Fish ID and help with tank mates

[sadpony]

I have had the same three fish for about four years. I bought them for about 50 cents a piece and they were tiny little guys that I thought would be good fillers. Over the years, they have grown considerably and outlived all the rest and for about a year have been the only ones living in the tank. This leads me to my questions. The first being, can anyone tell me what they are:








And my second problem is, I have been having trouble keeping other fish with them. I haven't seen them being aggressive to each other but I have had a few random deaths and one fish that hides so much I thought he was dead. These are the other fish






This one hides:



Also, there is a snail who I think just died... Any help on what fish to mix with them and what to stay away from would be great! Also, is there a way to ensure a healthier snail?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!
First unidentified fish-gold barb or some variety of it
Second fish-harleuqin rasbora, they shouldn't be dying on you, is your tank cycled, what is your water quality, how big of a tank?
Third fish-oto, sensitive fish, do you have a group for it?

 

[sadpony]

to AA!
First unidentified fish-gold barb or some variety of it
Second fish-harleuqin rasbora, they shouldn't be dying on you, is your tank cycled, what is your water quality, how big of a tank?
Third fish-oto, sensitive fish, do you have a group for it?

My tank is a 10 gallon. The rasboras I thought were a type of tetra which have died before... And I don't know what you mean by group for the third fish? Are they schooling? I thought those sucker fish types were solo

 

[sniperfreak]

My tank is a 10 gallon. The rasboras I thought were a type of tetra which have died before... And I don't know what you mean by group for the third fish? Are they schooling? I thought those sucker fish types were solo

Oto's are social and prefer small groups, and will even sometimes try to school with other fish of similar size, mine like to try to school with my cardinal tetras, but the tetras just try to swim away.

 

[sadpony]

So, should i get some more? I only have a 10 gallon so I am not sure i can support much else

 

[sadpony]

Also, is there a reason why snails would die easily? I have had a relatively high snail mortality rate...

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Usually if snails die, something's iffy with the water quality or something's eating them. Can you give us some water parameters?

I wouldn't get anything else.

 

[sadpony]

Do you mean dip some test strips or something?

 

[GodFan]

My snail died. My guppies tortured it.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Not necessarily dip some test strips as they're not very accurate, but test your water, as in with a liquid kit. Is your tank cycled???? What is you water change schedule? Do you replace your filter cartridges? If so, how?

 

[sadpony]

Not necessarily dip some test strips as they're not very accurate, but test your water, as in with a liquid kit. Is your tank cycled???? What is you water change schedule? Do you replace your filter cartridges? If so, how?

I am not 100% sure what you mean by cycled, I have a filter at the top that waterfalls into the tank. I have never changed the filter cartridge because I was told that good bacteria grows in them so changing them can hurt the balance and I water change about once every two weeks.

 

[sadpony]

Also, I was wondering... If I had a bigger filter, say like a 20 gallon filter for my 10 gallon tank, could I keep more fish in it

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I am not 100% sure what you mean by cycled, I have a filter at the top that waterfalls into the tank. I have never changed the filter cartridge because I was told that good bacteria grows in them so changing them can hurt the balance and I water change about once every two weeks.

Then I would say your tank is probably at most cycled

Also, I was wondering... If I had a bigger filter, say like a 20 gallon filter for my 10 gallon tank, could I keep more fish in it

Maybe, but swim room still has to be taken into account.

 

[librarygirl]

You're correct about not changing the filter, so don't do it. You can swish the media in tank water when doing water changes to clear any gunk that might build up in them, but don't change them out unless they are literally falling apart (and even then do one piece at a time).

What's your water change schedule? A good, steady water change schedule can keep the fish healthy. Do you vacuum your gravel regularly?

If the tank has been set up for years then it's cycled (read the link in my signature called: what is cycling), which basically means growing enough good bacteria in your tank to eradiate the ammonia from the waste the fish produce.

First thing to check when fish start dying is test your water. A good liquid test kit (like the API Master kit) is a must-have for a fish owner. It will tell you the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and PH of your tank water. You want ammonia and nitrite to be at 0 at all times; nitrates should be kept under 20 (these are removed only from doing water changes so its' important to keep a schedule).

There isn't much room in a 10 gal for much, I'm afraid. How many gold barbs do you have? I think they like to school with others of their kind; a 10 gal is really too small for them, a minimum 20 gal would be best. Otos also prefer groups and well-established tanks; they can be picky eaters, some only eat the diatoms/algae from tanks and once that's gone they can easily starve. A group of them may not fit in your 10 either. The harlequins are also schooling fish; how many do you have?

First thing you should do for right now is a water change with a good dechlorinator if you haven't done one in the past week, then keep up that schedule and vacuum the gravel. You also want to get a good liquid test kit and test your water to make sure nothing is going on that shouldn't be (elevated ammonia, etc). I also advise you to upgrade your tank to at least a 20 gal; that way you can comfortably keep the fish you have and fill out their schools.

I doubt that adding more filtration would allow you to have more fish in the 10. It might, but with the fish you have/need, they still require more room and water than a 10 can provide, I think.

 

[sadpony]

I don't vacuum my gravel often. And I have three barbs, one oto, and two of the others. I didn't realize they all needed schooling buddies... Now I feel bad

 

[librarygirl]

I don't vacuum my gravel often. And I have three barbs, one oto, and two of the others. I didn't realize they all needed schooling buddies... Now I feel bad

It's ok we all make mistakes, if we learn from them that's even better.

Uneaten food and waste can get down into the gravel and cause nitrate spikes and unhealthy water for fish, so a gravel vac with a partial water change is in order. If the vacuum drudges up a lot of gunk you may want to do two vacs and water changes, depending on how much stuff is down there. That could be your issue. I'd also test the water with a test kit to double-check the actual levels.

As for the fish/stock.....can you upgrade to a 20 gal? Buying the tank separate with a hood is usually cheaper than buying one of those all-in-one kits. You could just move your filter over to the 20 and then add a second filter to the tank so that there's enough filtration without losing your good bacteria.

 

[sadpony]

I really want to upgrade... The hood would fit a 20 too?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

No, I wouldn't think so because they are a few inches longer.

 

[sadpony]

If the vacuum drudges up a lot of gunk you may want to do two vacs and water changes, depending on how much stuff is down there.

so when I vacuum should there be nothing coming up ideally? Can I over clean it?