10 gallon troubles.

[Phish]

Well I have had a 10 gallon tank set up for the better part of a year now I had it stocked with 3 Cory cats 3 tetra and a gbr. My gbr and 1 of my Cory's died. I believe the Cory was old (bought him as an adult) the gbr I'm not sure I'm guessing maybe I had a spike that went unnoticed and it killed her. My tank is 30% planted. What's some good plant safe fish for a 10 so that I can bring my stock back up. I'm willing to relocate the current stock. I'd prefer something out if the ordinary. Maybe a single centerpiece fish with 3 Cory's?

Edit the reason I'm putting in planted is because one of my fish is absolutely destroying my plants (eating them) I think maybe the gbr was the culprit. I like plants but not with chomped up leaves

 

[Rivercats]

Many tetras nibble on plants and in the years I've kept rams I've never seen one that nibbled on plants. If you want something different you could do 5 scarlet badis and add some red cherry shrimp to go with your cory's. Otherwise any nano fish would do fine or a single dwarf or honey gourami with your cory's.

 

[Coursair]

If someone wants Veg offer blanched Spinach or other Veggies. Most Tetras are plant safe. Are you sure it's fish damage and not lack of nutrients ?

Pictures ??

 

[Rivercats]

What type of tetras do you have?

 

[Phish]

The Walmart brand. Look like black skirt but they are pink green etc.. My plants are lush and healthy. Will upload pix soon

Edit: my wife picked the tetras. I don't like them

 

[Rivercats]

Skirt tetras will nibble plants if they are wanting greens. As suggested feeding veggies, especially cooked, deshelled peas about every 3rd day really helps. I do that so my angelfish don't eat on my plants so much.

 

[Phish]

Well update to my 10. Went out of town for work for a few weeks and came back to a green walled aquarium. Dying plants and fewer fish. Figured it was time for a rescape. Started about an hour ago cleaning algae, gravel, and trimming plants. Had a nice piece of dw and some Texas holey rock I had planned for a future tank but figured I'd go ahead and use it now. This isn't the final scape just using rocks to hold the dw down and waiting to see if a mini cycle is going to happen. Although I do like the way it looks. Don't judge me for how the tank looks please. The dear wife is to blame. Seems it slippd her mind.....somehow

 

[creic38]

We all make mistakes! First off, tetras and cories are schooling fishing. My guess is your tetras got nasty (I had the same problem in the beginning). And, ram should not be kept in a tank that small....they are territorial. I ended up upgrading. If you want to stick with that 10 gallon, I would go with nano fish and shrimp as suggested. I chose endlers and red cherry shrimp for my 10. I wouldn't go with what you had. You'll find something you like in the tiny fish world!

 

[Phish]

Well I had 3 Cory but like I said I was out of town for weeks for work and nobody attended to my tank. There was so much algae I think my light was left on. But in their defense it was In my personal room that the kids and wife don't usually go in so I think that it was a case of only the strongest survived. I think I am going to return all of my current fish except for my Cory. Get 2 more cories. Then try and find some rasbora. Or other such nano fish. I also thought about a gourami as I have heard about a smaller version in a 10. Just 1 tho.

 

[Phish]

How about 3 Cory and 2 ram? Not too big on shrimp. Gourami is still an option but I like seeing a few fish

 

[Sillyfishies]

How about 3 Cory and 2 ram? Not too big on shrimp. Gourami is still an option but I like seeing a few fish

1 rams shouldn't be in a tank that size. And definitely not 2!

 

[Phish]

Ok. Not a problem. What's the max # of Cory I could get? I have a female betta in another tank that I might transfer over. She's mild tempered IMO. How about just her and the max number of cories. Possibly 2 albino 2 peppered an 2 green?

 

[PockX]

I would say at least 3-4 of the same species. I have 3 and the school and seem to be quite happy, I know some people say you need at least 5.

 

[Phish]

Ok so not a good idea to mix the types? Or is that up in the air? I would google but I like hearing responses from people who have this setup at the moment or have had it rather than a websites recommendation. Would say 3 albino and 3 peppered school together? I had 2 albino and a pepper and they seemed to hang together but apparently having 3 and having 5-6 Cory completely changes the behavior

 

[PockX]

I can't say cuz I didn't wanna take a chance so I got all peppered. I have heard they will mix fine, but will school better with their own kind. So really..it's your call.

 

[Phish]

Well that's all I needed to know. Probably will wait a week or so return these tetra get the Cory wait another week and put In the betta. Is it safe to put in 5 Cory in a day or will I start a mini-cycle

 

[PockX]

Hmm.. I would say that is fine due to that fact they'll be more comfortable that way after you do add them since they'll be in their school. Also, since they'll be one of the only other fish in the tank.

 

[Rivercats]

Honestly in a 10g 3 smaller cory's like Pygmy, Dwarf, Panda's, or Julii's are the best. No more than 3 since they will grow unless you can get some Pygmy or Dwarf's which you could do 4 or maybe even 5 depending on the rest of your stock/bio-load.

 

[Phish]

Anyone know roughly how long till a piece of dw stops floating? It took me both arms elbow deep to get it held down with rocks, but I'm ready to start my final scape. It's been in there around a week but I put it in the dishwasher prior. Just don't want to have to go through that again, would rather let it get water-logged

 

[creic38]

For what it's worth, I have 4 different types of cories in one of my tanks. They get along just fine. I mostly see them together when they are just hanging out. Otherwise, they are all over the place looking for goodies. And I did keep 4 cories in a 10 gallon, and they were fine. They don't have a big bioload.

As for the driftwood....that's totally random. I usually soak it in a bucket for a day or to before adding in the tank., changing the water with warm, dechlorinated water every couple of hours. I know that's not really helpful, but no 2 pieces of driftwood are alike (hope I'm not being too cliche! hehe).