suggestions on improving my ten gallon

[fishstah]

I have a ten gallon aquarium. I've had it for probably about 6 months. It is already "overstocked", but I've had the same fish and plants in it for over three months and had no deaths. All of the fish and other animals seem to be thriving, actually. I have six neon tetras, two small corydoras, four ghost shrimp, one african dwarf frog, a small bristlenose pleco, and a german blue angel ram. The angel ram is just a morph of the german blue ram. A lot of people seem to have some kind of problem with this fish. I didn't research her at all when I bought her. I was out looking for a sunset honey gourami, couldn't find one, saw the ram and thought it looked pretty cool. I talked to the pet store people and it sounded like a pretty good fit. When I got home and read about it it seemed that I had made a mistake, but it has actually been thriving. It was flashing some when I bought it but doesn't do it anymore and my aquarium eco system is very stable right now. I've had her three months. I have an anubias that recenly rooted to a peice of driftwood and is doing well, but is growing some algae on one of it's leaves that is directly in the light. The brislenose doesn't really help. I also have an amazon sword and it doesn't seem to be growing that well. A lot of it's larger leaves have died, but it has densley packed smaller leaves that are completely green and seem to be growing well at about the same pace. I'm going to petsmart this weekend to get a couple of grass like plants to provide some shade for the anubias, and I think I'm going to start covering the tank during the day when I'm not at home. My hood is an incandecent hood, but I have compact 650k(I think) daylight lights in it. THey are very bright. I'm wondering if it would be worth my money to invest in an actual flourecent hood, or some kind of light dimming device for the hood I already have. Could dimmer lights or an actual flourecent hood make my aquarium look a little better or make the fish a little happier? If you suggest an actual flourecent lamp, what would be a good color temperature or type of light that might help my aquarium look good, promote plant growth, and discourage algae growth? I'm also thinking about throwing a couple more neons in there. My tank is doing so well now that I don't want to throw the balance out of whack, but I think a slightly larger school of neons would make it better. I would appreciate the input of some experienced aquariasts. Thanks.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

No help on lighting... But you seriously need to thin out your stock... Your not just overstocked, your seriously overstocked. Even though your bristlenose is a bristlenose and won't be huge like a common, they still have huge bioloads. And the neons.. Yes they are small but they are a very active fish that needs more room than a 10g. Cories need to be in groups of atleast 5. I have to ask what are your water params? Did you ever cycle the tank?

 

[fishstah]

Yeah, I cycled the tank. My stock is absolutely fine, despite what everyone would tell me, because my fish are perfectly healthy. They are all actually in better condition than they were when I bought them. Every single one of them. The neons are extremely bright, radiant and active. They had frayed dorsal fins when I got them, which have healed. They seem to like it a little better when the light is off though. Like I said, since my tank has been stocked the way it is I have not had one single death, not even a shrimp. Its been about three months, which I would consider stable. I don't see myselft suddenly having problems due to overstocking unless I ad more fish. My cheap test strips say that my whater is about medium in hardness, maybe slightly hard, ph slightly below neutral, maybe 6.8 or 6.9. I wouldn't change it because it seems to work. I do fairly frequent water changes, but only one gallon at a time. My nitrite and ammonia stay at zero, and my nitate stayes at 5 to 10 ppm. The only reason I put up the thread is because I wanted to know if a certain kind of flourecent lamp or dimmer lighting might make my tank look a little better or discourage algae growth before I wasted 40 bucks on a new hood, or some type of device to dim my lights.

 

[Cynic]

My stock is absolutely fine, despite what everyone would tell me, because my fish are perfectly healthy. T

Despite what you're saying they really are not fine at all.

 

[Coursair]

I use mini CFLs in my 10g
These http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003QZF7JA/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1338862052&sr=8-1

I use a timer so my lights are on four hours, off when I'm gone and back on four hours in the evening.

Best way to control Algae, control lights with timers, no direct sunlight.
Weekly PWCs 25-30%
Don't overfeed, but with Neons I like to feed twice daily ( small amounts ).

Your tank won't work long term. It is overstocked, but you'll learn.

I also have live plants. Amazon Frogbit is a nice floater, my shy fish like them. But they won't grow for everyone.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Yeah, I cycled the tank. My stock is absolutely fine, despite what everyone would tell me, because my fish are perfectly healthy. They are all actually in better condition than they were when I bought them. Every single one of them. The neons are extremely bright, radiant and active. They had frayed dorsal fins when I got them, which have healed. They seem to like it a little better when the light is off though. Like I said, since my tank has been stocked the way it is I have not had one single death, not even a shrimp. Its been about three months, which I would consider stable. I don't see myselft suddenly having problems due to overstocking unless I ad more fish. My cheap test strips say that my whater is about medium in hardness, maybe slightly hard, ph slightly below neutral, maybe 6.8 or 6.9. I wouldn't change it because it seems to work. I do fairly frequent water changes, but only one gallon at a time. My nitrite and ammonia stay at zero, and my nitate stayes at 5 to 10 ppm. The only reason I put up the thread is because I wanted to know if a certain kind of flourecent lamp or dimmer lighting might make my tank look a little better or discourage algae growth before I wasted 40 bucks on a new hood, or some type of device to dim my lights.

That's another problem; test strips. they see highly inaccurate. Many here have tried strips and can say there is a huge difference in a liquid test kit and the strips. I beg you to please think about your stock, it's way to crowded.

 

[Samzter]

I have a ten gallon aquarium. I've had it for probably about 6 months. It is already "overstocked", but I've had the same fish and plants in it for over three months and had no deaths. All of the fish and other animals seem to be thriving, actually. I have six neon tetras, two small corydoras, four ghost shrimp, one african dwarf frog, a small bristlenose pleco, and a german blue angel ram. The angel ram is just a morph of the german blue ram. A lot of people seem to have some kind of problem with this fish. I didn't research her at all when I bought her. I was out looking for a sunset honey gourami, couldn't find one, saw the ram and thought it looked pretty cool. I talked to the pet store people and it sounded like a pretty good fit. When I got home and read about it it seemed that I had made a mistake, but it has actually been thriving. It was flashing some when I bought it but doesn't do it anymore and my aquarium eco system is very stable right now. I've had her three months. I have an anubias that recenly rooted to a peice of driftwood and is doing well, but is growing some algae on one of it's leaves that is directly in the light. The brislenose doesn't really help. I also have an amazon sword and it doesn't seem to be growing that well. A lot of it's larger leaves have died, but it has densley packed smaller leaves that are completely green and seem to be growing well at about the same pace. I'm going to petsmart this weekend to get a couple of grass like plants to provide some shade for the anubias, and I think I'm going to start covering the tank during the day when I'm not at home. My hood is an incandecent hood, but I have compact 650k(I think) daylight lights in it. THey are very bright. I'm wondering if it would be worth my money to invest in an actual flourecent hood, or some kind of light dimming device for the hood I already have. Could dimmer lights or an actual flourecent hood make my aquarium look a little better or make the fish a little happier? If you suggest an actual flourecent lamp, what would be a good color temperature or type of light that might help my aquarium look good, promote plant growth, and discourage algae growth? I'm also thinking about throwing a couple more neons in there. My tank is doing so well now that I don't want to throw the balance out of whack, but I think a slightly larger school of neons would make it better. I would appreciate the input of some experienced aquariasts. Thanks.

Sorry to tell you, despite what you say, those fish are too big or active for the tank. Neons, Bristlenose pleco, and the ram ( maybe even the Cories) need to be in a 20g tank.

 

[aqua_chem]

I agree with what's been already said; with the possible (and debatable) exception of the neons, none of those fish belong in a 10g long term, emphasis on the last part. The might be fine for now, but most likely the fish you have are very young. As they grow, you will likely start to see issues. Alternatively, you won't see anything, but the damaging effects of the smaller environment will cause internal damage, ending in a reduced lifespan. Additionally, its not necessarily the health of the fish that should be prioritized, but also their happiness, as odd as it is to say. Fish aren't fixtures to many of us, but rather pets who have complex and important needs beyond just health. This is similar to how a husky isn't necessarily a good choice in a hot climate, or a border collie isn't a good choice if your aren't going to able to exercise it and provide an active environment.


As far as your lights go, you can't really get a dimmer for CFLs or fluorescent lights. That's largely just an LED thing. Depending on what the wattage of the bulbs you have is, you could get a weaker bulbs. 10w is about as low as you'll see commonly available, and that's actually a reasonable amount of light for most things. If that's still too much, than can look into getting a fluorescent strip.

 

[fishstah]

Look, I bought a ten gallon tank, so that's that. Some day I'll get a huge tank, but it's definately going to be saltwater. Most of the fish that I have have a realatively short lifespan anyway. They are going to be kept in captivity, not the wild. They will not be at the highest possible level of comfort, no matter what. The only one I would consider getting rid of is the bristlenose because I got him for a purpose and he doesn't do his job. From everything I've read, the health of neons is based on their color. I have the brightest neons I've EVER seen. Most of the neons i've seen are in pet stores and they look like crap. Mine looked like crap; now they look better. For my purposes three months is long term, and nothing is changing as far as the fish go. They are perfectly fine and I find no reason to listen to you people who have larger aquariums and go strictly by the "rules" of one small fish per gallon, blah, blah, blah. My Ram is also healthier than the day I bought it. The cories might want more company but my tank is too small, so they are out of luck. They are alive and showing no signs of passing away. That's all I'm really worried about. You all can chew me out about how overstocked my aquarium is, but only two of you gave me a thread of decent advice on how to improve my lighting. I'm actually not worried about the health of my fish as much as my plants. Some of them are being out competed by algae. I'm considering bying a hood to house a flourecent lamp and I want really blue light for visual effect, but enough of a full spectrum to keep my plants alive. I could dim the lights by getting something to reduce the wattage that reaches the hood, I just don't know if it's a great Idea. My Fish, especially the neons do kind of freak when I turn the lights on, but I want a nice display. I wish i had focused on lighting and not even told how many fish I have in my little bitty aquarium. My nitrates stay low enough, my fish show no signs of stress whatsoever. It's perfect. Somebody throw me a frickin bone. GIve me a good light temperature for a flourecent lamp to really make the color of fish pop, while keeping my plants healthy and preferably my algae unhealthy. Geez.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Look, I bought a ten gallon tank, so that's that. Some day I'll get a huge tank, but it's definately going to be saltwater. Most of the fish that I have have a realatively short lifespan anyway. They are going to be kept in captivity, not the wild. They will not be at the highest possible level of comfort, no matter what. The only one I would consider getting rid of is the bristlenose because I got him for a purpose and he doesn't do his job. From everything I've read, the health of neons is based on their color. I have the brightest neons I've EVER seen. Most of the neons i've seen are in pet stores and they look like crap. Mine looked like crap; now they look better. For my purposes three months is long term, and nothing is changing as far as the fish go. They are perfectly fine and I find no reason to listen to you people who have larger aquariums and go strictly by the "rules" of one small fish per gallon, blah, blah, blah. My Ram is also healthier than the day I bought it. The cories might want more company but my tank is too small, so they are out of luck. They are alive and showing no signs of passing away. That's all I'm really worried about. You all can chew me out about how overstocked my aquarium is, but only two of you gave me a thread of decent advice on how to improve my lighting. I'm actually not worried about the health of my fish as much as my plants. Some of them are being out competed by algae. I'm considering bying a hood to house a flourecent lamp and I want really blue light for visual effect, but enough of a full spectrum to keep my plants alive. I could dim the lights by getting something to reduce the wattage that reaches the hood, I just don't know if it's a great Idea. My Fish, especially the neons do kind of freak when I turn the lights on, but I want a nice display. I wish i had focused on lighting and not even told how many fish I have in my little bitty aquarium. My nitrates stay low enough, my fish show no signs of stress whatsoever. It's perfect. Somebody throw me a frickin bone. GIve me a good light temperature for a flourecent lamp to really make the color of fish pop, while keeping my plants healthy and preferably my algae unhealthy. Geez.

What you don't realize is the fish you have actually can live quite a long time if taken care of properly. You are not taking care of them properly. It's sad that you say you need more
Cories but do not have the room so they are out of luck. If you cared more about the plants health jn the first place you shouldn't have bought any fish. Plain and simple. And no one who replied that I saw as you said 'go by the one small fish per gallon blah, blah, blah'. You obviously go by that rule because multiple people told you the fish you have are not suitable for a 10g. And just a thought... You shouldn't need any special light to make your fishes color pop if they are really colored as well as you say they are. If you wouldve done your research you should know the ram and shrimp have the shortest life span, only about a year or so, even that is a considerable amount of time. Everything else averages about 3-5 years, the tetras 10 years. I wouldn't call that a short life spam myself.

 

[owen0992]

Look, I bought a ten gallon tank, so that's that. Some day I'll get a huge tank, but it's definately going to be saltwater. Most of the fish that I have have a realatively short lifespan anyway. They are going to be kept in captivity, not the wild. They will not be at the highest possible level of comfort, no matter what. The only one I would consider getting rid of is the bristlenose because I got him for a purpose and he doesn't do his job. From everything I've read, the health of neons is based on their color. I have the brightest neons I've EVER seen. Most of the neons i've seen are in pet stores and they look like crap. Mine looked like crap; now they look better. For my purposes three months is long term, and nothing is changing as far as the fish go. They are perfectly fine and I find no reason to listen to you people who have larger aquariums and go strictly by the "rules" of one small fish per gallon, blah, blah, blah. My Ram is also healthier than the day I bought it. The cories might want more company but my tank is too small, so they are out of luck. They are alive and showing no signs of passing away. That's all I'm really worried about. You all can chew me out about how overstocked my aquarium is, but only two of you gave me a thread of decent advice on how to improve my lighting. I'm actually not worried about the health of my fish as much as my plants. Some of them are being out competed by algae. I'm considering bying a hood to house a flourecent lamp and I want really blue light for visual effect, but enough of a full spectrum to keep my plants alive. I could dim the lights by getting something to reduce the wattage that reaches the hood, I just don't know if it's a great Idea. My Fish, especially the neons do kind of freak when I turn the lights on, but I want a nice display. I wish i had focused on lighting and not even told how many fish I have in my little bitty aquarium. My nitrates stay low enough, my fish show no signs of stress whatsoever. It's perfect. Somebody throw me a frickin bone. GIve me a good light temperature for a flourecent lamp to really make the color of fish pop, while keeping my plants healthy and preferably my algae unhealthy. Geez.

Your tone is very negative here.
1. "Look, I bought a ten gallon tank, so that's that." -- Seems kinda rude.
2. "Most of the fish that I have have a realatively short lifespan anyway." -- Is a terrible reason to treat something with disregard to their quality of life. Makes it seem that you don't actually care for the fish.
3."They will not be at the highest possible level of comfort, no matter what." -- That is false. They can be at a very high level of comfort if you are willing to put forth any kind of effort and listen to the people who know what they are talking about on here.
4. "For my purposes three months is long term" --- What...? Do you not plan on keeping them longer than that....
5. "They are perfectly fine and I find no reason to listen to you people who have larger aquariums" --- They will not be perfectly fine if allowed to grow out in a ten gallon and you will not be able to tell that they're fine just from their outward physical appearance. And you have every reason to listen to those more experienced than you as they are MORE EXPERIENCED. You can't come on here looking for advice and then just shrug off what you are told just because you don't like what you are hearing.
6. " I'm actually not worried about the health of my fish"-- Then for their sake please return them to the store.
7. "It's perfect" --- It's not.

You are overstocked. I've only been in the hobby for a little over a year and could tell immediately and without aqadvisor.com that you are. Please don't be rude and disregard the good advice you receive on here. Anyone who takes the time to reply actually cares and knows what they're talking about.

Now, for your problem. If you are having algae issues cutting down on the hours your light is on will help. A 6-7 hour time of light exposure is what I read on here as recommended to reduce algae. You mentioned somewhere in here that you are looking for a more blueish coloring in your light. That would mean going higher in the k rating of bulbs. Around 10000K is a blue sky. While the color light may be what you want to see it is less what your plants need. More advice that I have read on here is that 6500K is recommended for optimal plant growth. I have 6500K flourescant bulbs in my fixture that are growing plants like mad. The bulbs I bought fit into my fixture that came with the tank.

Seriously though, you should donate some of those fish to people with bigger tanks or return a few. It is for their own good. Their pets to care for, not some pretty decorations in water.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

If you want more opinions on lighting, post in the planted section and you might get more responses there. Just a thought.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Your tone is very negative here.
1. "Look, I bought a ten gallon tank, so that's that." -- Seems kinda rude.
2. "Most of the fish that I have have a realatively short lifespan anyway." -- Is a terrible reason to treat something with disregard to their quality of life. Makes it seem that you don't actually care for the fish.
3."They will not be at the highest possible level of comfort, no matter what." -- That is false. They can be at a very high level of comfort if you are willing to put forth any kind of effort and listen to the people who know what they are talking about on here.
4. "For my purposes three months is long term" --- What...? Do you not plan on keeping them longer than that....
5. "They are perfectly fine and I find no reason to listen to you people who have larger aquariums" --- They will not be perfectly fine if allowed to grow out in a ten gallon and you will not be able to tell that they're fine just from their outward physical appearance. And you have every reason to listen to those more experienced than you as they are MORE EXPERIENCED. You can't come on here looking for advice and then just shrug off what you are told just because you don't like what you are hearing.
6. " I'm actually not worried about the health of my fish"-- Then for their sake please return them to the store.
7. "It's perfect" --- It's not.

You are overstocked. I've only been in the hobby for a little over a year and could tell immediately and without aqadvisor.com that you are. Please don't be rude and disregard the good advice you receive on here. Anyone who takes the time to reply actually cares and knows what they're talking about.

Now, for your problem. If you are having algae issues cutting down on the hours your light is on will help. A 6-7 hour time of light exposure is what I read on here as recommended to reduce algae. You mentioned somewhere in here that you are looking for a more blueish coloring in your light. That would mean going higher in the k rating of bulbs. Around 10000K is a blue sky. While the color light may be what you want to see it is less what your plants need. More advice that I have read on here is that 6500K is recommended for optimal plant growth. I have 6500K flourescant bulbs in my fixture that are growing plants like mad. The bulbs I bought fit into my fixture that came with the tank.

Seriously though, you should donate some of those fish to people with bigger tanks or return a few. It is for their own good. Their pets to care for, not some pretty decorations in water.

Same here. I've been in the hobby since end of July 2012. I've learned so much just by doing one simple thing- research. Which in turn lead me here and I've learned so much from members here. And I won't lie, I'm still learning. I started out with a 10 gallon, moved up to a 30 gallon and now have a 55 gallon. As said here, we reply to your thread because we care. It's not just to start a bickering war, it's because we TRUELY care. Please take this to heart OP.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

This is a reminder to 'be nice' as per the community rules.

The OP is well aware of the stock issues. Lets all drop the subject and concentrate on answering the original question.

 

[Jess1ca]

If we see a problem with someone's stock we tell them, as we did with you and many others.

"We" are not a gang.

Your tone is very negative here. Please don't be rude and disregard the good advice you receive on here.

I see this happen time & time again when we have new members join. We have alot of new acquisitions who come here seeking advice on they're tanks. Alot of people are oblivious to the fact they're overstocked, some people have an idea, but feel as if things are fine. Kinda like OP. Yes, we are here to give advice, yes op is overstocked but I think we need to find better ways of communicating than having the new member feel backed into a corner. They are usually left with no choice than to be rude & stick to they're guns. If we can keep our "tone" in check we would have a better chance in persuading the poster into doing the right thing, in turn improving the fishes lives as well.

 

[owen0992]

-.- I apologize then... I really do hope my advice on the bulb helps though.

 

[fishstah]

Thanks for the advice about color temperature. MIne right now if 6500k, but they are cfls and I think they are too bright. I'm starting to think that the best solution is to get a big grass plant to shade the top of the tank, and to find a way to dim my cfls a bit. I've looked into dimming cfls and I'm not sure it can be done, or if it can be done it might be difficult or expensive. I've found lately that my neons swim around freely when the light is off, but when its on they go to the bottom and huddle around the amazon sword. It just makes me really mad, because you guys have no idea how much effort and study I've put into my aquarium, and how difficult it is to succesfully stock a ten gallon tank with fish that are actually decent to look at. Your options are very limited. All of my fish fit loosely with a ten gallon tank. I have exactly ten fish. Neons are very small fish, but they are very active. They do prefer a bigger tank, but in some situations people have success with them in ten gallon tanks, and they are really cool. That was the main kind of fish I wanted. Corys also fit loosely into a ten gallon tank. It is debatable. They constantly clean the substrate keeping my nitrogen containing chemicals lower. Believe it or not, if you do enough research, a german blue ram can be held in a ten gallon tank. They are a little on the large side, but they are slow moving, not that active, and completely unagressive community fish. They can also be kept alone. Mine is about max size for a ram. If you research further, you'll also find that they are not beginner fish and very difficult to keep alive and healthy. Mine had some problems when I put him in, but he's adjusted well, and I'm very proud to have kept one alive and healthy for a three month period. He was flashing and had frayed pectorals when I got him. That kind of thing is hard to notice at a pet store, and I was almost certain that he would die when I got him, but he has adjusted really well, no longer flashes, and his fins have healed. He is active and I like the way he acts. I bought him from an out of town pet store, and I couldn't get him to eat at first. I went to my local pet store because I wanted to get some frozen food to try to get him to eat. I was told that it didn't matter what I fed him, he was going to die anyway. They apparently had tried to keep rams and couldn't keep them alive. What I found out, is that he is actually a bottom feeder, and now eats very well. Bristlenose pleco are too big for a ten gallon tank, and they carry a high bioload for their size, but mine is very small. I would consider getting rid of him, because he doesn't seem to eat much algae. If he gets a lot bigger i'll just take him back to the pet store, and probably not get another one. Ghost shrimp and dwarf frogs carry almost no bioload at all. I'm trying to improve my aqurium, because i miss all of the meticulous planning and research that went into it initially, Right now it's kind of on autopilot, but I have a few small issues that I want to address. It upsets me that all people want to do is try to tear me apart without truly knowing where I'm coming from. Please no more negative posts, you will not change my mind. I don't want to throw money away on a larger aquarium right now. I regret bying a ten gallon but I won't make the same mistake twice by upping to just a 20 or so. Next time I'm going big or not at all.

 

[aqua_chem]

What's the wattage of you CFLs?

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Maybe try a cfl with a lower lumens, would that make it dimmer?

 

[Coursair]

Bristlenose need wood to chew on. Driftwood is good. Some floating plants will help with neons. I have lots of plants so light doesn't bother my shy fish. Too dim will kill your plants.