New Tank, looking for some input.

[Dr. Hoads]

Hi All,

I just setup my first aquarium. I cycled the tank and am very happy with my natural live plant type setup. Only thing I am sad about was that I decided to setup a 10 gallon tank and then after reading MANY websites, it looks like I should have picked a 20 Gallon as my first as it is better for the fish. Sadly at this point I am committed as I have the stand, filters, etc. all setup.

Filter is a Fluval U1

Anyway.. While investigating what type of fish I can place in a 10 gallon tank, I have begun to drive myself crazy.

So I wanted to have:

3 (1M:2F) Sparkling Gourami
1 (1M) Honey Gourami

6 smaller fish of Either (Endlers, Ember Tetra, Cardinal, Emrald Dwarf Rasbora, Galaxy Rasbora, Harlequin Rasbora) I really wanted the Endlers, but nobody seems to have them.

3 Cherry Shrimp and 1 Apple Snail for Cleanup Crew.

Plugged these into aqadvisor and came up with a few consistent problems.

It says that the Honey and Sparkling Gourami will fight, but when I read about those fish everything says they are peaceful unless you have 2 males. Is there any reason in particular that these 2 fish would not get along?

It also tells me that the Sparkling Gourami will become to aggressive during mating to be with any of the small fish. I have read on other sites that they will co-exist peacefully. Anyone have experience with this?

Some concerns I have that aqadvisor did not display but that I read about. I read that the Ember Tetras can be "sometimes" nippy, and that the Honey Gourami should not be with nippy fish. Anyone have these fish co-existing?

I also read that the Galaxy Rasbora's are endangered and should only be kept for breeding? I am not going to breed them, but I hope to give them a better life than some random person that throws them in a tank without doing any research. Would it be inhumane to put these in my tank?

I never knew this was going to be so complicated to create a fish community until I started doing research. Just wish I did some research before I got that 10 gallon. I am going to try my best to keep it a garden of eden for these guys... (just a small one)

 

[jespenguin]

I can help with tetras, when they are kept in bigger groups they are less likely to nip. 6 should be good, but obviously that doesn't apply to specific fish. Just a general guideline for them, I have black skirts and I've read the same things of possibly nipping unless kept in decent groups.

Hope that helped some

 

[fort384]

Before we get to the fish how did you cycle your tank?

Also curious about what plants you chose and what kind of lighting you have. If you don't know the kinds of plants pics would suffice.

 

[Dr. Hoads]

Washed Gravel and Decorations, added to tank then added water.

I then used Tetra AquaSafe Plus

I let it run for 1 week then added plants

Annubias
Java Fern
Water Wisteria
Narrow Leaf Chain Sword


I also added Tetra SafeStart and Blackwater Extract at this time

I then let it run for 2 weeks.

Now I will add my first fish. One group at a time. I was going to start with the Honey or Sparkling Gourami.

Does this sound like a good process?

For the lighting, I am not sure. It is whatever the standard hood is that comes with the generic startup kits. It seems a bit bright maybe.

 

[fort384]

Ok... so the tank is not cycled yet... not yet ready for fish. I would recommend you do a fishless cycle rather than adding fish straight away. Do you have a test kit?

Here is a good article that describes cycling a tank:
Tips and tricks for your fastest fishless cycle!

As for the plants, it sounds like you have selected some good low light easy plants. What kind of light is it? Is it florescent or incandescent? How many watts?

 

[Dr. Hoads]

Ok, it is a 17W Florescent.

I thought the Tetra Bacteria was good for cycling the tank. Was it because I did not provide raw materials for the bacteria to eat? ie. chuck in a raw shrimp as it says in the article.

 

[fort384]

The bacteria in a bottle stuff is hit or miss... but even if you get a good bacteria culture (unlikely as this stuff is stored for months and shipped through weather conditions that wouldn't let bacteria survive), there needs to be a source of ammonia for the bacteria to feed on. If there is no ammonia, the bacteria starve, and the cycle never happens.

Sounds like you should be ok on lighting and plant selections... that part is good!

 

[Coleallensmom]

The advice fort gave you is correct. The bacterial supplement you used has had not chance to work; w/o an ammonia source, bacteria cannot survive. The link he provided is a good one with some helpful information on cycling a tank w/o fish.

As far as fish are concerned, I wouldn't see why you couldn't keep a sparkling or honey gourami in a 10 gallon. I wouldn't do any of the larger gouramis however, IMO even a dwarf gourami needs at least 20 gallons.
It depends on the individual personality of the fish, but IME gouramis (male or female) can be very territorial fish. While they usually do fine with other peaceful community fish, it is possible they may bully any other gouramis in the tank. Jespenguin gave you some good advice concerning the tetras. Tetras are schooling fish and do best in large groups. Much of the time tendencies toward aggressive behavior can be curbed by keeping them in groups of 6+ as they find comfort in numbers.

 

[Dr. Hoads]

Hrmm.. I checked the exp. date, but I did not think about it getting frozen in some truck somewhere along the line... They should have some built in detector to tell you the bacteria are still alive or something.

So I read the cycle article. Do you think this is ok?

Grab a family members current filter, add that and a raw shrimp to my tank?

Leave dark and then monitor levels?

Oh.. I have another question about my U1 filter that I was just curious about. I had a external hang on filter that uses carbon that came with the tank. I mounted the tank on a stand that is very close to the wall (screwed it in to wall to prevent baby from tipping it over). I got the U1 because it is an in tank filter and I can keep the tank close to the wall. The U1 does not have carbon, it is just a sponge. Is this in any way less effective than the carbon filter?

 

[Dr. Hoads]

Thanks Coleallensmom. Do you know if the Honey and the Sparkle would get along? I have some good hiding spots. I have a rock cave and a twisted piece of driftwood. Also have lots of plants. It seems like none of the aquarium store in my are will take fish in, so I can't really return them if they do not get along, so I want to make sure I make a good selection.

Let me make sure I got my sizes correct. For the Sparkle I have 1" at MAX for the Honey I have 2.5-2.8" Max. Embers .8" Max. Any errors in my data there?

I would have got the 20gallon too. I just picked the 10 thinking it would be the easiest startup, and it turns out 20 would have been easier.. Oh the irony... Biggest investment was the fish stand.. $90... Not to mention that all the other parts I got aren't good enough for a 20. (Filter, Heater, and maybe the air pump... Oh.. and the Tank and the Hood). About $110 more of stuff... :-(

 

[Coleallensmom]

Well... honeys, sparkling, and pearls are considered to be some of the more peaceful of the gouramis, but I don't recommend mixing species w/o a backup plan. They are all territorial fish, males will be territorial with males of other species, and some species are more aggressive towards rivals then others whether they are males or not. You may get away with it, but nothing is guaranteed. Sparkling gouramis are small, somewhat shy and generally well behaved..maybe just stick with those if you want more than one?