New 10g

[ButterstheAngel]

I started a 10g with the second established filter media that has been on my 20g tank for 3 months. How long should I wait before adding plants or a fish to my new 10g?

After a week it reads 2 nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0.25 ammonia

TYIA

 

[Aiken Drum]

Are you doing a fish in cycle or a fishless cycle?

 

[ButterstheAngel]

I haven’t decided! I just was reading the links in the first post of this forum about both types. I was maybe hoping to try for one singular small fish today and a plant? There’s ammonia in my tap water too. What do you suggest?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Its really up to you. I personally prefer fishless cycling because im not usually in a hurry to get fish and prefer to put a decent amount of bioload in at one go. But a fish in cycle is safe if done properly.

If you are going fish in, no need to wait at all. If you are doing fishless it will take as long as it takes. All you can say is your filter should be seeded with some beneficial bacteria so it should be quicker than a clean, new, filter. I would still expect it to take 2 or 3 weeks though.

Whichever way you go, you can scape and plant your tank.

 

[ButterstheAngel]

Any particularly hearty single fish? A minnow? 2?

 

[Aiken Drum]

What are you wanting to keep? There isnt any point in using a fish to cycle a tank if its not something you want to keep or at least have a plan for rehoming once the tank is cycled.

 

[ButterstheAngel]

I want to have female bettas but if I got a minnow or two I’d either keep them or rehome them. I’ve so far rehomed 8 fish in this last process to really good homes happy to take them!

 

[ButterstheAngel]

I’ve been told that if I have 5 dwarf cories that I can only have 1-2 female betta in a 10g. I want fish that can keep my tank clean tho. Could I have more bettas with ottos? Or maybe more bettas and one dwarf pleco?

 

[Aiken Drum]

A couple of minnows or danios are good to start with or a feeder goldfish.

Remember that to finish a fish in cycle you have to gradually add fish, so i you would start with a couple of fish, gradually add more as your cycle establishes until you are fully stocked, then rehome all the fish and get the ones you want to keep. You would be quicker getting to what you want to keep with a fishless cycle, but a fish in cycle is more likely to get you there without issues.

 

[ButterstheAngel]

So use the pure ammonia like that link on this forum discusses to do fishless?

 

[Aiken Drum]

I’ve been told that if I have 5 dwarf cories that I can only have 1-2 female betta in a 10g. I want fish that can keep my tank clean tho. Could I have more bettas with ottos? Or maybe more bettas and one dwarf pleco?

Pygmy and dwarf corys arent the bottom feeders that other cory species are. They are more freeswimming fish. Otos will keep your tank free of diatoms, but in my experience they dont do as good a job with other algae types, and i rarely see mine eating leftover food and i feed them veggies and algae wafers a couple of times a week. A snail would be a better tank cleaner than either of those fish. Corys are cool fish, but dont get miniature corys purely as clean up.

I dont see an issue with keeping a group of dwarf corys and a betta. That sounds like a fun tank. Ive never kept female bettas, but understand that keeping more than one is something for experienced fishkeepers, and they are better kept in groups bigger than 2 or 3. I would carefully research your plan.

 

[Aiken Drum]

So use the pure ammonia like that link on this forum discusses to do fishless?

Or an aquarium specific ammonium chloride product.

 

[ButterstheAngel]

The aquarium store near me has a tank with 7 or so female bettas and it’s so amazing I was just trying to recreate it. I’ll go the snail route! Also I’ll order that ammonia product!

 

[Aiken Drum]

I understand 4 to 6 females is a good number to have in a sorority, and that would be a challenge in a 10g tank. Im sure people have done it sucessfully though.

 

[ButterstheAngel]

Can I have a snail during my fishless cycle or is that not considered fishless?

 

[Aiken Drum]

The concentration of ammonia you reach during a fishless cycle wont be healthy for snails.