10 gallon first tank

[trillistjay]

This is my first fish tank. It consists of only fake plants(because i read that real ones are hard to take care of) a piece of drift wood. 3 white clouds, a albino cory, a peppered cory, 6 neons, and 2 ottos. Im running a penguin 100 filter. Also i hav a multi colored led air bubbler in the back... any good?

 

[Rosenweiss]

The tank looks fine, but admittedly, I'm concerned for the otos health. That tank looks much too clean for otos, who are algae eaters and live-plant grazers, to survive. Are you feeding them blanched vegetables to supplement?

 

[siva]

Welcome to AA! Pretty tank you have there. I do have a few concerns to share to share with you.

First of all, while the cories may look small now, they will outgrow your tank. Peppered cories grow to over 2" and albinos reach 3". They are very highly active catfish, even spazzmatic at times . The larger types that you've chosen would be best suited to a 29 gal+ tank. They also need a smooth substrate..that colored gravel isn't so great for them. Corydoras are shoalers, and should be kept in groups of 6, 4 at the absolute minimum. I would recommend re-homing or returning the cories, unless you plan on getting a larger tank for them very quickly, since they cannot thrive in your tank IMO.

Oto's are a more sensitive catfish. They are generally considered suitable for 20 gal+ tanks, though some do keep succesfully in a smaller tank like yours. It's tricky because they should be stocked in groups of atleast 3, yet you don't want to stock more than 1 per 5 gals...so it's impossible to really stock them perfectly in a 10. If you keep them in there, you'll need to be diligent about making sure they get enough to eat in order to keep them alive. They need added to well established tanks..let it run about 6 months first. Even then they still need supplementation with a high quality algae wafer such as hikari, and/or blanched veggies like zucchini. Oto's are known to be picky eaters, so make sure they do like the things you are offering. If having trouble getting them to eat, you may need to grow extra algae for them. Do this by placing stones in a bowl of tank water in your window until they are algae covered.

 

[trillistjay]

The cories i thought only grew to 2" but ill give them to my friend who has a 50g with only 8neons. The rock alge idea is cool for the otos. But im just a beginner so any help/info abt my tank would be great.

 

[siva]

Awesome. First off, are you familair with the nitrogen cycle/did you cycle the tank before adding fish?

 

[Homedog98]

Awesome. First off, are you familair with the nitrogen cycle/did you cycle the tank before adding fish?

+1, check out the link in my signature for details.

 

[trillistjay]

I cycled it. And test is 1 time per week with my api master test kit

 

[arangarajan93]

Nice tank and setup!!! I too have an albino cory cat in my 10 gallon tank. It does well in my tank.

 

[siva]

I cycled it. And test is 1 time per week with my api master test kit

Perfect. You're off to an awesome start for a beginner!! The vast majority of that beneficial bacteria you have built up is in your filter media, so treating that properly is very important to keep the tank healthy. I haven't used a penguin, can you tell me does it take just one type of filter media? Does it have a cartridge and some type of bio-foam?

 

[Pecktec]

I cycled it. And test is 1 time per week with my api master test kit

If you were smart enough to do that, then your on your way to a good time with your tank. Plants aren't that hard if you get java fern or Anubis or some other low light plants. They won't thrive but they may help clean the water some.

 

[trillistjay]

My filter is a marineland bio-wheel 100. So carbon mechanical and bio wheel filtration. My light however is a 19w t8 tube. What would be the best plants? I want maybe a moss that wont overkill my tank and anyother recomended plant. Thank u guys.

 

[trillistjay]

Other veiws and my fish wen not hiding

 

[siva]

My filter is a marineland bio-wheel 100. So carbon mechanical and bio wheel filtration. My light however is a 19w t8 tube. What would be the best plants? I want maybe a moss that wont overkill my tank and anyother recomended plant. Thank u guys.

Great. One common misconception is that filter media should be replaced often. Just know, if you don't already, that this is not the case. When the filter media looks cruddy, rinse it off in tank water. Otherwise, do not repace it until it is falling apart, and then make sure you do not completely chuck the old one and add the new, save the fiber part of the old one and shove it in there with the new one, so you don't loose too much of that beneficial bacteria and have a mini cycle. As for the carbon, most chuck that all together as it is not needed for proper filtration and some feel can cause more harm than good. You could do the good old standard java moss. Or if you don't mind slower growth xmas moss is very attractive. I'm not a plant expert, but some of my favs that I've had good luck with w/o doing anything special for, so I would say are good beginner plants, are pennywort, anacharis, java ferns, and banana plant.

 

[Crew]

I must say I really enjoy your lighting.
10gallons is a great start, I think I started with 13.
If your enjoying your experience now I think you should up-grade
You can find crazy good deals on craigslist.
Nice tank. ^_^

 

[trillistjay]

I must say I really enjoy your lighting.
10gallons is a great start, I think I started with 13.
If your enjoying your experience now I think you should up-grade
You can find crazy good deals on craigslist.
Nice tank. ^_^

I would upgrade but i have no room for a 20 and all 20's are tall id want a 20 the height of a 10 but wider and longer

 

[Crew]

There's a bunch of custom tanks that would likely meet your expectations.
Search it online. I've seen short tanks that go all the way around a room. Be careful not to get vertical swimmers be that the case.

 

[Hubert90]

To provide ur ottos with abit more food! Don't clean the side of ur tank! There's mirco organism that we can't see (I think it's called detritus) that ottos can eat! And ottos will survive as long as u supplement zucchinis once or twice a week (leave time in for a min 1 day and max 2), and ur tank is quite new so I believe some point of time u will get diatom! Just leave ur lights on!

 

[trillistjay]

To provide ur ottos with abit more food! Don't clean the side of ur tank! There's mirco organism that we can't see (I think it's called detritus) that ottos can eat! And ottos will survive as long as u supplement zucchinis once or twice a week (leave time in for a min 1 day and max 2), and ur tank is quite new so I believe some point of time u will get diatom! Just leave ur lights on!

I leave the leds on. Are u saying leave lights on at all times? Someone else recommended leaving rocks in water by the window so they can grow alge. But i guess id hav to do that all the time. Once its clean id hav to do it again. And leave a slice of zucchini in there?

 

[trillistjay]

There's a bunch of custom tanks that would likely meet your expectations.
Search it online. I've seen short tanks that go all the way around a room. Be careful not to get vertical swimmers be that the case.

I saw a cool 30 that is a little bit wider and longer but mosly taller. But since all my fish swim at the bottom i dont no if a tall tank would be good. Plus its hard to decorate the top

 

[Crew]

I leave the leds on. Are u saying leave lights on at all times? Someone else recommended leaving rocks in water by the window so they can grow alge. But i guess id hav to do that all the time. Once its clean id hav to do it again. And leave a slice of zucchini in there?

Not necessarily ALL day. But sufficiently to where algae and other bacterium can grow. You can still have a good night sleep
Zucchini would be greatly appreciated- your fish.