Need advice on helping a lonely fish

[ckm91377]

Hello all-This is my first post here and I am hoping that I have found a place to get help in caring for my little fishy friends. About a year ago I inherited a very, very neglected aquarium. It is a 10 gallon and when I got it it had about 5 inches of water in it which was absolutely filthy. It contained a common pleco, a dwarf gourami, an albino cory, and 2 black skirt tetras. I got the tank cleaned up and miraculously everyone of the occupants survived what was, admittedly, a very inexperienced and ill-prepared rescue and cleaning operation. We did lose the gourami after about a month but everyone else has survived just fine until today(and the silly pleco is forcing me to buy a way bigger tank than I had any plan of owning since it does nothing but eat, poop, and grow). Anyway-the two tetras were very much attached to each other-they got along great and would play with each other even though I know they shouldnt be ok with only two of them. Well-anyway-we lost one of them today. I am wondering what I should do. I dont think it is a good idea to just buy one more because I am sure they probably wont get along well and I dont know if a group of new ones would join up with him or not. Please let me know what the best way to help out this poor, lonely fish. Thank you!!!

 

[Bichir Bro]

Get more lol

But with the pleco, common plecos need extremely large tanks, ponds are actually much much better than aquariums for them. They like much colder water than tropical fish although they can survive in them. They do good in ponds with other cold water fishes like koi or goldfish. They can get up to 12 inches and in some cases more. I knew someone who had a pond and he completely forgot about the pleco he put in there a long long time ago and when he sold the fishes and drained the pond he found a 15 inch pleco in the bottom!

 

[molliwopp]

Is your tank cycled?
Do you have a water testing kit, if so what are your results?

If you did a complete tank clean up then youll have lost your cycle, but better this than a dirty possibly infected tank. I dont usually tank with fish in as i like to know what fish i want to get before i get the tank.

Id suggest the first thing you should do now is a 50% water change. If your tank isnt cycled then ammonia and nitrite will be building up to deadly levels. More water changes are needed until the tank is cycled again and i would rcommend getting a liquid water testing kit.

 

[Bichir Bro]

Forgot to ask that

Yeah listen to him and do those thing haha
But the skirts need at least schools of 5 too

 

[jwh0818]

Did yall read this was a year ago so im pretty sure the tank is cycled. If you change your filter pads out then chances are its not.

Can you explain your water change/ maintenance schedule?

Before we jump the gun and add more fish, what size tank are you gonna get?

 

[molliwopp]

Did yall read this was a year ago so im pretty sure the tank is cycled.

Silly me!

 

[jwh0818]

Silly me!

It happens, I do it all the time when I get a bit carried away

 

[Bichir Bro]

Wow

When you pointed that out that's the first time I saw that in there. Wow I can't believe I missed that haha

 

[ckm91377]

Ok-going to answer as much of this as I can and you can let me know if I miss anything. I do know about the pleco and the size it can reach. I am planning on buying probably a 55 which will be good for him for at least a while and I'll either go bigger or find him a new home once he outgrows that. I dont have a whole test kit but I do have an ammonia test and another that I cant think of right now and they are fine. We change the filter cartridge once a month or so and it also has another piece that is there to host bacteria(hopefully you know what I mean). We do about a 25% or so water change about twice a month when we vacuum and clean up some of crap that accumulates on the fake plants and decorations. We also do a quick vac here and there to keep up on the debris(plecos poop a lot). Hopefully that answers all of your questions and before you say it I will be buying a testing kit. So-am I going to be ok dumping a few new tetras in here or...? Thanks!!

 

[molliwopp]

I would test for ammonia and if you dont get a reading, get your tetra from your lfs and take the pleco there at the same time, theyll likely take it and might even give you a free tetra. Then up your water change to every week. Your pleco will out grow your tank in months if he isnt already too big as they grow quickly get become waste factorys

 

[jwh0818]

Ok-going to answer as much of this as I can and you can let me know if I miss anything. I do know about the pleco and the size it can reach. I am planning on buying probably a 55 which will be good for him for at least a while and I'll either go bigger or find him a new home once he outgrows that. I dont have a whole test kit but I do have an ammonia test and another that I cant think of right now and they are fine. We change the filter cartridge once a month or so and it also has another piece that is there to host bacteria(hopefully you know what I mean). We do about a 25% or so water change about twice a month when we vacuum and clean up some of crap that accumulates on the fake plants and decorations. We also do a quick vac here and there to keep up on the debris(plecos poop a lot). Hopefully that answers all of your questions and before you say it I will be buying a testing kit. So-am I going to be ok dumping a few new tetras in here or...? Thanks!!

I wouldnt put anything else in there

Dont change your filter pads every month. Rinse them in your old tank water that's in a bucket. ALOT of BB ( beneficial bacteria) is on there and your tank definitely needs it

 

[Bichir Bro]

You shouldn't get any fish until you check your levels. But I agree with molliwop(?) you do need to return the pleco. If you want a small pleco I would suggest a clown, rubber lip or bushy nose. Royal plecos grow EXTREMELY slow, sometimes only an inch a year but they do however get very very large.

 

[ckm91377]

Hi again all-I finally managed to get to the store and pick up a testing kit. My levels are as follows:

pH-around 8(a little less I think but the colors are hard to judge)
Ammonia-.25 ppm
Nitrite-0 ppm
Nitrate-20 ppm

Any advice appreciated(and yes I know the pleco is an issue and I agree with everything you are saying so you dont have to repeat what I already know. I am working on a larger tank and eventually he will move on to a new home).