10 gallon complications

[SeymourFRESH]

i have a 10 gallon that i'm raising a young cory cat and a young bristlenose pleco in, and i want to keep them in there until they get bigger.

i've also got 2 ghost shrimp and 2 black mollies in this tank, figuring they would keep it cycled well.

the problem i am noticing is that the mollies are way too messy. there are entire days i go without feeding that tank, and the mollies are STILL pooping all over the place! i think this may be why i have encountered worms in this tank (could be planaria...i know i also have white flatworms in there and that's bad enough!)

but this brings me to my question: will a cory cat about 1/2" long and a pleco about 1.25" and 2 ghost shrimp be enough to keep the cycle going in this tank if i take the mollies out? i'm thinking yes, but either way i'm going keep them in there for 2 weeks to see how well they do, just in case the worms are parasitic.

 

[Andyvette]

will a cory cat about 1/2" long and a pleco about 1.25" and 2 ghost shrimp be enough to keep the cycle going in this tank if i take the mollies out?

Yes. A "cycle" is only for whatever bioload you have in the tank. If you had 4 mollies, you would have enough bacteria for the waste/byproducts of 4 mollies (food also). So if you have 2 bottom feeders and a couple shrimp, the "cycle" will be for that bioload.

And yes.... mollies are messy

 

[BrianNY]

Exactly as Andyvette says. The worms have likely been introduced with dried foods. Really nothing to worry about.

BNs grow very slowly. They do need protein in their diet to sustain growth, so a high quality flake food is a good choice.

 

[SeymourFRESH]

hmmm i have noticed a lot more worms lately since i've been feeding less and vaccuming gravel every day

it seems no matter what i can't keep that tank clean! i also can't believe how much waste i vaccum up every day! i hope you're right about the worms being just from dried foods

i have some parasite killer standing by ready to add, but i'm wary because this tank hasn't been cycled for too incredibly long (about 3 weeks at the most) and i don't want to take my carbon out yet

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Is it possible the mollies are eating the worms?

Have you researched if there is a way to get rid of the whiteworms. the planaria are from excess food and protein in the water.. quite possibly from the mollies eating the worms.

 

[SeymourFRESH]

well, i mentioned that i have the whiteworms (planaria) in there, but i also have some weird worm i haven't seen before. almost looks like planaria but it's not white and it's thicker. about the same length though

the mollies COULD just be eating the worms, that is a good point

i really want to take the mollies out but i'm not sure if they have any parasites yet (don't want to spread it to my other tank!)

do you guys think my tank will hold it's cycle if i took the carbon out? that's all i need to do to treat for parasites...just kind of skeptical on doing that!

 

[severum mama]

Sure, you should have enough bacteria in your filter media that it wouldn't make much difference. This, of course, assumes that your filter has separate inserts for mechanical and chemical media. I'm just not sure you should treat your tank for parasites before you know what you're dealing with. You know you have planaria, but I think you should try to ID the other worm before you treat for parasites. Meds can be stressful for fish, so you don't want to medicate unnecessarily.