On the right track?

[astrocreep101]

have been reading the threads to determine if I am on the right track. Here is where I am with my set-up, keep in mind I am a new fish lover and hope to get this right the first time. So,


Set-up:
I got a ten gallon tank about 1 wek ago, with filter, heater, tap water conditioner, Test kits, an arietor, and of course the decor and rocks. I started off with three fish, an angel, and two sailfin mollies. I have been keeping the water at 73-78 degrees, ph at 7.5, and do 20 percent water changes every 2 days. I also bought two live plants for the tank.

What has since happened:
On the first day of set-up I filled the thank with tap water, and conditioned with the proper amount and added a packet of 7.5 p.h. I let the tank sit for a day while the heater did it's job, The following day I purchased my three fish, I let them sit and adjust to the tank water for 20min before taking them out of there baggie. Once in the water they seemed fairly comfortable. I have also been feeding them once a day. On the third day my water got milky and clogged my bio-wheel (which I rinsed off) By the fourth day the water was cleared up however one of the mollies died, he buried himself under the gravel. Since then I went and bought a red-tail shark to replace the molly. These are the three fish I want to keep in my tank for good maybe one more or add another to make a pair. Am I on the right track to building a healthy tank with a few fish that will get along okay? Or should I make a few adjustments?

Or should I not touch the tank for a few weeks besides water changes along w/ testing p.h. and ammonia.

Also the fish look like they are in good condition, no spots, dots, darting, floating (besides the one molly).

[hondamx]

First return the shark and angel. They get way to big for a 10 gallon. Well your not doing a fishless cycle so your fish may be stressed at times. Everything else seems pretty good.

[astrocreep101]

I somehow knew the angel and shark were a bad idea, I was under the impression that they wouldn't grow more than another inch or so. Bummer, I liked the angel fish. Unfourtantly I have no money to upgrade my tank to a larger model at the moment, so I have to stay with what I got. What would be a good fish with personality that I could keep in the 10g. Please don't say goldfish. Thanks for the reply :clap:

[hondamx]

No, goldfish would need an even bigger tank.

I'm guessing you want a community tank. Here's my suggestion.

Your molly
2 oto catfish
either a school of 5 small tetras or 2 dwarf gouramis

Mabey you could get an African dwarf frog if you get less fish then I suggested. I know there's a good article somewhere.

[plah831]

What would be a good fish with personality that I could keep in the 10g. Please don't say goldfish.
Well, it's great that you know goldfish don't belong in a 10 gal. Some other small, fun fish would be guppies (although they breed a lot), white cloud minnows, endlers, neon tetras, zebra danios, maybe platies (also make a lot of babies), a dwarf gourami.

by the way, to fishless cycle, you need to add pure ammonia to simulate the wastes your fish would be producing. It still takes the full time a fishy cycle would take (4+ weeks).

[plah831]

sorry to butt in, honda, i'd have to say ix-nay on the otos. They're very sensitive to water quality and require special feeding if there's not enough algae.

[hondamx]

But you want some bottom fish. That way your using the whole tank and not just the top and middle. Mabey some cories???

[astrocreep101]

:dance2: Thank-you for the advice, It seems like almost everyone new to aquariums makes a mistake with the fish purchase and then later read about how they won't work their tank. I will take your advice and return the angel, the shark will be a littler more difficult since I got him about 3 hours away. :dance2:

[astrocreep101]

But you want some bottom fish. That way your using the whole tank and not just the top and middle. Mabey some cories???


Would getting bottome feeders while in the early stages of cycling be a bad idea? Since they eat alg

[hondamx]

3 hours!!! wow. Ya it's not like he'll get his full size in a day.

[hondamx]

Well you don't want to get to many fish while cycling. I don't think it would be to bad. What are you thinking of getting.

[astrocreep101]

I was toying with the idea of getting 3 flame tetras, 3 neon tetras, and a dwarf gourami as the center piece. Does this sound like a good match up?

[astrocreep101]

Oh yeah I forgot one thing, Would it be a good idea to keep what I have until the cycling is complete or slowly swap for the other fish. Example: take the angel back and get 3 tetras, then the following week take back the shark and get three more tetras and then finally get rid of the sailfin and get the dwarf gourami? or should I do this all at once right now?

[hondamx]

I would wait untill cycling is over. The set up sounds good.

[astrocreep101]

Excellent! Thank you guys very much for the advice. I just got back from Earl May and they have the fish you recommended. So it looks like I won't have a problem getting what I need. How long does it take for a tetra or a dwarf gourami to reach it's max size? They sure looked awefully tiny at the store.

:shark:

[hondamx]

well they're probobly juvenile. It depenson how old the fish is. tetras and dwarf gouramis only reach like 2 inches.

[SubluxT7]

I was toying with the idea of getting 3 flame tetras, 3 neon tetras, and a dwarf gourami as the center piece. Does this sound like a good match up?
I would suggest either you do the flame tetras or the neons, not both. Both of these fish are schoolers, and would do best in a group of a least 5 or 6. I wouldn't not add any fish while you are cycling. I'm not that knowledable about gourami's, so I can't give an opinion on them.

Sandy