New member with a 10G.

[jacob9799]

right.

but just to clarify... i DO want nitrATES, correct?

and unfortunately, the closest LFS is about 45 minutes away. i could get one from walmart, but thats just a bad idea to me.

will the shrimp deal actually work?

and i have breaded frozen shrimp in the freezer.... would that work if i scraped the breading off and rinsed it?

 

[jacob9799]

There are some easy plants that would look great and do great things. use the money on live plants opposed than a air pump. the air pump would be too much in this tank.

Personally, i would rather see plants rather than bubbles.. so i think ill give it a shot.

 

[jacob9799]

how will the plants get CO2??

 

[allaboutfish]

right.

but just to clarify... i DO want nitrATES, correct?

and unfortunately, the closest LFS is about 45 minutes away. i could get one from walmart, but thats just a bad idea to me.

will the shrimp deal actually work?

and i have breaded frozen shrimp in the freezer.... would that work if i scraped the breading off and rinsed it?

well i mean you dont exactly want them but they dont hurt your fish until extreme levels. most people try to keep nitrates bellow 20, but 40 is OK. the shrimp will work but you need raw not breaded.

 

[allaboutfish]

how will the plants get CO2??

from the air surrounding the tank and the fish

 

[jacob9799]

Thank you every one!!!

 

[Dburgess1231]

yeah get the starters at walmart. all the leaves will turn brown and "melt" but that is normal and will grow back. give it like a month and it will be fully planted and youll love it

 

[OrQidz]

from what ive read, im probably gonna go with cardinal tetras. to me, they look better than neons(just a small bit, haha)

and i think that ill get some raw shrimp and a test kit later this week, and that maybe the weekend after next, ill start getting fish. slowly but surely.

It sounds like you are doing a lot of research on this, congrats because many people don't and end up with a mess! I do think you need to cycle the tank first, before even considering any fish at all. The first cycle can take weeks to a month, and most fish will not survive an actively cycling tank. I think the first thing you should get, if you don't already have one, is a test kit. A decent one can be a bit pricey but it is an investment that will save you lots of $$ on dead fish down the line. Petco and such will test your water for free, using the test strips, which might be an alternative. If you can get your hands on some plain ammonia, that can be used to cycle the tank with less mess than chucking a shrimp in there. There is a method to measuring the parameters and dosing the ammonia; check around and you can find the instructions.

Happy fishkeeping!

 

[RisiganL.]

Another easy plant is Cabomba. I have some in my tank and it grows nearly an inch every day.

 

[allaboutfish]

Another easy plant is Cabomba. I have some in my tank and it grows nearly an inch every day.

+1 i love my cabomba. such a fast grower.