Fancy guppy problem/ new tank problem /need help soon!

I'm in agreement with others here. I would let the tank run (no fish) for a good week. You can do a few water changes, half the tank volume, without using conditioner (since there are no fish), maybe alternate days. Keep the light on for the plants as usual. Run your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tests prior to a water change, once or twice, and certainly at the end of the week. Keep us posted on test results; you have ammonia in the tap water, and I would be interested to see how this plays out. Always test prior, not after, a water change as this lets you see what is occurring in the tank on its own. At the end of the week you should be ready to add the first fish you intend.

And on the fish, I think a 10g is small space for all these. Do we have the GH and pH of the tap water yet? A 10g is best suited to what we call the "nano" type fish, but many of these have quite specific water needs so it is wise to know the parameters. Tetra prefer soft water, guppies harder, though this is very general and depends upon the species. If the catfish are corys, I would aim for five. The "dwarf" species mentioned are rather sensitive, in my experience, and probably not the best choice here. But they would not attain over an inch anyway, so presumably the "dwarf" mentioned by the store is something else. What tetras were you thinking of?

Byron.

Lee567 said:

I do not have anything on the tap water yet . Today I've been extremely busy. My goal was to get the info tonight.

I was looking at Rummy nose tetras but I know they are very sensitive, so I'm more open for ideas. I think I'll be going to the store next weekend, to narrow down the fish I had in mind. I'll find out what those dwarfs where and I will keep you guys up to date on the water tests. Through the next week

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Rummys are not a fish for a 10g. While they are small, at least when you get them, they are very active swimmers, and length is extremely important. They also do best in larger groups than some other tetras, and space comes into this too. And you are correct, rummys are sensitive, something that actually applies to all characins but especially so to this species. I have a group of 19 at present, a mix of the true brilliant rummy and the false rummy, in my 5-foot tank; they've been in here for well over three years, but they still spend the majority of the day swimming end to end in a group, close to the substrate, stopping to inspect this or that plant leaf.

There are lots of suitable fish we will be able to suggest. And knowing what is available to you and what you like of those will help too. B.

Sorry to hear this batch didn't work out. I'd guess that next time everything will go flawlessly. Tetras or guppies should be fine.

Lee567 said:

I can only hope the next batch will be better. Thanks for all your help again.

Just an update. I didn't do anything to the water besides adding the plant flourish supplements. No water changes or anything.

Ph 7.6
high ph 7.4
ammonie 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

all the plants are doing great besides one, I'm not sure why but it's just dying off. My filter is almost 3 weeks old now. Should I place a new sponge filter in the water to start getting bacteria sooner or just replace it in another week or so? And should I wait a couple more days to make sure the levels are stable?

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The filter sponge only needs rinsing to keep it somewhat clean. This is a 10g tank, so I would rinse the sponge at each weekly water change. Rinse it in a pail of tank water (like what you siphon out during the water change) at first, but once fish are in and everything seems OK, under the tap is fine with plants. They take up ammonia faster than bacteria.

I would stay with one test kit for pH, and here the normal (not the high range) seems preferable. They do read differently.

What plant is not doing well? Not all plants will thrive together, due to differing requirements or just the plants themselves. One of us might be able to offer advice if we know the circumstances.

What fish are you intending first?

Byron.

Lee567 said:

I just noticed I have snails in the tank. Are they killing the plant?

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Not likely. The usual small snails that turn up with plants, etc will be pond snails, bladder snails or perhaps ramshorn snails--or if very lucky, Malaysian Livebearing. None of these eat healthy plants, only decaying leaves (and everything else organic including fish poop, so they are good to have).

A photo may help if you can; also some data on water GH and fertilizers if any.

Byron.

Lee567 said:

I can't recall the name of the plant. At this point Iam thinking neon tetras. What do you think?

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Neons seem to be rather delicate these days; many aquarists have given up on them completely. I believe much of this problem is due to the GH...which we still do not have here. I just asked for this in relation to the plant issue too.

What other fish are planned, or might be if not neons, since with a group of neons there is little room left in a 10g except for substrate fish.

Byron.