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Adding New Fish

3K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  Marco 
#1 ·
Hello, I just started a freshwater aquarium about 2 weeks ago and I have added some fish. I added 2/3 of the total fish I want in the aquarium.
The fish that I have in my aquarium are:

- 1 Dwarf Honey Gourami
- 2 Red Wagtail Platys
- 1 Pineapple Swordtail

They are all in a 10 gallon aquarium with plastic plants and seem to be getting along nicely. I Wanted to add 1 or 2 more fish to the aquarium. I have come to this site to ask this question. Should I add 1 or 2 more fish or is it good the way it is? Unfortunately, I do not have a digital camera so bear with me.

Here are the pictures of what they look like (note, these are not my fish):


Dwarf Honey gourami:

Platy:

Pineapple swordtail:
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to Fishforum.com, Marco.:wave:

Has your tank cycled? If you haven't, don't add any more fish. Monitor your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH using API liquid test kit. At the moment, your ammonia and nitrites will spike and both are quite toxic to the fish. If your results show the presence of ammonia and nitrites, do partial water changes immediately. You want zero ammonia and nitrites in the end with nitrates not exceeding 40 ppm.
 
#4 ·
What sexes are your platies? Best recommended sex ratio is one male to 2-3 females. Replace the swordtail with another platy. Swordtails can grow rather big and a 10 gallons does not have enough space. If there is enough algae, try otocinclus catfish although they can be sensitive to water conditions.
 
#5 ·
If you want more fish I'd recommend a bigger tank. In a 10 gallon you'll have to be careful and monitor parameters closely; they can change rather easily.

Also I'd wait at least a few weeks before adding fish to a tank that small. Especially since you're pushing the bio-load nearly to the limit.

Danios/Minnows/Rasboras might be a good addition. They're small, and hardy.
 
#6 ·
The Platys are both male. They haven't been fighting so It's alright. I chose both male because I don't want babies and all the platys are mixed at the store (I don't want to bring home a pregnant female).

According to the information on the swordtail I have, it said it can grow up to 3 inches and it is good in a 10 gallon tank (said Petsmart) the fish is smaller than my Platys actually. Also I can't really bring it back to the store for a refund, they took the receipt when I brought back one of my other fish because it died (probably due to the spike, but my Swordtail survived) so I'm pretty much stuck with it. It was also the only one there, and I question that it is even a swordtail because I see no sword and it's skin is see-through, so I'm wondering. And no there is not enough algae.
Anyways, thanks for helping me guys.
 
#8 ·
Marco said:
According to the information on the swordtail I have, it said it can grow up to 3 inches and it is good in a 10 gallon tank (said Petsmart) the fish is smaller than my Platys actually.
Petsmart has a reputation for misleading information. The swordtails grow much more than that. Anyone who can provide them excellent care managing to keep them alive for several years will be able to grow them far beyond 5 inches. One person whom my friend had introduced to me several years back showed me an 8 inches female swordtail which is about seven years of age.

Swordtails alone needed plenty of space to swim around which a ten gallons itself cannot provide. They are excellent jumpers as well.
 
#9 ·
Hmm. Well I can't really do anything without a receipt... so... umm... yeah I'm stumped. What should I do? Should I wait until he gets to big and give it too somebody? Or what?
 
#10 ·
Marco said:
Hmm. Well I can't really do anything without a receipt... so... umm... yeah I'm stumped. What should I do? Should I wait until he gets to big and give it too somebody? Or what?
Either get a bigger and longer tank or give it to somebody else who can take care of it.:)
 
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