So I just got back from Thanksgiving break after 5 days and I had a friend come over every day to feed my fish/plants. When I got home, my tank was a mess, my betta was lying on the ground not moving, and all but 3 of my tetras had lost their color. One was all white. The water was tinted brown. I was horrified and did a 40% water change immediately and vacuumed up as much debris as I could. I also had a snail explosion and picked out roughly 15 little snails and put them in a 1 gal. My fish were all colorful and active again the next day and my water parameters were almost back to normal. I should add that I had 2 "dwarf" hairgrass plants that were shedding debris and turning brown, so I removed them as well. I suspect they were the biggest reason things went so wrong.
However, I have to leave for an entire month for Christmas break in a week and a half. I'm having a different friend watch them while I'm gone this time and I trust her more. She will do water changes and I'll give her the link to this page in case she runs into any problems. However, if my tank got that bad after 5 days, I'm really worried about 4 weeks. I take very good care of my tank, but I didn't realize quite how much maintenance I actually put into it.
My question is, can/should I upgrade to a 20 gallon long tank before I leave in 10 days? My tank is already fully stocked, so I need to upgrade eventually, but I'm scared to leave my tank as it is. I don't know if it's possible for the tank to cycle quickly enough. If I move my filter media to the new tank and some plants and like half of my gravel, do you think it's possible? Is the risk of cycling more dangerous than the risk of my tank getting out of control over break?
I currently have a 10 gallon fully planted with 1 betta, 9 neon tetras, 3 kuhli loaches, and 3 nerite snails. I test my water regularly and my levels are always good, nitrates at 10. (Except for when I returned from break)
Please help!! Any suggestions welcome!!!
However, I have to leave for an entire month for Christmas break in a week and a half. I'm having a different friend watch them while I'm gone this time and I trust her more. She will do water changes and I'll give her the link to this page in case she runs into any problems. However, if my tank got that bad after 5 days, I'm really worried about 4 weeks. I take very good care of my tank, but I didn't realize quite how much maintenance I actually put into it.
My question is, can/should I upgrade to a 20 gallon long tank before I leave in 10 days? My tank is already fully stocked, so I need to upgrade eventually, but I'm scared to leave my tank as it is. I don't know if it's possible for the tank to cycle quickly enough. If I move my filter media to the new tank and some plants and like half of my gravel, do you think it's possible? Is the risk of cycling more dangerous than the risk of my tank getting out of control over break?
I currently have a 10 gallon fully planted with 1 betta, 9 neon tetras, 3 kuhli loaches, and 3 nerite snails. I test my water regularly and my levels are always good, nitrates at 10. (Except for when I returned from break)
Please help!! Any suggestions welcome!!!