Stocking a 10g tank

[dundadundun]

Im not trying to ignore you. I just want other opinions in the mix as well.

Anyway, water changes are a pain, but they are worth having a clean tank and seeing the fish swimming around happily. But then again, my biggest tank is only 10g so I cant say I have had to do a big w/c like people with bigger tanks have to do.

i respect your want for other opinions. however... have you noticed once i go into detail, folks tend to back off from posting in your threads? either they disagree and realize posting is only going to pose issues or cause confusion or they just realize that posting another method will only cause confusion. i'm trying to keep you focused and on the straight and narrow according to your goals and keep you from being confused until you get what you already have straightened out and cycled completely. once that's done and you have enough bacteria in your tanks to throw around, you should feel free to blast through whatever means you feel necessary for your next tank.

with that... might i suggest instead of replying to me on other threads that you either pm me and blast me one, or make a constructive thread to gain more information on what you have going ATM?
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maybe moonstream doesn't realize you've got your betta in something more like a "betta bowl" or a "goldfish bowl" awaiting movement to your 5 gal. when you move the other fish up? idk... but although i think the surface turbulence point is very valid, i still think filtration is important for the best environment and health. if we could see how he's being kept, maybe someone could suggest something to get him by for now with minimum turbulence...

yes... bring them back... definitely bring them back... regardless what the species is... bring them back ... and get more neons once your tank is cycled...

until then... do more water changes! not every other day... you're fish-in cycling... so your w/c's should be ona schedule closer to what i suggest over on URC... every day minimum! i'll just warn you one time again... you're going to stall your cycle this way... period. either you're going to have a lack of food for your bacteria by doing w/c's correctly for the health of your fish or you're not going to have enough bacteria to sustain your final bio load and you'll go through several mini-cycles until your tank is finally stocked. this means keeping your betta in that bowl for longer or doing daily w/c's for an extra month or two. but if you really think the advice you're getting at the LFS is that important, by all means.........

 

[nerdyrcdriver]

You have a good point with that whole top paragraph. I was actually going to say

"I am not trying to ignore you, I just want other opinions in the mix. Anyway this isnt the place for that"
But for some reason decided not to say that last sentence.


With everything else

I was never going to remove the filter from the hex 5. I was considering adding some sort of bubbling thing as decor but he is a double fin so it might push him around pretty good.

Ok, I will take all of the fish back. But I am assuming that you (dundadundun) are talking about when they are done cycling the tank. I really want to keep them, but they are a bit big so I understand getting rid of them. Plus idk if they are fin nippers and I dont want to find out the hard way


The lfs said do weekly water changes and from what you told me prior I already knew that was wrong. Idk where I pulled ever other day from, I will start doing every day water changes. Is 20% enough since it is every day? If not what is? I can do more, but the lfs said never take more than 25% out at a time. BUT they were wrong about the w/c so they might very well be wrong with that too. I guess that you have swayed me to believe you with everything. you have been doing this much longer than anyone else that I know and it seems to be working out for you.

 

[moonstream]

if you're going to get rid of the fish anyways, why put them through the stress of cycling? just return them and FISHLESS cycle. no water changes during the cycle, takes less time than fish-in cycling, and the bacteria population will be large enough to stock moderately from the get-go. it'll be better all around, and IMO there's no reason to ever do a fish-in cycle. get pure (clear/clean) ammonia from the hardware store; add enough to reach 5ppm (you'll have to experiment some, the amount varies from bottle to bottle) and continue adding every day until the cycle has finished. its what I did with my 29g, and its worked wonderfully. when you're done, add your guppies and neons, and then add a few more neons.

as for the betta; he'll be fine in a (at least 1g) bowl so long as its HEATED and the water is changed often. I've kept bettas like this short-term before; just be very vigilant for fin rot, and change the water often (NOT weekly; at least bi-weekly, preferably tri-weekly) and dont over-feed.

more than 25% water changes are fine, jsut be sure to match temperature and such to the tank water and you wont have a problem. I've done 50% water changes on my 10g betta sorority a few times, when the tannins in the tank got too dark. all inhabitants (5 female bettas and 4 or 5 ghost shrimp) were fine.

 

[nerdyrcdriver]

Yep, the tank thing is on one of those heating pads that people use for their back and stuff. I just leave it on low through the night and it maintains the temp (as my parents are too cheap to turn on the heat). I change the water in his tank every wed, and saturday.

The thing with the fishless cycling is, I dont have the $ to buy a testing kit. I dont want to buy all of the stuff individually because it would cost much more in the long run.

 

[nerdyrcdriver]

I have been keeping up with the once a day water changes to the best of my ability (every day but last night when I wasnt home). But I need a little help in this thread.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forum...eaving-fish-on-vacation&p=2694507#post2694507

 

[dundadundun]

ha! saw that one first. sounds good... how's the cycling going? any new news?

 

[nerdyrcdriver]

No new news about the tank. I have been keeping up with the water changes as best as I can. I missed two days that were a few days apart due to being gone from the end of school to 10pm. The fish are still in the tank and seem to be doing well, I think the tank is still cycling. I didnt do anything to stop it.

I had a lot of trouble getting here lately. The past few days I couldnt even get to the site at all. It just came up with an "aw snap" page where something went wrong. It coulcdnt find it at all. I tried several times each day.

 

[nerdyrcdriver]

Ok, So for the final stocking when the tank is ready (man if i ever need to cycle a tank again I just need some dr tims!) will be

the two male guppies I already have
3 neon tetras I already have
3 more neon tetras I need to buy
some sort of shrimp. Looking at cherry if birds and beast has them. Also how many?

I was wondering about the shrimp. Do I need to wait till later down the road or can I add them and hope they get the flake food that makes its way to the bottom? Is there some sort of plant they like to eat that I could give them that is easy for me to take care of (although it would be eaten eventually)?

 

[allaboutfish]

wait a month b4 you get the shrimp. anachris is a good plant and shrimp dont eat plants. also algae wafers or shrimp pellets would be better for the shrimp.

 

[livebearerfreak]

That is a really stocked tank. http://aqadvisor.com/AquStockImage....200909300114:,6:200909300144:,2:200909300093:

I get that. I mean if you are comfortable with that go for it.

i have to say, aqua advisor is not a relieable source....... half the time they are not up to date... so i wouldnt trust that source..