New member with a 10G.

[allaboutfish]

newbie question, but i havent learned the nicknames of most fish yet, what are ottos? and in 2-3 months, if they can eat zucchini, i have a feeling they will have out grown the tank. Just looking in from the outside. (yes, im sure its cut up zucchini, but still)

and the reason i picked 2 larger, show fish was that in he future, they could be breed and that could be a small source of income to use on aquariums. I know that if the fish is an identifiable breed, petsmart and petco both will buy them back to sell.

ottos are ottonculous catfish(Not spelled right) they dont get very big at all and need groups of atleast 3, are pretty sensitive so need an established tank, and either need soft algae or zucchini to keep them eating. for the zucchini it would be just a slice. if you breed fish you'll need a tank devoted too them unless they protect their babies or you have a TON of hiding places. if you wanted to breed fish id have another tank setup for fry and get a pair of endler livebearers instead of the gouramis.

 

[jacob9799]

Wow! 18"!! I never knew that! that's quite surprising to me! I was looking at the dwarf gouramis and that looks to be a good option, albeit it a little more expensive. But to me, fish are investments.

Why neon tetras instead of zebra danios? only a small bit of size difference from what ive read... but then again, i have not been to an lfs on a looong time.

what is the purpose of the ghost shrimp?


also, i was considering some type of snail... good or bad idea?


also, i have 4 dwarf lily bulbs planted (the brown/black balls in the gravel). the packages claims to be 4-8" tall in 20 days or money back. but they were free, some im gonna watch them. Is there anything i could do to help them?

 

[allaboutfish]

zebra danios are VERY active compared to neon tetras. ghost shrimp eat extra food, algae, and poop(so ive heard). snails are awesome. the best IMO are malaysian trumpet snails and nerite snails but the prettiest are blue mystery snails and red ramshorn snails. ive grown the aponogetons from the bulbs kind of like the lillies. some will sprout some wont just leave them floating until you see a sprout then you plant it.

 

[jacob9799]

ottos are ottonculous catfish(Not spelled right) they dont get very big at all and need groups of atleast 3, are pretty sensitive so need an established tank, and either need soft algae or zucchini to keep them eating. for the zucchini it would be just a slice. if you breed fish you'll need a tank devoted too them unless they protect their babies or you have a TON of hiding places. if you wanted to breed fish id have another tank setup for fry and get a pair of endler livebearers instead of the gouramis.

with how i have prepared my tank, do you think my tank should be mature enough in two weeks or more?

so 3 ottos...

a quick google trip told me about endlers- which i didnt know about. would guppies also be an alternative?

and yes, i have been planning on getting a tank purely for breeding(with the right amount and types of plants,) as well as a tank set up soley for the purpose of maintaing a source of aquarium water. What i was thinking was get a 5 gallon tank, put in 5 pounds of the same substrate as whats in my current tank, a filter, heater, and small air pump. And since both my breeder tank and main tank are 10 gallon, i will change about 2 gallons in each tank per week. Which may be a little under the recomended, but if everything is kept in very strict control, that should be okay, imo.

 

[Sparkxx]

I think a male guppy tank would look awesome in your 10g you could have about 5 in there plus some dwarf corydoras catfish, that would make a nice tank which is easy to maintain and it also quite active I'd add a black background and also get some rocks and plants to cover it up, the fish will apreciate it haha.

so I'd get:

5 male guppies, if you choose slowly only getting ones you really like the look of, you could have something pretty nicely.
4-5 panda corydoras catfish.

hope this helps!

 

[RisiganL.]

Guppies can be an alternative to endlers, but they get a bit larger. Most endlers are ~.8-1" while guppies are closer to 1.5".

 

[petluvr]

Have you read about the nitrogen cycle? How are you cycling this tank?

 

[Dburgess1231]

yeah i would stay with real small fish and do live plants. Id do dwarf cories over the ottos IMO. the live plants will help out in a small tank like that. then you wont need a air pump. plants give off oxygen and im sure the HOB filter disturbs the surface enough. no air pump needed.

 

[jacob9799]

Have you read about the nitrogen cycle? How are you cycling this tank?

dded

i have read a good bit about it, but not quite sure where my tank stands right now.

i added start zyme to implement good bacteria into the ecosystem, and hopefully into the biomedia in the filter. although, im not quite sure what the bacteria will eat since there are no fish, haha!

 

[jacob9799]

yeah i would stay with real small fish and do live plants. Id do dwarf cories over the ottos IMO. the live plants will help out in a small tank like that. then you wont need a air pump. plants give off oxygen and im sure the HOB filter disturbs the surface enough. no air pump needed.

the filter does make some water current, but it doesnt actually add any bubbles. and i do remember plants giving off O2 from biology, but is it enough for a community of fish? i would rather buy a few plants and a pump than have a plant tank.

noob ?...what does HOB stand for?