Two Quick Questions! Thank You in Advance!

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traci.shea86

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
Messages
5
Location
Las Vegas
Hi Everyone!

I've been reading that using Prime is better then Stress Coat for water conditioning. If so, is it okay to switch via water changes or would that shock my fishy face? I've used Stress Coat for three years so I'm nervous on switching products on my babies.

One other question, I am cycling a new 10gal and wanted to add a mystery snail, ghost shrimp and pleco in prior to my lady moving in. Shall I treat the new tank mates before putting them in? If I do, what is the best medication for this?

Thank you very much for any and all advice!!!! :thanks:
 
Hey Traci,

Regarding switching from Stress Coat to Prime, you can switch right away on your next water change. I've used Aqueon's water conditioner in the past as it came in a small sample bottle when I bought my 55g kit way back when, and when I ran out, I switched to Seachem Prime with no ill effects.

As for your other question, are you buying the snail, ghost shrimp, and pleco from your LFS and adding them to the 10g? If so, you would not need any medication. Since this will basically be the same thing as a QT tank, in that there are no fish now, but you will be adding new fish to a brand new tank, you will just need to monitor it first. And would only need medication if you notice some type of disease/illness.

Also, I would not add the Pleco right away, as there will not be enough algae to supplement him/her. On the other hand, you can always supplement with Algae wafers etc. Are you cycling the 10g with filter media from your other tank? If not, this will greatly speed up the cycling process.

I'm sure more members will chime in, but just thought I'd share my experience/suggestions.
 
Thank you, Scottb!

I was going to get them from Petco as they seem to be healthier then Petsmart. Is it Mystery Snails that don't reproduce in freshwater? Don't want an infestion of snails! How many Ghost Shrimp are okay to get? Do they need buddies?
 
Thank you, Scottb!

I was going to get them from Petco as they seem to be healthier then Petsmart. Is it Mystery Snails that don't reproduce in freshwater? Don't want an infestion of snails! How many Ghost Shrimp are okay to get? Do they need buddies?

No problem! Can you let me know what kind of filter you are using for your 10G? Also, I would advise against a pleco. Even the small ones, such as Clown Pleco's may get too big for a 10g. Since you are thinking of doing shrimp, I would just stick with them. 5-6 or so should be good for a 10g. However, a new setup won't have enough algae to supplement the shrimp, so my advice would be to look into specific foods for them.

I know Nerite snails will not reproduce, not sure on Mystery snails. Again, you will need to supplement them with algae wafers and such, since this is a new setup.

I assume you aren't planning on adding any fish to this tank?
 
It's an Aqueon 10 that came with the tank. I'm thinking of attaching a sponge to the output though. It's my little betta, Lady Monroe's new "palace". The tank seems to be finished cycling and there's some algae on the top of the tank already.
 
It's an Aqueon 10 that came with the tank. I'm thinking of attaching a sponge to the output though. It's my little betta, Lady Monroe's new "palace". The tank seems to be finished cycling and there's some algae on the top of the tank already.

If you are worried about the output flow being too strong for Lady Monroe, look on this forum for DIY fixes to that. Also, I would recommend getting a sponge filter/cover for the intake tube. You can find them relatively cheap online.

One thing to note is that your betta may decide to eat the shrimp. I successfully keep my betta with RCS, but it's a planted 20g so the shrimp have hiding spots. I know ghost shrimp can get pretty large though so you may be okay. You might just have to try it with a few shrimp with varying sizes to see if it will work.

Also, if you haven't already, you should try looking at aqadvisor. It's by no means fool proof, but it's a good place to start.
 
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