Looking for small fish that does not play well with others.

[Jarred Darque]

I have a 10 gallon tank, currently bein used as a Q-tank.

After the fish in there gets better or dies (most likely) I will have an emtpy 10 gallon tank.

The tank currently has 1 20 watt 10k light over it, the other light socket is emtpy, so only half the tank is really lit (ws a SW tank, so has good lights)

I need a fish that can handle a high pH (8.0+) a sand bottom.

The tank currently has in a white colored sand well not quite white but very light, half of an 8 inch terracotta pot for a cave, and a small peice of driftowood.

I am loking for a fish that does not play well with others. Except maybe a bristlenose pleco I have in my 75 gallon atm, or some other pleco. It needs to be able to be fed with frozen bloodworms or flake or sinking carnivore pellets/shrimp pellets

 

[black hills tj]

why not keep it the way it is as a hospital tank?

 

[Jarred Darque]

because I have to have something in the tank to keep it cycled, and very shortly, all ym display fish willbe too big to stay i na 10 gallon Q tank....really hard to keep a foot long or larger fish happy in a 10 gallon for more than 10 seconds.

 

[black hills tj]

so if you go with a real aggressive fish, what will you do with him once you need the tank. If you have to move him to another tank then he'll tear into your other fish...that is, unless he is tiny compared to the others

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Run the filter on an existing tank. It will keep it cycled.

 

[flip_lx]

why not some puffers? they fin nip so one or two could work or maybe go for a blue crayfish instead(not sure on how big they get so might not work)

 

[Jarred Darque]

a really aggressive fish taht fits in a 10 gallon tank would have to worry with my other fish. All the other fish that I own that mightneed a QT tank, will shortly be too big for a 10 gallon tank i.e. Jack Dempseys, Bichirs, a common pleco already too large for a 10 gallon, anda ful grown raphael catfish, all these fish are easily too large fora 10 gallon, so I ahe an extra 10 gallon.

I am plannin on getting a 55 gallon to use to breed guppies that will also suffice as a QT tank when need be.





I have had DPs before, I am not at all against getting them again, I liked the fellas, and now i have a stable snail population so that would not be a problem.

I have 'thought' about a crawfish, but I feel taht then there is 9 inches of height in the tank that is wasted. Now then, if you can show me some truelly awesome small tank crawfish/lobster set-ups, it may sway my opinion of getting one.

 

[QTOFFER]

I have a hospital tank - the silicone is permanently stained from meds, so it's useless as a show tank. I keep the filters (Penguin HOB and sponge) running on my show tanks to keep them cycled.

My thoughts on hospital tanks have changed over the years. If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased a big rubbermaid container instead of a glass hospital tank. The rubbermaid containers are cheap, are available in many sizes, and can be used to store aquarium stuff when not used as a hospital/quarrantine. Of course, you would need a heater powerful enough to heat the container. Hospital/quarrantine tanks don't need lighting, substrate, and decorations. They should ideally be very simple to completely disinfect. That said, I'd suggest that you get an appropriately sized rubbermaid container should you ever need to treat a sick fish. You would also need a spare filter (I'd suggest a sponge type) and a heater.

Now what to do with your aquascaped 10 gal? I have a full grown jewel cichlid (about 4 inches) by himself in a 10 gal that once served as a quarrantine tank. He does not get along with anything, including my fingers - that's why he was banished from my 58 gal. Jewels are brightly colored (red with blue + green specks), very active, inquisitive, and tolerant of different pH levels. Of course, they are not tolerant of short term pH swings. They love all kinds of foods - flake, frozen, and live worms. It's a fun species to keep so long as you have a tank dedicated to it. Otherwise, it will turn a community tank into a fish blender.

 

[Jarred Darque]

thanks, Q, I will look into that cichlid..I didnt think about a rubbermaid..it would make more sense than me using my future breeding tank for it, and I have a massive amount of aquarium stuff to store when it isnt in use. What type of filter would you suggest for something like that? I can se it being kinda diff to finda rubermade that a normal HOB would fit onto. and I have a HOB that is powerful enough for a 30 gallon tank..or rubbermade that is not in use atm

 

[DepotFish]

you wouldn't need to filter a qt tank, just an air bubbler. Filters are of no use with all the medication stuff because it usually kills of the beneficial bacteria.

 

[Jarred Darque]

ok, well I would need to get a larger bubble filter :/ one I have now is only fit for like 5 gallons.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

New fish additions should be QTd and therefore require a filter.