Here's the situation:
-My wife decided she wanted a fish tank, so we went out and got a 10 gallon per her decision complete with filter ect. She bought 2 black snails, 2 plecos, 1 rainbow shark, 3 Guppies, a white loach, a Gold Gourami, & a Striped Raphael Catfish. A rather large hollow false tree stump with potruding leaves was also bought and it takes up a 3rd to almost half of the tank.
-I suggested that was way too many fish and guaranteed to outgrow said 10 gallon but the pet store employee said that it was best to get 1 fish per gallon and that'd be the safe maximum. My wife wanted the fish and it seems the employee wanted the sale so they steamrolled it.
-She bought 10 gallons of drinking water & gravel, filled the tank and plopped the fish in, satisfied. A few days later the water was cloudy and the Gourami had chased and eventually murdered the Guppies and the loach. I'd already done the research and informed her of the cycling process and she decided it was too much work and basically washed her hands of the situation, advocating that we just flush the fish.
Needless to say I wouldn't be here had I agreed with that approach. I got the test kits and through daily vigilance, we've gone through the cycling process and my tanks been established for a little over a year now. The only remaining fish from the original set that survived the process is the Raphael Catfish, the Gold Gourami, Rainbow Shark, & Pleco. The rest died of exposure and the Snails were eaten.
She refuses to invest in a bigger tank despite my fish's growth and I came home from work to find another Loach as well as an 8 INCH Catfish occupying the hollow stump where my Raphael usually resides! The Gourami promptly killed the Loach overnight and she's returned it for another. She's also begun feeding my Gourami dead flies.
With the current economy the best I can do is a 30 gallon but that'll take a month, so what do I do till then to keep them all alive most importantly and healthy? She doesn't even know what the new catfish eats and all I had prior for the others was Tetra Flakes / Bloodworms / Shrimp all freeze dried. Will it even bother with those?
-My wife decided she wanted a fish tank, so we went out and got a 10 gallon per her decision complete with filter ect. She bought 2 black snails, 2 plecos, 1 rainbow shark, 3 Guppies, a white loach, a Gold Gourami, & a Striped Raphael Catfish. A rather large hollow false tree stump with potruding leaves was also bought and it takes up a 3rd to almost half of the tank.
-I suggested that was way too many fish and guaranteed to outgrow said 10 gallon but the pet store employee said that it was best to get 1 fish per gallon and that'd be the safe maximum. My wife wanted the fish and it seems the employee wanted the sale so they steamrolled it.
-She bought 10 gallons of drinking water & gravel, filled the tank and plopped the fish in, satisfied. A few days later the water was cloudy and the Gourami had chased and eventually murdered the Guppies and the loach. I'd already done the research and informed her of the cycling process and she decided it was too much work and basically washed her hands of the situation, advocating that we just flush the fish.
Needless to say I wouldn't be here had I agreed with that approach. I got the test kits and through daily vigilance, we've gone through the cycling process and my tanks been established for a little over a year now. The only remaining fish from the original set that survived the process is the Raphael Catfish, the Gold Gourami, Rainbow Shark, & Pleco. The rest died of exposure and the Snails were eaten.
She refuses to invest in a bigger tank despite my fish's growth and I came home from work to find another Loach as well as an 8 INCH Catfish occupying the hollow stump where my Raphael usually resides! The Gourami promptly killed the Loach overnight and she's returned it for another. She's also begun feeding my Gourami dead flies.
With the current economy the best I can do is a 30 gallon but that'll take a month, so what do I do till then to keep them all alive most importantly and healthy? She doesn't even know what the new catfish eats and all I had prior for the others was Tetra Flakes / Bloodworms / Shrimp all freeze dried. Will it even bother with those?
