A few questions.

[Nitro]

Ok, so i've had my 10 gallon tank for 2 years now. It at one time (about 2 years ago) it was home to 5 zebra danios and 2 black fantom tetras (i think thats what they are called). Because of beginner ignorance (rip 2 zebras) and a disease about 6 months ago (don't know what it was exactly but 3 zebras got white fuzzy stuff on them and died), I am left with just 2 black fantoms.

A few weeks ago I removed all my plastic (rocks and plants) and replaced them with real plants and real rocks. Now I want to get some more fish but I have some questions.

1. My room has no air conditioning and the tank temperature fluxuates a lot. Usually it will read around 80-82 degrees during the day and 74-76 at night(my heater is set to about 76 but the thermostat is not very accurate on it.) Is this a problem for the fish or for the plants?

2. I want more colorful fish and would like some recommendations as to what I should get. I've only ever had silver and black fish (zebras and black fantoms). Now that I am better at caring for my tank I think I can handle the larger # of fish (6 or 7 i'm thinking). Really.. I just want recommendations. (maybe a betta and some neon tetras??)

3. The plants came in bunches of 3-4 stalks each plant held together by some metal band. Should I plant each stalk individually or just keep them together? I don't remember what kind of plants they are but they are 2 different kinds of *something-something*warts I think. (I am feeding them with dissolvable undergravel pellet fertalizer... is this bad?)

4. I've seen tanks with big bushes and grass growing really low (this would be great for a 10gallon). What are those? Also, what are the plants that grow on sides of rocks and wood-stumps?

5. I've never had the bubbles that oxygenate the tank. Should I have that?


Any advice would be awesome.. I guess I'm still a newbie at this even though I've been kinda doing it for about 2 years.

Thanks!
~Rob

 

[fishcatch22]

well, my advice is get more phantom tetras, and a small pleco when it comes to stocking. also, those plants you saw were most likely dwarf hairgrasses or micro swords, and they are high-light plants, so they will require more than 1 flourescent strip light to thrive. as for a airstone, if your filter is good enough you don't really need one. also, what you bought sounds like ancharis, and you don't really need to plant them in any certian way or fertilize them for them to thrive. in fact, you don't really need to plant them at all. temp fulxes could be dangerous.

 

[Rowangel]

Ok, so i've had my 10 gallon tank for 2 years now. It at one time (about 2 years ago) it was home to 5 zebra danios and 2 black fantom tetras (i think thats what they are called). Because of beginner ignorance (rip 2 zebras) and a disease about 6 months ago (don't know what it was exactly but 3 zebras got white fuzzy stuff on them and died), I am left with

just 2 black fantoms.

You have quite a few things going on here...

First off the ‘fuzzy white stuff’ that killed your zebras was most likely a fungus infection. This is usually caused by poor water quality/conditions. Which leads me to ask what type of water changes you do, if you test your water, and did you try to treat your tank?

A few weeks ago I removed all my plastic (rocks and plants) and replaced them with real plants and real rocks. Now I want to get some more fish but I have some questions.
1. My room has no air conditioning and the tank temperature fluxuates a lot. Usually it will read around 80-82 degrees during the day and 74-76 at night(my heater is set to about 76 but the thermostat is not very accurate on it.) Is this a problem for the fish or for the plants?

Plants are an awesome addition to any tank, but they require the right light, soil and dosing regiment to stay healthy and grow. In some cases, depending on light you also need to add Co2. It’s important you can meet these requirements or you may not be able to keep the plants alive for long. (I use fluorite substrate, high-powered compact fluorescents, Co2 and several dosing products from Seachem in my tanks.) I would check out http://www.plantedtank.net/ and read up on the requirements for a healthy tank, it can get pretty complicated fast! The temperature depends on the type of fish you plan on housing. Plants can handle heat stress much better than fish can. I can’t really answer this question until you know what fish you want to keep.

2. I want more colorful fish and would like some recommendations as to what I should get. I've only ever had silver and black fish (zebras and black fantoms). Now that I am better at caring for my tank I think I can handle the larger # of fish (6 or 7 i'm thinking). Really.. I just want recommendations. (maybe a betta and some neon tetras??)

Your original set-up was pretty packed as was, you can't really put a whole lot in a 10g, much less 'larger' fish. There are many options for a 10g, but the number of fish you can keep depend on the type of fish. Some small fish are territorial and require more room than others, like my dwarf puffers. It’s all personal choice on what you like, just make sure to do research well in advance of purchasing so you know the future requirement of each fish. If I were to make a suggestion, there are several types of Killifish that you could keep in a 10g. They can be very colorful and attractive to watch.

3. The plants came in bunches of 3-4 stalks each plant held together by some metal band. Should I plant each stalk individually or just keep them together? I don't remember what kind of plants they are but they are 2 different kinds of *something-something*warts I think. (I am feeding them with dissolvable undergravel pellet fertalizer... is this bad?)

Take off the metal band and plant each stalk separately. Most likely the ‘something’ wort is hornwort, a fast growing plant. Under gravel fertilizer is fine, but probably not adequate enough to keep the plants alive. There is a lot to keeping a planted tank and proper nutrients are key. Like I said before, check out the plantedtank forums for more help.

4. I've seen tanks with big bushes and grass growing really low (this would be great for a 10gallon). What are those? Also, what are the plants that grow on sides of rocks and wood-stumps?

There are lots of low-growing plants that get ‘bushy’ or look like grass and almost all of them require High-light and Co2. Plantgeek.net has a list of plants with their requirements you can look through. Java moss and java fern will both adhere to wood and rocks. There are a few others as well.

 

[Rowangel]

well, my advice is get more phantom tetras, and a small pleco when it comes to stocking.

IMO all plecos get to large for a 10g, even the smaller ones.

 

[fishcatch22]

no, as long as they are under 5 inches, like bristlenoses or peckoltias, they do perfectly fine, false one. I know from experience.

 

[Rowangel]

no, as long as they are under 5 inches, like bristlenoses or peckoltias, they do perfectly fine, false one. I know from experience.

As I said, IMO even the small ones shouldn't be kept in a 10g, not that they couldn't. They create large amounts of waste which require frequent water changes and would have to be almost the only fish in the tank. If that is your thing, fine, but a poor choice for a relative newbie who might have had clean water issues with his past fish (the fungus) already. He was also looking for colorful fish, and most likely as many as he can keep in his 10g. While plecos can be attractive, they are not particularly active fish, because they hide during the day, or what I would say is 'colorful.'

 

[fishcatch22]

yes, I guess you're right, i've been doing this for ten years and my power filter is one thats actually built for a 20g tank. he should stick with 2 otos.

 

[Nitro]

Ok... maybe instead of trying to accomidate my 10 gallon to my liking I should just go ahead and upgrade to a 29g. Could this be done for under $200? (including stand?). This might help me a little bit with water quality and temperature fluxuation.

How would I go about moving my fish and plants without upsetting them?

p.s. The (fungus?) happened when I took a week in florida and left my tank to rely on one of those 7 day tablet fish feeders. I don't know if those are bad or not but when I returned there was white stuff on the tablet feeder and 1 of my fish. I've since (i hope) remedied this problem and my water looks nice and my black fantoms seem to be doing well on my once a week (every sunday) 20-30% water changes.

Maybe I can convert my 10g into something else if i get a 29g?

Where is a good place to buy a 29 and stand? I have near me a petco, a petsmart and a super duper crazy fish store (10,000 sq. foot pet store specializing in fish) that is probably uber expensive.

 

[Star_Rider]

do you have access to 'craigslist'?

I see complete set ups for 29, 30, 40's and even 55's for less thant $200.

 

[Nitro]

I checked it but I'm so limited on space that I need something between 20-30g and the only available in my area are 65g and 150g.