10 galon tank beginner questions

[noelllll]

Hey all,
I have a 10 galon tank that I've been working on for just over a month now and have a couple questions I can't seem to find answers to.

In my tank I have:
2 mollies (one black, one orange)
3 neon tetras
2 striped guppies (I think?)
And one fish I'm not sure of the name kind of looks like a silver Dollar but small

Now, the orange molly for the past few days has just been hanging around the top of the tank mostly near the heater and I see it breathing air from the top, I think that's what it's doing. Every once in a while it'll swim around maybe eat at the walls or ground but spends of the time at the top, so I'm starting to get worried something may be wrong? I get my water checked at my LFS and they say all is well. Any ideas on that?

Also, I found some nice looking rocks in my yard that I plan on putting in the tank because I'm not too fond of the fake plants I have now. I poured vinegar on the rocks and there was no bubbling at all so I'm assuming they're safe to use. Would it be okay if I just thouroly scrub the rocks under hot water then put them in the tank? I don't want to boil them because I heard it's possibly dangerous and can't afford to take that chance.

Anyways any tips or help would be greatly appreciated. I could take pictures of the tank if requested. Thank you.

 

[jhawk__]

Hey all,
I have a 10 galon tank that I've been working on for just over a month now and have a couple questions I can't seem to find answers to.

In my tank I have:
2 mollies (one black, one orange)
3 neon tetras
2 striped guppies (I think?)
And one fish I'm not sure of the name kind of looks like a silver Dollar but small

Now, the orange molly for the past few days has just been hanging around the top of the tank mostly near the heater and I see it breathing air from the top, I think that's what it's doing. Every once in a while it'll swim around maybe eat at the walls or ground but spends of the time at the top, so I'm starting to get worried something may be wrong? I get my water checked at my LFS and they say all is well. Any ideas on that?

Also, I found some nice looking rocks in my yard that I plan on putting in the tank because I'm not too fond of the fake plants I have now. I poured vinegar on the rocks and there was no bubbling at all so I'm assuming they're safe to use. Would it be okay if I just thouroly scrub the rocks under hot water then put them in the tank? I don't want to boil them because I heard it's possibly dangerous and can't afford to take that chance.

Anyways any tips or help would be greatly appreciated. I could take pictures of the tank if requested. Thank you.

Has the orange Molly been eating? And are any other fish acting like this? You might have just bought a sick fish in the first place, maybe take him back and pick a different one out?

And yes, if the rocks didn't bubble when you put them in the vinegar, then just thoroughly scrub them 3 times in hot water.

 

[noelllll]

Has the orange Molly been eating? And are any other fish acting like this? You might have just bought a sick fish in the first place, maybe take him back and pick a different one out?

And yes, if the rocks didn't bubble when you put them in the vinegar, then just thoroughly scrub them 3 times in hot water.

Yeah the molly eats normally and every once in a while swims around normal, just seems to like spending a lot of time at the top. I know I couldn't have bought it sick it was fine a few days ago and just started doing this out of nowhere.

And alright cool thanks. If I could find a steady way to stack them (there's only 3 rocks) can I do that without glue or anything?

 

[jhawk__]

He might still be adjusting to his surroundings or is just a little stressed. And I wouldn't recommend gluing them, I'm not sure if that can damage your fish or water.

You could lean them up against the side of the tank and see if that helps them from falling?

 

[noelllll]

He might still be adjusting to his surroundings or is just a little stressed. And I wouldn't recommend gluing them, I'm not sure if that can damage your fish or water.

You could lean them up against the side of the tank and see if that helps them from falling?

Okay cool so nothing to be worried about yet. When adding rocks just stick my hand in there with the fish and move things around?

 

[jhawk__]

Yep, just make sure your hands are clean! Please post a pic of the rocks you found if you could, Im curious to see what it looks like

 

[noelllll]

Yep, just make sure your hands are clean! Please post a pic of the rocks you found if you could, Im curious to see what it looks like

The first one is how I plan on stacking them in the tank, second is above view of all 3. All good?

 

[lexiesboots]

Do you have an airstone in your tank? There might not be enough oxygen in the water. My mollies did that once before I put an airstone in. After the airstone was in the tank they stopped going to the top.

 

[jhawk__]

The rocks look good! Where did you get them ?

 

[Karay]

Yep, just make sure your hands are clean! Please post a pic of the rocks you found if you could, Im curious to see what it looks like

And make sure there's absolutely no soap residue on your hands as well

 

[noelllll]

Do you have an airstone in your tank? There might not be enough oxygen in the water. My mollies did that once before I put an airstone in. After the airstone was in the tank they stopped going to the top.

I attached a picture of what I have now. I have it placed in the back right corner, is there anywhere better to out it maybe?

And I got the rocks from the side of my house not really a part of anything

 

[lexiesboots]

I attached a picture of what I have now. I have it placed in the back right corner, is there anywhere better to out it maybe?

And I got the rocks from the side of my house not really a part of anything

Your tank looks pretty some people like to put them behind rocks, plants, or decorations. There are even flow control valves that you can get or that come with the air pumps (I have a tetra whisper air pump and its very quiet). That way you can control how many bubbles come out and how strong of a current it makes. I would just burry the pumps in a mound of gravel and put them under a rock or behind a decoration. You can also suction cup the tubing to the side of the tank and burry some of it in the gravel as well. It's a little tricky sometimes to get the airstones to stay under the gravel and where you want them but that way it just looks like bubbles coming up from the tank and you don't see the blue part.

 

[noelllll]

Your tank looks pretty some people like to put them behind rocks, plants, or decorations. There are even flow control valves that you can get or that come with the air pumps (I have a tetra whisper air pump and its very quiet). That way you can control how many bubbles come out and how strong of a current it makes. I would just burry the pumps in a mound of gravel and put them under a rock or behind a decoration. You can also suction cup the tubing to the side of the tank and burry some of it in the gravel as well. It's a little tricky sometimes to get the airstones to stay under the gravel and where you want them but that way it just looks like bubbles coming up from the tank and you don't see the blue part.

Thanks!
Here's a picture with the rocks in it and pretty much how i'm going to leave it for now. Just need to figure out a way to keep the air stone steady at the bottom. Maybe tie a rock to it and drop it behind the plant? Orange guy seems better not hanging around the top so much even going inside the cave every now and then.

 

[lexiesboots]

Thanks!
Here's a picture with the rocks in it and pretty much how i'm going to leave it for now. Just need to figure out a way to keep the air stone steady at the bottom. Maybe tie a rock to it and drop it behind the plant? Orange guy seems better not hanging around the top so much even going inside the cave every now and then.

Oh good!! Looks nice! That could work. I just use the suction cups and suction the tubing to the side of the tank but at the bottom and then burry the stone with a mound of gravel and then suction the tube again on the top and sometimes again in the middle. Sometimes it just takes creative thinking and trial and error to find what works with how you set up your tank.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Not sure if its been mentioned but your stock isn't that great. Mollies are huge waste producers and get decent in size, minimum reccommend is 20. Neon tetras are active and need more space, however a 10 is ok, and they need 6 minimum. Guppies are fine. I'd rehome he mollies

 

[lexiesboots]

Also forgot to mention to make sure that your light doesn't sit directly over the water. It's ideal to have it completely protected from the water because the bubbles spray water and it will corrode the light after a while.

 

[noelllll]

Not sure if its been mentioned but your stock isn't that great. Mollies are huge waste producers and get decent in size, minimum reccommend is 20. Neon tetras are active and need more space, however a 10 is ok, and they need 6 minimum. Guppies are fine. I'd rehome he mollies

Hm yeah eh, well they seem to both be doing fine right now. If I notice them acting strange for an extended time I'll consider bringing them into the fish store for a trade or something? What about the silver/red fish? I still don't know what type it is. I attached a picture if you could tell from that?

Also @lexiesboots, the hood that I have on it right now has a piece of glass that the light sits on so no water hits it at all. I don't have any suction cups and don't fully understand how that works. what type of string/tape would be safe to tie onto the rock to keep it down?

 

[CharlieKlein]

Wither a red blue tetra or Colombian. Need at least 6 and a bigger tank. So your stock is 1 of those
2 guppies
2 mollies
3 neons
?
Can someone back me up that this stock isn't that good?
I don't thin you'll notice problems, just the mollies are fish that need more space. It's like some people are very quiet and can work in a small cubical. Others have a huge office and are loud and active. That's like fish, some(bettas) are fish that are alright in small places (5gaons) and aren't extremely active, but neons are alot smaller than the bettas and need a much bigger tank because of activity

 

[lexiesboots]

Wither a red blue tetra or Colombian. Need at least 6 and a bigger tank. So your stock is 1 of those
2 guppies
2 mollies
3 neons
?
Can someone back me up that this stock isn't that good?
I don't thin you'll notice problems, just the mollies are fish that need more space. It's like some people are very quiet and can work in a small cubical. Others have a huge office and are loud and active. That's like fish, some(bettas) are fish that are alright in small places (5gaons) and aren't extremely active, but neons are alot smaller than the bettas and need a much bigger tank because of activity

Not completely am expert on stocking but yea that does seem like a lot of fish for the size of tank. Especially since they are live bearers and will more than likely have babies soon. Maybe check with aquaadvisor and see what they would suggest

 

[lexiesboots]

Hm yeah eh, well they seem to both be doing fine right now. If I notice them acting strange for an extended time I'll consider bringing them into the fish store for a trade or something? What about the silver/red fish? I still don't know what type it is. I attached a picture if you could tell from that?

Also @lexiesboots, the hood that I have on it right now has a piece of glass that the light sits on so no water hits it at all. I don't have any suction cups and don't fully understand how that works. what type of string/tape would be safe to tie onto the rock to keep it down?

Sorry for the crappy quality. So this is an old picture but the tune running down the side of the tank is the air line and the black round thing is a suction cup that holds the airline tubing in place. You can get them online or at your LFS near the airstones and air pumps. There is also a great video on YouTube that goes over air pumps and shows the suction cups. http://youtu.be/A-6jBJE_4rw and as for your glass canopy covering the light that's perfect! I prefer those myself