Dead Fishies Waaahh

well i plan to get the follwoing for the ten gallon, 6zebra danios three platy and a dwarf gourami, is this ok? should i cycle it with just the danios at first? how long do i cycle for before puting in other fish? do i still need watre changes with a fishless cycle? after a cycle and once the fish are in do i need water changes? :read:
 
yes you'll need to keep doing water changes after the tank is all set up. I usually do 33-50% a week on mine.

I think your stocking list is a little on the big size for a 10, and if you want the platties and the dwarf gourami I would not get the danios. think of it like this: you can keep 2 dwarf gouramis in a 10 gallon provided they are a male/female pair (2 males won't get along), so essentially you can add fish equal to trhat kinf of fishload. I would say 3 platties would fit the bill there.

definitely get a test kit. I use the aquarium pharmaceuticals master freshwater kit, which you can get for about 20 bucks in the store or about 15 bucks online.

I'd recommend doing a fishless cycle as they are a lot easier to manage (i did a fishy cycle on my tank and it was a lot of work). here is a link to read up on cycling daveedka's article on cycling

is your small tank still overstocked? are any of those needing to go into your bigger tank? we can help you out there if we know what fish you have left in the small tank.
 
well i have this dumb goldfish which is going and this tiger barb which will be returned today cause they dont get along with anything or do they? and two platies.
 
well the 2 platties could probably stay in the small tank if you want. taking the barb back is probably a good idea since you have mostly peaceful fish except for that guy. is the goldfish going into the bigger tank or is he going back to the store? be warned that goldfish are coldwater fish and don't do well in the water temperatures that other tropical fish require, so they shouldn't be mixed with tropicals.

plus goldfish get very large, and if kept in a small tank will be stunted which will lead to a shorter and more painful life as their organs will outgrow their skeletons over time (which is why most people won't recommend a goldfish for a small tank).

I would say that if none of your current fish get put in the new 10g tank, a dwarf gourami (make sure it's a dwarf as other gouramis will get way too big for a 10g tank) and a few platties OR danios would be fine.

those will require a pretty standard setup with filter, heater and thermometer which you can usually get as a kit from any petstore or (yuck!) wal-mart as well as a testing kit that will test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (get liquid tests, not strips as the strips are less reliable). If you buy the gear individually, I like my aquaclear HOB filter a lot, as you can do pretty much whatever you want with the media compartment as opposed to penguins and whispers which use "cartridges" and "bio-bags".

I also strongly suggest doign a fishless cycle on the new tank if you can be patient. in the long run it is much safer for fish (since there are none in there) and less work (aside from testing your parameters).
 
This has been touched on in earlier posts, but it is very important for tiger barbs to be in a group. When they are in a school they will focus on each other and most of their picking will be limited to establishing/maintaining a pecking order. Of course putting barbs in with any long finned fish is a bad idea (Like the goldfish).

But do not feel too bad. Yes, you should have doe more research, but you have learned a valuable lesson. It is now obvious that you are trying become better informed.

When you move to a ten gallon tank, start off slow. I would suggest not getting more than three fish to start. This way you can watch for interaction and disease. Then if no one is left in the 2 gallon you might be able to use it as a Q-tank for just one or two small fish when you chose to add more. It is still on the small side for a Q-tank, but could work for smaller fish.
 
woofgrrmeow said:
how long do i cycle for before puting in other fish? do i still need watre changes with a fishless cycle? after a cycle and once the fish are in do i need water changes? :read:
Click to expand...

This is where you are going to need the test kits. From what I understand, during the first stages of cycling, you will probably have ammonia>0, nitrites=0, nitrates=0. After sometime, you will start experiencing a nitrite spike while nitrates might still be 0. When your readings hit ammonia=0, nitrites=0, and nitrates>0, then it is safe to put your fish. You don't need to change the water during a fishless cycle. Doing so will just slow down the cycling process as you will take out some of what you are trying to feed/establish your beneficial bacteria.

Also take note that the duration of the cycling process varies from one situation to another so it is best to monitor your water with your kits rather than to assume based on a "standard" time frame.

When the fish are in, you would still have to do regular water changes. At least 25% weekly, depending on your tank's bio-load.

Good luck :)
 
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