Why is my sand in my 10gallon tank so dirty?

[Ryleyman]

On Sunday I switched from gravel to sand but the sand is really dirty

[Hondatek]

The dirt is all the fish waste that used to get under the gravel. Since you have sand it stays at the top. Just suck it out with a gravel vac.

[hippy guy]

What lives inyour 10

[Ryleyman]

2 male guppies, cherry red cichlid, yellow lab cichlid, blue electric zebra cichlid, kongi cichlid, red pladie and a small Pleco but I'm only using him to clear up my tank and then I put him in my brothers tank to clear up his until I have more algae.

[hippy guy]

If by pladie, you mean a red platyy, then he needs more buddies. also, what kinda pleco, some get feet upon feet in length...
Also, not sure about the cichlids you have, how big do they get, dont zebras get big?

[daileene]

I am not a cichlid expert but i thought they are supposed to be homed in a bigger tank. Not a 10G. But other experts will probably chime in here later.

[Ryleyman]

My platy was the survivor of my PH spike I feel so bad that I can't get him a female and I'm broke so I'm waiting for the week end and my zebra was a birthday present same with the Pleco but my zebra is really small

[daileene]

And also guppies i think is a shoaling fish so you need to have at least five or more of them to thrive.

[hippy guy]

Yeah guppies are, and i think the cichlids are too, but dont know much about them. Youd need a much bigger tank to keep them. You can have platies and guppies, but they breed fast in a ten, so watch out. Id take everyone else back unless you wana buy a big tank..

[josh7]

I agree you need to rehome the cichlids and the pleco NOW!!!!!!!

[Ryleyman]

My platy and my 2 male guppies where survivors from my PH spike

[Ryleyman]

Originally Posted by josh7

I agree you need to rehome the cichlids and the pleco NOW!!!!!!!

Are you daft my Pleco is tinny and when he gets too big I'm giving him away😡

[okapizebra]

Guppies and platies do not need others to thrive and will do just fine on their own. Your tank is way overstocked IMO. Cichlids have different requirements than tropical fish and should not be housed together. Some cichlids may be able to live in a ten gallon, but from my knowledge about those, they need a much bigger tank and can become very aggressive. Is your pleco a common? If so, he can grow very large, over one foot. The mess on the sand is from all of the fish waste. With that many fish, debris can form quickly in a small space. A gravel vac should clear it up.

I would reccomend you either choose tropical fish or cichlids. In the long run, I think this will work best for you and your fish.

[josh7]

You still need to rehome the pleco before he becomes stunted it will cause him death

[Ryleyman]

Originally Posted by okapizebra

Guppies and platies do not need others to thrive and will do just fine on their own. Your tank is way overstocked IMO. Cichlids have different requirements than tropical fish and should not be housed together. Some cichlids may be able to live in a ten gallon, but from my knowledge about those, they need a much bigger tank and can become very aggressive. Is your pleco a common? If so, he can grow very large, over one foot. The mess on the sand is from all of the fish waste. With that many fish, debris can form quickly in a small space. A gravel vac should clear it up.

I would reccomend you either choose tropical fish or cichlids. In the long run, I think this will work best for you and your fish.

Thanks you are the only one that was nice and actually helped thank you very much in the summer when I get a job (I'm 14) I will up grade to probably a 30-35 gallon

[paytertot]

IMHO everyone here was very polite about your problem and I agree with all of them about the stocking. That pleco won't do for very long in there. And common plecos produce a lot of waste IME. I'd think about maybe a BN pleco instead. And definitely upgrading as soon as u can.

[Ryleyman]

My cichlids and my biggest cichlid is not even 5cm

[okapizebra]

That sounds like a good plan. Are you going to keep both tanks up and running? You could keep the cichlids in the larger tank and keep the tropicals in the smaller one. The cichlids are going to get much bigger and will need the space. I would keep up on your water changes and work on getting the new tank asap.

I agree about the pleco. Since you're keeping him in the smaller tank he will not grow as much. This is stunting. His body may not grow but his organs will continue to grow causing a slow and painful death to the fish.

[Ryleyman]

My aunt has a 75gallon cold water can he go with her?

[Ryleyman]

Originally Posted by okapizebra

That sounds like a good plan. Are you going to keep both tanks up and running? You could keep the cichlids in the larger tank and keep the tropicals in the smaller one. The cichlids are going to get much bigger and will need the space. I would keep up on your water changes and work on getting the new tank asap.

I agree about the pleco. Since you're keeping him in the smaller tank he will not grow as much. This is stunting. His body may not grow but his organs will continue to grow causing a slow and painful death to the fish.

And yes I'm planing on keeping my 10gallon