LazySlacker
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I got into this hobby about 6 months ago. I got a 10 gallon tank for my dorm room (not a lot of room) and got a couple of fancy goldfish. They did alright for about 4 months, then they both died within about a month of each other. Don't really know why. I kept pretty good track of ammonia levels and whatnot. I think maybe there was too much nitrate in the water. I'm going to try to more closely monitor the water quality I guess. More frequent water changes, possibly. I also had an old cheap filter on the tank. I just got my current filter about 2 months ago (right after the goldfish died).
So I decided to turn it into a warm water aquarium.
Now I have
a 10 gallon glass tank
hood with full spectrum florescent lamp
a penguin 100 filter (with BIO-wheel; rated at 100GPH)
a Whisper heater (50W)
an air pump and air stone (sort of medium sized)
gravel substrate
The water quality around here tends to be kind of hard, with fairly basic pH. I treat it so its around 7.4. I don't treat it for hardness. I keep the water at about 77 F or so.
So before the bio-cycle broke down I decided to get a few fish. I got 2 Serpae Tetras. I got a free baby guppy along with the Serpaes because the guy that sold the fish to me didn't notice he had scooped the baby guppy into the bag as well. then a week later I got 5 Neon Tetras. Bad decision. The Serpae's turned out to be notorious fin nippers and within about 3 weeks all but one of my Neons were dead. I've never heard of an aggressive Tetra, but oh well. I took the Serpaes out and gave 'em to a friend of mine.
So with only the one Neon in there and the guppy (which, by the way, has grown and I'm liking it more and more), I decided to get some more fish... so I got 5 Red wagtail Platys. They seem to be doing well with the Neon and the guppy. They get along well. They're a bit more active than the Neon and the guppy, but they're not aggressive.
I also have two live plants in there, both are bunched Bacopas. I've had them since I got the Serpaes (about 2 months ago) and they seem to be doing very well.
I plan to replace the 4 Neons that died eventually. I think I'll be ok because the filter is rated to be sufficient for a 20 gallon tank.
I have pictures, if anyone is interested. It looks decent.
I really wish I had the money for a 30-50 gallon tank and accessories.
anyone have any comments?
So I decided to turn it into a warm water aquarium.
Now I have
a 10 gallon glass tank
hood with full spectrum florescent lamp
a penguin 100 filter (with BIO-wheel; rated at 100GPH)
a Whisper heater (50W)
an air pump and air stone (sort of medium sized)
gravel substrate
The water quality around here tends to be kind of hard, with fairly basic pH. I treat it so its around 7.4. I don't treat it for hardness. I keep the water at about 77 F or so.
So before the bio-cycle broke down I decided to get a few fish. I got 2 Serpae Tetras. I got a free baby guppy along with the Serpaes because the guy that sold the fish to me didn't notice he had scooped the baby guppy into the bag as well. then a week later I got 5 Neon Tetras. Bad decision. The Serpae's turned out to be notorious fin nippers and within about 3 weeks all but one of my Neons were dead. I've never heard of an aggressive Tetra, but oh well. I took the Serpaes out and gave 'em to a friend of mine.
So with only the one Neon in there and the guppy (which, by the way, has grown and I'm liking it more and more), I decided to get some more fish... so I got 5 Red wagtail Platys. They seem to be doing well with the Neon and the guppy. They get along well. They're a bit more active than the Neon and the guppy, but they're not aggressive.
I also have two live plants in there, both are bunched Bacopas. I've had them since I got the Serpaes (about 2 months ago) and they seem to be doing very well.
I plan to replace the 4 Neons that died eventually. I think I'll be ok because the filter is rated to be sufficient for a 20 gallon tank.
I have pictures, if anyone is interested. It looks decent.
I really wish I had the money for a 30-50 gallon tank and accessories.
anyone have any comments?