Tank 'tune-up'

[jcarlilesiu]

Hi everybody. Well I was just looking for some advice. I have had a tank for about 10 years now.. things were great in it until I contracted some nasty fungus of some kind. Fish were developing mouth rot and all that nonsense, and I just couldn't get rid of it. My goldfish that was about 4.5 inches in length died first after 3 years of companionship. His name was 'Willy'. After that, I treated the tank and added 2 more gold fish, everything was fine for a while until they started developing similar symptoms, and eventually turned belly up even with treatment and frequent water changes. After that I let the tank sit empty for about 3 months. Last weekend I drained it, washed everything out with clean water replaced the gravel base that was in there with a finer, more natural looking base. reused a big rock i had previously, put in a new piece of drift wood, and the tank has been sitting like that for about a week. Last night I went and bought some plants, I wish to make it a fully live tank, some swords, some moss for the drift wood some, and some other plants. I added some 'cycle starter' and there it sits. The tank looks good now, but it could really use a few more plants. maybe ill see how these do, I know the grasses will create shoots. This weekend I'm going to get a new test kit and make sure everything is in line, and if it is, get some fish. I want a good variety, and i want to steer away from goldfish, or other 'dirty' fist. A small school of tetras would be cool, maybe a bala shark, or some dwarf cihlids. Its only a 10 gallon so I know I'm limited, but any suggestions on anything I just said would be appreciated.

[severum mama]

A bala shark will get way too big for a 10 gallon, but your other ideas would work fine. You could keep dwarf cichlids in there, like a pair of blue rams or apistogramma, and maybe 5 small tetras like neons or glowlights. Then [acronym:1d825c3c95="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:1d825c3c95] you'd be pushing the limits of the tank. Both blue rams and all the species of apistogramma that I've heard of are sensitive to water quality, and fare much better in an established tank. They are not the fish I would add first. If you decide against dwarf cichlids, you could keep a school of 5-6 small tetras and a few pygmy cories, or leave out the cories or tetras and go with a dwarf gourami.

You added the cycle starter and the tank is sitting empty, correct? The cycle will not begin until you have an ammonia source to feed your bacteria (either fish, or preferably, pure ammonia for a fishless cycle). What equipment will you be using (filter, heater, lighting, etc.)? If you need any help with anything else, let us know.

Oh, and WELCOME to AA!!!!!

[Fluff]

I agree with severum, the bala is a bad choice. But, I like the small school of tetras and dwarf cichlids or gourami idea. Or, for something totally different, how about some dwarf puffers? Of course, that would limit you to only the puffers but they are fun to keep and do great in planted tanks.
Welcome to AA.

[jcarlilesiu]

Well I definatly know that I want 'schooling' fish, I really like tetras, but I hate the fact that they are so hard to breed. I don't plan on doing and huge breeding just something for fun, and to maintain tank numbers. Maybe mollies would be a better option. Will any of the fish you listed impede breeding? As far as equipment, I have a standard 15 w flourecent light, but all plants are low light that I got, or at least the guy at the lfs said. I have a wisper medium bag charcoal filter hob with out the bio-wheel. I have removed the carbon so that the fertalizer isn't removed from the water. I have a standard 10 gallon glass hob heater that has been set to maintain about 76 degrees right now. i think that might be a little cool, but Im adjusting slowly. Sorry if all my terminology isn't right, im pretty new to this. Does this all sound good?

oh, bye the way... I thought this "cycle" started contained the ammonia to get it all going.. Secondly, how long will those plants last if there in fact isn't any ammonia let alone nitrites?

[severum mama]

If you want to breed mollies you would need another tank to use for the fry, or the parents will eat most of them, and I think 10 gallons is a little small for adult mollies but would be fine for growing out fry, if you want to upgrade to a larger tank. And you may want to check with your [acronym:ab710f2397="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:ab710f2397] to see if they would take the babies off your hands, otherwise you'll have more than you know what to do with.

15 watts of light will be fine for low light plants, you shouldn't have any problems.

If you plan to cycle with fish, [acronym:ab710f2397="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:ab710f2397] you'll need to add the cycle starter again when you add fish (since right now there is nothing to feed the bacteria), and make sure to go very slowly with your stocking. If you want to try fishless cycling, it will avoid unnecessary stress on your fish. There is an article on this site about how to do this. Do you have any friends that have established healthy tanks? If so, you could cycle much more quickly by adding some of their used filter media to your filter. [acronym:ab710f2397="Hope this helps (or) Happy to help"]HTH[/acronym:ab710f2397]

[Fluff]

I've never used 'cycle' but I believe it is supposed to contain the beneficial bacteria that jumpstarts your tank. But, without a source of ammonia for this bacteria to live off of, it will eventually die. Feed the tank a few times a week just to keep it going. Mollies are a nice idea (the small black or dalmation ones, the sailfins and lyretail etc. will get to large) and will breed but the babies will be food for anything you add to the tank, including the parents. Although, with the plants, they do stand a better chance. I know nothing about planted tanks and ferts, etc. so I can't help you with that.


*edit-oops, severum beat me to it.

[jcarlilesiu]

I have a net compartment that hangs off the side of the tank... I used to have guppies along time ago and they breeded inadvertantly... my brother has a 55 gallon with guppies and some friends so all of those were given away. I forsee the same situation now.. I will find somewhere for the offspring to go, the [acronym:dad37c0113="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:dad37c0113] is a small outfit, but extremely nice, so maybe they would take them off my hands too, but breeding is so satisfying, i would really like to take it on. I plan on getting the small school of whatever this weekend, so we will see how that goes. thanks for all your help, ill post some pictures of my tank soon. I know it isn't big, but I have a small studio on the northside of chicago, so I can't accomodate a bigger tank right now. thanks again for all your help, im sure ill post more as things progress

[tkos]

My friend thought the same thing. Keep a nice 10 gallon with guppies and give them away when needed. But fish stores here don't want them (it upsets the breeders that sell fish to them) and her 10 gallon is getting way too overstocked. Livebearers will fill any size tank pretty quickly.

Why not look into danios. A 10 gallon is sort of the minimum for them but I have heard of people breeding them successfully in smaller tanks. It will take some set up work but that generally means it is harder to end up with a tank too full of fish. A little google research should help you out in that case.

[jcarlilesiu]

thanks for the advice!

[zenkatydid]

as far as i'm aware, a school of guppies will not breed to overstock the tank. it might look crowded to you, but if they feel the water condition and the area given is not big enough, they'll stop breeding. someone i know witnessed this personally - i think their tank was 10g as well, actually.