I'm gonna be in my dorm so I have a 10 g tank. Gravel w/ undergravel filter. It'll be stocked with a Red Tailed Shark, a Black and Gold African Cichlid (electric yellow). Prolly 2-3 Barb's and prolly 1-2 pleco's. Haven't gotten the fish yet b/c I have to do the cycle.
Completely new so not really sure how to do the cycle thing and going about it. I'm going to purchase the fish after the aquarium is ready for them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
ouch, very bad choice of fish. First of all im not sure if those fish get along with each other, second of all, a 10 gallon tank isnt big enough for them. I would suggest you sticking to begginer small fish like danios or platies.
Have you already got an udergravel filter? If you dont i suggest you not get it. A good begginer filter is a power filter with a bio-wheel. You can get these for around 20 dollars at your local pet store. Even if you already have an undergravel filter, you should still get a power filter.
Ah so youve chosen to do a fishless cycle, GREAT! The best way to do this is to go and get 100% pure ammonia with no added ingredients like fragrances etc and add 3-4 drops of it to your tank daily. Keep doing this until cyclings over
the fish each max out @ 4 in I was told. I could be lied to by my lfs not sure what that is yet but the forum uses this abbrv quite a bit. both fish max out @ 4 in and one pleco. i have the undergravel filter already but im going to be using that and the power filter. The 100 % ammon comes in a bottle i'm guessing would that be similar to the chlorine remover bottles that have aloe vera? How long would cycling take? Thank you for the response and time.
Do not get the red-tailed shark! I had one in a 20 gallon tank and found it was a big pain within a few months -- grows fast and torments other fish. Cichlids generally are not good options for a 10 gallon tank either (the cichlid you mention requires a much larger tank), and even barbs would do better with at least 20 gallons.
What type of pleco? Only one bristlenose or butterfly or other small pleco will do.
I would recommend going with tetras, platies or danios. There may be some smaller barb species that would be okay, but I'm not sure. Guppies would also be good. Keep in mind a general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water.
i was going to go w/ a small pleco that doesn't grow big what so ever. Any suggestion on a small pleco to get? I liked the color of the African Cichlid the black and gold b/c of the color of the fish. Any suggestion on a non community fish which looks great? Not looking for quantity but more quality. Thank you for the advice.
Tank too small. A 29g would be the absolute smallest tank for your choice of fish. You may want to reconsider your choice of fish. Sharks and cichlids can be rather pugnacious and bullish. I think that if I were setting up a 10g tank and were new to the game(my god, I'm have a retro moment here), I would start with inexpensive "starter fish", ei danios, lemon and silver-tip tetras, and other "schooling" fishes. For scavengers I would use cories, plecos; something "bullet" proof. I realize that you may have a notion to buy other, more exotic fish, but take advantage of the experience and enjoy the learning curve.
Definitely not the butterfly which is actually a hillstream loach. Hillstreams have been greatly mistaken for plecos and are actually loaches, part of the Cyprinoformes.
Bad option IMO as they are prefer cooler waters whereas your other choices are tropicals. They also prefer currents and in a 10 gallons tank, the other tankmates may not be able to tolerate currents in a small compartment.
If you want this fish, get white clouds for tankmates and avoid the use of heaters.
I would recommend going with tetras, platies or danios. There may be some smaller barb species that would be okay, but I'm not sure. Guppies would also be good. Keep in mind a general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water.
Cherry barbs are good options for smaller species.
IMO, no plecs would fit in a 10 gallons unless you are prepared for more water changes and strong filtration. Plecs are big waste producers and in a 10 gallons tank, it is very tricky to handle the water parameters.
I have to agree with the zebra danio! I took musho's advice and they have worked out really really well so far! Cute little buggers, and very entertaining to watch Oh yeah, and the best part is how hardy they are! Also very cheap. Mine were 99 cents each. How can you go wrong with all that?
i have started the cycling process and I am wondering if I need to do anything. I added the tap water chlorine remover thing. The bacterial thing. All from my lfs. Do I need to remove water then replenish or keep adding something? Do I add more chlorine remover or bacterial thing daily till the last day? Please Help.
i have started the cycling process and I am wondering if I need to do anything. I added the tap water chlorine remover thing. The bacterial thing. All from my lfs. Do I need to remove water then replenish or keep adding something? Do I add more chlorine remover or bacterial thing daily till the last day? Please Help.
Don't add any more chemicals. Try to seed the tank with one of your lfs' established filter media so there will be enough bacteria to convert ammonia into nitrites. This is faster than not trying to seed the tank at all.
In the end, you will want zero ammonia and nitrites with detectable level of nitrates. Your nitrates will be at its dangerous level(exceeding 40 ppm) in the end so a large water change should dilute the high level of nitrates. Maintain your nitrate level below 40. Excessive levels can inhibit your fish's growth and even kill them.
If it is a fishless cycle you will not need to change the water. You only need to use chlorine remover to new tap water, not all the time, and the bacteria starter once a week.
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