Nitrates for Christmas

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Kwenbee

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Nov 7, 2003
Messages
163
Location
Delaware
Looks like we may be getting nitrates for Christmas. After the battle I've had with our 10 gallon tank, our ammonia levels are staying steady at "0", and the nitrites, which have been at 2.0 for about two weeks seem to have dropped slightly today.

I am still doing daily water changes (25%), and gravel vacs about once a week.

However, the water is still cloudy looking at the end of each day. We are definitely not overfeeding as I kind of scooch the gravel in various areas of the tank when I do the daily water change, and there is very little waste in the gravel. We've started adding algae chips a few times a week for the algae eater and catfish...could that be the reason for the cloudiness?

Also, when we get the levels to 0 for everything, we want to add a couple more fish. We're looking at tiger barbs. We've got three blackfin tetras, four neon tetras, two albino cats, an algae eater and a guppy right now. After the first of the year, I plan to start hitting yardsales for a 55 gallon tank, since the algae eater is already about twice the size he was when we got him.

Will tiger barbs be okay with the fish we have? The plan is once we get the 55 gal, the 10 will be used as a starter/quarantine tank...we'll just kind of rotate fish into and out of it. We want angels, so how will the barbs do with angels? If they don't get along, we may just leave the neons and tigers in the 10 gallon.
 
Dude wait until you get the 55G to play with more fish, you have a good bio load in the tank already. What type of filteration do you have and also how long have you had your tank set up, are you cycling the tank because if you are, you sould worry about the water parameters to be striaght way before adding any fish. but I need to practice wha I preach since that has happen to me before. I suggest for you to add something called Bacter Vital from Mark Weiss, it's bacteria additives that speed the cycling process in your tank also. Make sure that you feed only enough for your fish to consume in 3 minutes, do not leave anything leftover food roamming around your tank. As for the cloudyness in your tank, that is just a bacteria bloom and you shouldn't worry that much about it. I would work on getting the Nitrite levels to 0 and not overfeeding. ALSO, this does not apply to the bottom Dwellers since they are nocturnal feeders, you can leave some algae tabs in the tank overnight, but as soon you get up, remove all uneaten pieces. :p
 
1. the tank is fully stocked...add nothing more.
2. Everything I've read about Bacter Vital is negative...I wouldn't waste any money on it.
 
I'm not adding anything to the tank...I'm definitely at the end of the cycle process now. The tank has been set up since late October and I made all the beginner mistakes...know much better now.

I am not planning on adding any fish until the nitrites are at 0. They had dropped to .50 today, so that should be soon. However, we have promised my daughter a few more fish for the tank once the levels are okay. She's been so patient waiting for the levels to be good, I can't go back on the promise.

My question is will the tiger barbs be okay with the fish we have now? As I said, within two or three months, I plan to have a 55 gallon tank anyway, so we'd lean toward small fish until we get it up and running.
 
[Sigh]...I spoke too soon...we lost a catfish today. No reason that I can see...they were all fine and today, he was gone. Actually vacuumed him into the tank vacuum before I realized it....he was definitely dead before I vacuumed him, though...no resistance at all.

I read somewhere that we need driftwood for their digestion. The other cat is rather sluggish today, so I wonder if that might be the problem. Should I get some driftwood right away?
 
Can't hurt with driftwood and yes it's needed for their diet. Caution, the driftwood may turn your water a tea colour so expect that. The colour will go away slowly over time though.
 
I wouldn't put Tiger Barbs in a 10 gal or with Angels for that matter. Tiger Barbs are notorious fin nippers and need to be kept in schools of at least 6 or preferebly more in order to behave around other species of fish. I have 10 in a 55 gal with 6 Rosy Barbs and a couple other SHORT finned fish. Angels have long, flowing fins and are just too tempting for Tiger Barbs to resist even if you keep severel of them. Tigers are also very active and 10 gal is way too small for them IME. HTH!
 
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