is that a dwarf gourami? If its a dwarf then you can still work around it but anything else (besides honey or sparkling, not blue but hey you never know) then they will out grow the 10. Hate to see that, you really should get a tank for yourself! 10 gallon kits are 60 bucks brand spanking new at pet-co. And you can get a full 10 g set-up on craigslist for abotu 10-20 bucks.
School Aquarium
- Thread starter PallasAthena
- Start date
Tell them to bring back the Blue Gourami. It's too BIG for a 10G tank. They should grow to 6" long so they should have at least a 36" long tank. That fish will become severely stunted in a 10G tank. See my blog about "10 Gallon Tank Stocking Suggestions" and tell them to stick to fish on that list, most of which are the same fish that have been mentioned in this thread, although I don't have livebearers on the list since they can too easily overwhelm a 10G tank.
Maybe the parent with the blue gourami could be encouraged to donate a gift certificate to the LFS instead of a live fish. Even $5-10 would greatly appreciated, I bet.
Maybe you could write up a simple hand-out for the teacher to give to parents. It could explain why it's best to cycle tanks before adding fish, list some of the fish and inverts that are the right size for a 10g, and even include your top two or three stocking plans. Could help to educate non-hobbyist parents, and forestall any more generous but inappropriate gifts o' fish.
Maybe you could write up a simple hand-out for the teacher to give to parents. It could explain why it's best to cycle tanks before adding fish, list some of the fish and inverts that are the right size for a 10g, and even include your top two or three stocking plans. Could help to educate non-hobbyist parents, and forestall any more generous but inappropriate gifts o' fish.
Pallas, get a bag of shrimp at the store. Size doesn't matter, nor cooked v. raw condition. Throw one, or two if very small, into the tank. Make a nice shrimp cocktail for dinner with the remainder. That's all there is to it.
You might want to make sure the deceased is hidden behind a rock, wood or plant, either weighted down or otherwise kept where it won't drift around and become visible. The kids might get the wrong idea about things.
Re: purity of ammonia, don't worry about it if all you can find is a watered-down version. Just make sure it doesn't have detergents, surfactants or other cleaning chemicals added. You can usually find it in the cleaning-products aisle of a reasonably stocked supermarket, probably by the Clorox and 20-Mule Team Borax and other old-fashioned cleansing products.
No soap or detergents of any sort can ever be used in any tank, it is deadly to fish and other tank life. Oh, and don't use anything containing copper, either in medications or in solid form as in decorations--that is lethal to shrimp.
As to the blue gourami....ouch. A parental donation no less, she'll be expecting to see it. Either you or the teacher is going to have to thank the parent profusely and then gently but firmly decline the donation. Use any of the argumen...er, I mean knowlegeable discussion points found in this thread to explain why it is not suitable for a 10g tank of the sort you want in the classroom.
have fun with that.
You might want to make sure the deceased is hidden behind a rock, wood or plant, either weighted down or otherwise kept where it won't drift around and become visible. The kids might get the wrong idea about things.
Re: purity of ammonia, don't worry about it if all you can find is a watered-down version. Just make sure it doesn't have detergents, surfactants or other cleaning chemicals added. You can usually find it in the cleaning-products aisle of a reasonably stocked supermarket, probably by the Clorox and 20-Mule Team Borax and other old-fashioned cleansing products.
No soap or detergents of any sort can ever be used in any tank, it is deadly to fish and other tank life. Oh, and don't use anything containing copper, either in medications or in solid form as in decorations--that is lethal to shrimp.
As to the blue gourami....ouch. A parental donation no less, she'll be expecting to see it. Either you or the teacher is going to have to thank the parent profusely and then gently but firmly decline the donation. Use any of the argumen...er, I mean knowlegeable discussion points found in this thread to explain why it is not suitable for a 10g tank of the sort you want in the classroom.
have fun with that.
According to my husband (who picked up our daughter yesterday), it's not one but TWO of them. Who does that? I mean to people hear about others getting a new couch and run out and buy them a kitten? Or a run out and surprise their neighbors with the random gift of a new dog? :huh:
I'm going to encourage her to take it back. There is no way they'll survive in a 10g, and she doesn't have the time/energy (I suspect) to do fish-in cycling.
Thanks for the tips on the shrimp. How long do you leave it in? Until the cycle is complete and the fish are added? (this is assuming the gouramis go bye-bye).
I'm going to encourage her to take it back. There is no way they'll survive in a 10g, and she doesn't have the time/energy (I suspect) to do fish-in cycling.
Thanks for the tips on the shrimp. How long do you leave it in? Until the cycle is complete and the fish are added? (this is assuming the gouramis go bye-bye).
Just trying to be tooo helpful. Certainly over zealous with buying things on impulse. Sounds like time to try for a store credit or maybe a fish raffle?
Perhaps if you put togeher a list of possible donations for things you actually need it would make it easier to get necessary items and allow for parents to be "involved."
You want guppies? Where are you located... I have ~20 that need a home.
If it were me, I think I'd pick a dwarf gourami as a centerpiece fish and either neon tetras or male guppies. All 3 of these are colorful and active. Maybe 1 briggs snail, too. If there's male and female guppies, they can quickly overpopulate a tank and I don't know that one dwarf gourami is enough to keep up with 2 or 3 females. You can only have one dwarf gourami in a tank that size as they are too territorial for more.
If she doesn't want to have to deal with the subject of death with kids that young, getting fish that all look the same makes it less obvious that 1 or 2 are missing.
If she doesn't want to have to deal with the subject of death with kids that young, getting fish that all look the same makes it less obvious that 1 or 2 are missing.
For a ten gallon I would do a honey or dwarf gourami, 6 neon tetra's, a few cherry or ghost shrimp, and mabye a mystery snail. As long as you do regular water changes (20% a week) and have good filtration, this stocking works very well.
