10g Aquarium won't cycle been 3+ months!

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KarlTh

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Feb 15, 2008
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how many more fish would be okay to have in there? it's a 10 gallon, and there are already 2 guppies, 2 danios, and a baby molly in there. i know that it should only be one at a time but what's the maximum and safest? Is the one inch per gallon a good rule?

Oh, and I got some drift wood and a rock for xmas, hope they dont mess up things. :)
1" per gallon only works in universes where volume increases with length. In ours, it increases with cube of length so it's complete dingos' kidneys.

There is no rule, no maximum. You can only suck it and see. Can you maintain good water quality with reasonable water changes? Then you're not overstocked bioloadwise.
 

krpott

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Dec 10, 2009
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This is my first time trying to cycle an aquarium. It is my only established one. As of today......
ammonia 0
trites 0
trates 0
ph 6.8

now I can get another fish! yay! I don't know whether I should get a corydora cat, baloon molly, or a barb.
 

KarlTh

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Feb 15, 2008
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Corydoras (note singular ends in 's') need to be in groups, as do barbs. A small group of the former would be fine, but I can't imagine any barbs really suitable. Mollies are better suited to larger tanks, and given your pH issues I imagine you have very soft water which mollies do not do well in.
 

krpott

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Dec 10, 2009
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ok, thank you, it's funny though you say that because my molly has been the longest survivor of my aquarium endeavors.
 

KarlTh

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Feb 15, 2008
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ok, thank you, it's funny though you say that because my molly has been the longest survivor of my aquarium endeavors.
You always get the one that bucks the trend. It's also possible to have high GH low KH water (I have it here, although not high enough GH to feel secure with mollies) but it's unusual.
 

lake_tuna

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Dec 14, 2009
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My second 10g tank cycled in a little over 3 weeks with the help of gunk from first 10g tank. I learned from the first fishless cycling experience that if you abruptly increase ammonia, say from 0 to close to 10ppm, the nitrogen cycle comes to a halt. I wasted a lot of time trying to get things started over with the first one. It has been my experience ever since that ammonia is best kept at 5ppm.
 
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