My 10g Battle Tank

[Dmller11]

I have a 10g tank with 2 gold labidochromis, and 2 other types of African Cich. I don't know (the reciept says "Asst Africa"), and 1 Juli Cory Cat. The lady at the pet store said they would all cohabit fine, but that is not the case, intstead it has turned into a battle royale:
1. They all chase each other around constantly. (Not too concerning, but i'm curious.)
2. All 4 of them constantly peck at the Cory Cat, and now he is missing parts of his dorsal fin, and tail fin.

Is there anything I can do to keep the Cory Cat alive? Is 10g too small for him to hide? If not, what other bottom-feeder can I use to keep the tank clean? I heard Peco's get too big, too fast, especially for a 10g tank.

I'm still kind of new to the fish tank game, but i'm learning. Thanks!

 

[Egress]

There isn't any way to successfully keep that collection of fish in that size aquarium. If you want to keep the africans, they will need a much larger aquarium and many more fish added to spread aggression around (somewhre around 10 more fish in a 55 gallon or larger). Corydoras are not appropriate tankmates for african cichlids, especially mbuna (usually what are sold in the "assorted african" tanks).

It's good that you are looking to learn more. Though this time you have learned that the time for research is before you buy an animal not after, and that a lot of bad advice is given at pet shops. My advice would be to see if you could just return the whole lot. There are probably tons of readily available species that would be much better suited to a 10 gallon.

 

[beglely]

And yet another victim of poor pet store advice (not ur fault tho). A majority of us fall victim to it (myself included) so dont beat urself up, but yeah 4 cichlids in a 10g is asking for trouble. I would get the cory out of the tank and in a new one fast before the africans kill it or a bad case of tail rot comes from its injuries. And I would either return the cichlids or seriously invest in a larger tank very soon also. And dont trust pet store advice lol they have no clue. I once talked a girl out of putting a green spotted puffer fish in a 1 gallon goldfish bowl with a molly.

 

[Dmller11]

Thanks!

Wow, that was a prompt and accurate response, thank you so much for the great advice. The set up I have and amount of fish is all based on the pet-shop ladies advice. All bad advice I see. I will try to return the fish and search for new ones. Any suggestions for my simple 10g? Looking for something low-maintenance.

 

[meegosh]

Danios, tetras, guppies, swordtails, mollies, platys, more corys... shrimp... lots of options for a 10g. If you want to keep the cory then I would get him some buddies, maybe 3 more of them and a medium size school of tetras.

 

[missileman]

If you haven't cyled your tank yet (bet the pet store didn't mention that either?) you should either return all of the fish and do a fishless cycle.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html
Or if you really want to cycle with fish pick a hardy fish that can handle poor water conditions. Zebra Danios are a good choice for cycling.

 

[Phoenixphire55]

I want to add my two cents although I'm basically re-saying what these other guys said. I think its always better to be safe than sorry. I know cichlids are usually not thought of as beginner fish and for good reason. If you have the money to get a bigger tank that would be best because there are so few interesting fish you can keep in a 10 gallon tank for their whole lives. However, if you want to start out slow, then keep the 10 gallon tank and think about getting another two or three corys, or some other community fish that stay small. Anyone in here can suggest a number of fish that would be appropriate for the tank. It also sounds like you haven't cycled your tank yet, and that is probably the biggest thing to be concerned with. I would really suggest you take back all of your fish, or at least all of them but the cory. Cycle your tank and then slowly start to add fish. Assorted African cichlids are not something you are prepared to care for (YET). I hope the moron at the petstore gets bad kharma for this because she gave you terribly bad advice. Unless you go to a personally owned petstore, do not trust any advice you get from joe and jane shmoe highschool student who work there and know nothingggg about fish. Fish keeping is a great hobby and you have a lot of fun times ahead of you keeping fish, just make sure you do a lot of research before you get your fish. Good work on finding this forum though, the people here will provide you with all the advice you'll need.