What should I stock my 10g with?

[CaitxSith]

Hmm... I'm wonder how algae eating shrimp eat... I mean, for snails, you could see that their tongue kinda scrapes the wall, but dunno about shrimp...

My local fish store, I find, keeps excellent care of their fish. The fish there only died because I didn't test for ammonia in my tank... and one thing leads to another (ugh, water changes are so hard without a Python!). *EDIT* I might get some of the fish from Liveaquaria. They seem to even have a "arrive alive, stay alive" guarantee! *EDIT*

Anywho, I think I'm going to stick with my Neon (or Cardinal, since I never tried those before).

@chevelle - I found, in my old tank, that my betta eats a lot of the food before the Neons get to them! :grinyes:

Also, for filtering, would a Penguin Biowheel 100 (20 gallon tank) work? Or would the currents be too strong?

Last note/question - I might ditch the betta, however. In the 1st tank, when I put my betta in, he picked on and chased neons like food. However, I guess he learned that Neons will forever be faster than him and gave up. If I ditch the betta, what should I use as a replacement?

 

[msjinkzd]

You could try a single honey gourami. If you go with cardinals, I would reduce your numbers as they are a little larger than neons.

 

[CaitxSith]

If I go Cardinals, how many should I place?

9? 8?

This is the Honey Gourami? According to Liveaquaria...

Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallons
Care Level: Difficult
Temperament: Peaceful
Water Conditions: 72-82° F, pH 6.0-7.5, KH 4-10
Max. Size: 2"

hmm...

Oh yeah, for shrimp, how many? Should I try the Red Cherry shrimp?

 

[Rbishop]

How about a 2" Oscar for about 2 weeks?

Seriously, I like your original idea provided the betta you get is of the right personality.

 

[CaitxSith]

How about a 2" Oscar for about 2 weeks?

Seriously, I like your original idea provided the betta you get is of the right personality.

I guess I'll stick with the betta, since it's simpler to care for and easier to get for a cheap price.

Here's a problem - bettas I know are carnivores. What food should I give that feeds Cardinal Tetras, Bettas, and shrimp when there are leftovers?

I was thinking TetraMin Granules here, but I don't know...

 

[CaitxSith]

Wow, for some reason, I can't edit my post.

So far, I need (Bold means I don't know - answer please):
# of Cardinal Tetras
# of (Red Cherry) Shrimp
1 Betta
PLANTS!
? Food
Filter (I'm thinking Penguin Biowheel 100)

 

[msjinkzd]

The betta may or may not work with dwarf shrimp. Often cherry shrimp and bettas do not mix, but it really depends on the temperament of the betta. If its not a particularly aggressive one they can do fine. I would go with 6 cardinals if you are having the centerpiece fish of a betta/dwarf gourami. The gourami you pictured is a sunset honey gourami, not a true honey gourami. The true honey gourami are very vibrant yellow, a bit harder to find. They are very easy to keep, no idea why they are labeled as difficult. I keep my honey gourami with shrimp with no problems, but the tank is densely planted with thick spots of moss. As to filtration, that would be fine, but I personally prefer the AquaClear filters. I like their media choices and set up better and think that there is less bypass of media for filtration. You could also consider an olive nerite snail for algae control, they are a very very efficient algae eater. As far as feeding, a good quality flake would take care of the cardinals. You could also use the micro pellets as all the fish would eat them. Shrimp are omnivores, they will eat the flake, pellets, veg, really anything as well as some algae and also infusoria that grow on plants and substrate.
A betta is a good choice for your tank as well, i would not add shrimp unless you do plan on having some good cover for the shrimp. Dwarf shrimp like cherry shrimp (a neocaridina species) breed quite readily. Its likely your betta will enjoy eating the offspring as they are this size when born --. That being said, with dense planting, some should survive. An important thing to do if considering invertebrates in a tank with a filter other than a sponge filter is to cover the intake with a pre-filter sponge. I use both media bags, or filters designed for aquaclear filters. This keeps any snails, shrimp, shrimp babies, and plant debris from being sucked into your filter. Hope this helps!

 

[CaitxSith]

Hmm... about that snail...

I'm estimating my pH (since tannins from driftwood and all) would be somewhere around 6.7. I'm pretty sure Snails need a pH of 8 or so... do they?

Along with calcium and a high water hardness - I think that's kinda the opposite of tetra water...


I remember taking care of a snail in my old tank... Let's just say the shell got weak.

*EDIT*
Olive Nerita Snail?

Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallons
Temperament: Peaceful
Water Conditions: 65-85° F, pH 6.5-8.0, KH 5-12
Max. Size: 1"
Color Form: Black, Green
Diet: Omnivore

 

[msjinkzd]

For the most part, the fish can adapt to water your tap water is as long as acclimated properly. Most will say its best to have a stable consistent ph than one that can fluctuate. Most fish bought locally will already be acclimated to water that should be relatively similar to your own. The only time you might run into a problem is if you are going to be purchasing wild caught fish and plan on breeding them.

You are correct about the pH for snails. They do best in a pH over 7 or can have erosion issues. So you are correct, your 6.7 would not work well with them.

 

[CaitxSith]

hmm... so far, I have:

6 Cardinal Tetras
1 Betta
...


That's it, I guess. Since the snail might not do so well in tetra waters, I guess I'll need a good algae eater that's not a shrimp or snail...

hmm, that's a tough one...

*EDIT* Ooh, dang. I might need to replace the Cardinals with Neons again. Apparently, my LFS doesn't have 'em. If I switch Cardinals with Neons, how many more Neons can I get (since they're smaller than Cardinals)?