10G tank stocking Qs (and a few others)

Hannys_Papa

Hannys_Papa

AC Members
Aug 31, 2005
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Upstate NY
First i would like to thank everyone again for replying to my last thread and giving me very useful suggestions/ ideas concerning filter media, cycling and a few products.

My tank is now cycling (fishless) and i am focusing on the fish i hope to get once the process is complete.

I would like to get a betta (male) and 4-5 neon tetras. I found several sources suggesting this would be ok for a 10G tank - but i thought i see what the knowledgable community here on AC says about it.
Another reason i am asking is that someone told me they had a betta in a 5G tank and added a few tetras and the betta chewed them all up or even killed them. Now i dont know if it was a psycho betta or the smaller tank created any aggression problems - but i'd like to avoid something like that if possible.

Now if you think going with a betta and 4-5 tetras is ok - how do you think i should add them - betta first / neons first. Or only 2-3 neons at a time and then wait a week or so for the rest ? How would you go about stocking it...
Beside the fact that i am unsure of how many to add at one time because of bioload - i am also wondering if its better to have the neons in first - or the betta - when it comes to territorial issues.

Is there a particular combination of male/ female neons that i should get ? Like 1 male/ others female... is it even possible for the fish store to know what they are selling me are males or females ? (if i may add i am not interested in breeding them)

Again if you think that choice of fish would be ok - what food should i consider for these 2 types of fish ? Any betta and neon tetra food ok or is there a particular food / food combination i should try to get. Going on bigals website (as an example - LFS isnt any different) gives a newcomer so many choices i seem overwhelmed what to get. I just want the fish to be healthy and offer variety (if possible).

Reason i am asking is that in the next days i'll make an online order from bigals and would like to get as much stuff as possible so i dont have to order again or buy locally as its a lot more expensive. If i can get it all at once i'd be really happy.

Now i still have a few questions about several products:

I read that even the best carbon releases some phosphate - and there are products like this . Should i use that instead of carbon ? It really doesnt seem anymore expensive - so i am wondering if its better than carbon or not ?

Or how about things like this - anyone uses this ? Product description sounds useful - but does it help - is it necessary ?

Again i appreciate any suggestions/ ideas you could give me and thank you in advance.
 
In my opinion I would forget about all that crap. Carbon, carbon substitutes, phosphate absorbers. They have thier uses, but for everyday filtration all you need is the foam pad and the ceramic "biobeads" plus regular water changes. THATS IT!
It's a shame that the aquarium industry puts out all these products and then makes people feel like they have to use them to keep a tank succesfully. I have four tanks at the moment and have not bought any new fiter media in over a year. I just rinse my sponges in old tank water and replace about $0.13 worth of polyester filter foam (see below) at every water change.

The one thing I will suggest is a layer of polyester "quilt batting" in between the sponge and biobeads. Its the stuff they sell in walmart for stuffing quilts with. It comes in a sheet that you can cut out squares to fit in your filter. $3.00 worth will last you years. It does a great job a trapping all the really fine particles and makeing your water super clear.

Good Luck, and dont fall for the hype
 
Bettas usually do not eat flake food. I have only had success with feeding the bettas I have had with Hikari Betta pellets. Tetras are going to eat any flake food you give them.

Sexing tetras: Supposedly the females are wider than the males. I think that even at a knowledgable LFS they are not going to be able to tell the difference.

Ditto on the previous post about all the additives. I bought some of that junk when I started and have never used it. I have used the carbon though to remove the stained water color caused by my driftwood.

Not sure how tetras and betta will get along. It is based on the personality of the betta you buy. Some bettas will care less about their tank mates and some will hate them all. Due to the bright color of the neons thay may trigger aggresion from the betta. I have heard many time in these threads that one of the best tankmates for bettas are a couple of small cories.
 
Hannys_Papa said:
I would like to get a betta (male) and 4-5 neon tetras. I found several sources suggesting this would be ok for a 10G tank - but i thought i see what the knowledgable community here on AC says about it.
Another reason i am asking is that someone told me they had a betta in a 5G tank and added a few tetras and the betta chewed them all up or even killed them. Now i dont know if it was a psycho betta or the smaller tank created any aggression problems - but i'd like to avoid something like that if possible.
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I have kept five neons and a beta in a 10 gallon with no problems. I think you should be fine with this combination. (Having said that I guess different betas could exhibit different tendencies. )

My last 10 gallon beta tank had one beta and 5 cardninals. That was set up for over a year before I moved them all to a larger tank so I could add some more fish. The beta never demonstrated any aggression towards the tetras.
 
Thank you very much for the responses. I pretty much "figured" as much about the filter media products - but to hear it from someone with experience gives the newcomer a bit of piece of mind.

I hope i can find a betta with a peaceful character - but if not i'll put him in the 5G i also have and intend on making my hospital tank.

Now how do you think i should go about stocking ? 2-3 fish at a time or the betta fisrt and then the whole group of neons - or the other way around ?
 
Beta first. Neons are soooooo sensitive. Even with the fishless cycle I might wait awhile before getting them. I usually tell people to wait until a tank is six months old before purchasing neons. Of course that is under "fishy" cycle conditions. Maybe someone else has a different experience with adding neons to a fishlessly cycled tank?
 
I had a male betta in a 10 gallon tank for about 5 months (I moved him because he looked stressed with the Red-Tail shark). The tank had a pink tetra, red tail, and a placo. MY Betta did fine, I watched him for about an hour, just to see how he liked his surroundings. It was great for him, he seemed happy. I had a bubbling barrel thing and two rocks to make two seperate caves for him and the red tail. I only noticed a problem when the red tail moved from the rocks to the barrel and he started to chase the betta. I noticed the betta's fin was injured so I removed him and put him in another tank. BASICALLY, it all depends on your Betta's mood set, if he happens to be agressive he won't be compatible with anybody. But if you give him a good hiding place then you will be find b/c the Betta is very docile and the tetra is a little more spastic.

Give the betta a hiding spot and you should be fine!
 
Thanks again.

I'll post some pictures of my tank when the rest of my plants arrive. Then you can tell me if the tank seems suitable for the fish i picked.

One other thing i am wondering about. I was gonna order a Jager 50W heater but also read good things about titanium heaters. Is a good quality heater like the jager (still glass) better than titanium or is that the way to go ?

Thanks in advance and sorry for all my questions. :duh:
 
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