if it has long term failure of adhesive etc. but it is the best looking background I have ever used. Black gravel is nice, I like some white (flint) highlight rocks and live or good plastic plants. Every tank I own has at least one piece of driftwood as well.