what should i do with an open ten gallon?

[mike47517]

alright so i now have 4 tanks two 10 gallons, a 38 gallon, and a 20 gallon. My 38 gallon is my show tank. My 10 gallon is a fry tank. My other 3 tanks are empty but i plan to move all the 10 gallon stuff to the 20 gallon, so that can be my fry tank. And make one of my 10 gallons into a QT tank. So this leaves a a 10 gallon with no plans. I was thing that either it could be another fry tank or could be a nice place for my fish to give birth ( i cant put them in the fry tank to give birth or that would defeat the purpose of isolating the fry )or it could be my 1st attempt at a planted tank or even one of those tanks with half water half land so i can keep newts or something like that. Which one should i do? I have pleaty of time to think because i dont have a filter, hood, or heater for the 20 gallon yet. So what should i do with the open space. Thanks.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I suggest going into a planted tank before you try a paludarium tank you were talking about.

If I were you, I would just go into a low-tech planted tank to just be able to try out new things and test different things before you get into any medium or high-tech planted tanks, or paludarium tanks. Low-tech would be easy and fun way to get introduced into the planted aquarium world.

 

[mike47517]

ok. I have 2 25 watt bubs in the hood of the tank. What kind of plants can i get without CO2?

 

[marchmaxima]

Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss, Crypt Wendii amongst some. I'm having awesome results with Riccia, even though its a high light plant. The difference is I have left it floating at the top to provide a little cover.

 

[bs6749]

A 10g tank is the perfect size of a breeding colony of some type of dwarf shrimp. The shrimp would love Java moss, and Java fern, which would do well with the amount of light you have. The tank would be extremely easy to maintain and you could move fry over to it and grow them out for a while before they get large enough that they may eat baby shrimp.

 

[mike47517]

I was thinkin bout some shrimp if i went the planted way. I like rcs but also like bamboo shrimp as they have a more natural color. are ther any nattural lookin shrimp that a ( shrimp ) beginner could breed? thanks

 

[Johnny Tuttle]

A 10 gallon with a school of white clouds would be sharp, as would a dwarf African frog tank.

And of course, a male betta would be quite nice for a 10 g.

 

[bs6749]

Mike, a ten gallon really wouldn't bee that good for many bamboo srimp and they are filter feeders so you will need a good current in the tank for them to pick up food in the water column.

As far as "natural" looking shrimp that are easy to breed you can find the wild color form of RCS sometimes. They are pretty plain looking and are basically clear with some slight hints of green/brown/red to them. RCS, yellow shrimp, snowball shrimp, blue pearl shrimp are all from the genus Neocaridina and are easy to breed. Tiger shrimp are another easy to breed shrimp but they are from the genus Caridina. There are different requirements for the two respective types of shrimp. One will be better off in alkaline water with a moderate hardness or greater. The other will be better in acidic water that is really soft and can die if it is kept in alkaline water too long.

 

[mike47517]

OK thaen i think the rcs would be the way to go. Can i put some neons in with them as i think the 2 reds in the tank would look nice.

 

[bs6749]

Neons should be fine with them but any fish that can fit a baby shrimp in its mouth will try to do so. If you want to breed them it's best to keep the shrimp in a tank without fish.

 

[Phoenixphire55]

I'm actually thinking about doing the exact same thing. 10 gallon with some java ferns and java moss, and a colony of rcs. I don't mean to hijack this post, but what does this setup require? I'd prefer to have a sand substrate, and then a very average strip light, the plants. Would a hob be fine? or do the shrimp need really calm water? Also, are rcs cheap and readily available? I guess it doesn't matter cuz I don't mind spending money and I'm sure I could find them somewhere in town (Denver).

 

[mike47517]

Neons should be fine with them but any fish that can fit a baby shrimp in its mouth will try to do so. If you want to breed them it's best to keep the shrimp in a tank without fish.

awe man i love to see action every where in the tank. Can i just put a lot of plants for them to climb on or would they just stay at the bottom?

 

[mike47517]

I don't mean to hijack this post

no worrys as long as its about shrimp im sure it will help me too