Any advice for first time fish owner ! Have an office 10 gal tank

diva_jones2801

diva_jones2801

Fairylytes
May 15, 2008
2
0
0
The eternal Desert
Hello and Im glad to be here!

I just got a 10 gallon tank for my office and was wondering if anyone had ideas I bought 3 guppies 1 female and 2 males. and inherited five neon tetras from a friend who was moving. Just wanting to make sure that their is enough room for all my fisheys they seem happy just wanting to know if the limit is max now or if I can get away with another fish or two. I know I cant but I would love a betta or some other colorful fish however my guppies are super cute I love them. i just need some advice I dont want to hurt my fishys either for the sake of beauty. Im a first time fish owner so I finally decided to get them so Im a bit weary and want to make sure the little guys are good and taken care of. I also got them from Petland so Im not sure how great they are however after seeing they sell tattooed fish I am so not buying anything else from them. It sickens me. Sorry had to lay my two cents in. Anyways any great ideas on fish or upkeep would be great !
:help:
 
:welcome: to AC!

My best advice for you is to read as much as you can. The basics you definitely need to know is to understand the Nitrogen cycle (fish waste and decaying matter contains ammonia), bacteria forms that turns it into Nitrite, bacteria forms that turns that into Nitrate. Nitrate gets removed with water changes. Ammonia and Nitrite are poisonous to fish. Get a good liquid test kit and do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite under .25 ppm. Once the cycle is fully established, all you'll need to remove is nitrate. Also, do not believe the label of the fish food that says you need to feed 3x a day. Once a day is fine for most fish and they are also fine with fasting for a couple days.
 
Hi Diva, welcome.

As stated above read all you can about cycling your tank. It's the first step and it's a pain but it has to be done.

Since you've already gotten some fish I'll tell you what I know about guppies. There should be 2 females to each male or the males will harrass the lone female to death. If you don't have alot of cover for the fry (babies) they'll get eaten which might not be a bad idea since this is a 10 gallon. If you save the fry you're looking at another tank when they grow. Bettas (males) from what I've read are not a good choice with guppies. Someone else can chime in on that or you can research it yourself.

Please let us know if your tank is cycled. You need a liquid test kit to make sure the water is safe for your fish especially when you're just starting out. Good luck to you.
 
Office tanks are really amazing distractions, especially for those of us who have not yet moved into the corner or window offices. I just recently put together a office 10 gallon tank (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150400) I would suggest reading through that thread to find out all of the issues that I had to deal with.

Good luck and take lots of pics as your tank progresses!
 
Your stock sounds perfect you should leave it where it's at. Anymore fish might be trouble. Just read the threads that relate to your needs and ask questions when you need to ask them.

Also welcome with much <3!
 
I did cycle the tank my boss is actually a huge fish fanatic so she did all the tests I cycled it for almost two weeks before I put them in so they are safe and cozy. Im still in traning so she is currently showing me how to clean the tank and do some of the testsI have noticed a bit more waste since i just got the fish on tuesday.Im not sure if I should clean it before the weekend Im scared the nitrates will hurt them. I also noticed my little guy guppie keeps hiding from the female. It seems like the female is pretty dominant kinda funny but Im might get another girl to keep her happy.Im going to get some ghost shrimp too to help clean the tank. So you think an additonal girl would be a good idea since the two males are hanging out?
 
By the looks of your tank and fish preference, you could make your tank like this:

4 Guppies (2M, 2F)
5 Neon Tetras
10 ghost shrimp
And if you want to, 1 Dwarf Gourami. I have one myself and they are great to look at.

Since you are still a beginner at this, you should pick some hardy fish to go in your tank, and when you have succesfully kept them for 3 months, you could shoot for some harder fish.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom