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I was thinking of getting a few fish for my ten gallon

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  JohnnyD44 
#1 ·
I have an empty ten gallon tank and I would like to fill it with life. My ideas were to add 1 platy and 6 neon tetras. First off anyone who knows the around price please share it with me, I haven't been able to visit the pet store lately. For these fish the temperature should be 68 - 77 F, which is okay because I have a heater. I will need to get testers for pH and hardness but that shouldn't be hard. Can you get testers at Walmart, because my money is mostly for there, if not I will have to save up more?

This was recommended with that site that tells you most things you should look for, it helped a lot because normally when I look for fish types it takes hours to find fish that are compatible not to mention water type and stuff which is another thing that takes hours if your as unskilled with fish as me.

Recommended temperature range: 68 - 77 F.
Recommended pH range: 5.5 - 7.6.
Recommended hardness range: 1 - 15 dH.

Your aquarium filtration capacity is satisfactory.

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 105%.
Recommended water change schedule: 18% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 73%.

Recommended fish: 1 x Platy, 6 x Neon Tetra

Tank information.

~ A 10 US Gallon aquarium.
~ 3 Fake Plants
~ A Stick to swim under
~ Castle
~ 10 Gallon Tetra Whisper Filter
~ Heater

Anyone with any help, or things I should know please tell me. I now understand fully the cycling thing so that's off the list. After reading that link I understood fully about cycling, it seemed so hard on wiki. Thanksa guys you are awesome people and you have great tanks!

But I have to ask my father if I can do this, I'm sure if he's happy after a week I will be allowed now to behave. :]
 
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#2 ·
I'm not sure that Wal-Mart carries them, but a good liquid test kit is really a vital tool. They can be pretty expensive in stores but if you can buy them online you'll end up saving a lot of money. I prefer the API Freshwater Master Test Kit as it's pretty easy to use and fairly accurate.

I also strongly encourage you to do a fishless cycle as it's much easier and less stressful than cycling with fish and doesn't put your fish through the stressful experience of living in toxic water until the cycle is complete (something that's stressful at best and fatal at worst). Having the liquid test kit will let you monitor the progress of the cycle.

The test kit comes with a test for pH but not for hardness, so for that I would just take a sample of your water to get tested by the LFS (local fish store).

As for your fish selection: it's always easier to stock your fish around what you've got instead of messing with your water parameters to suit the fish you want. That said, neons prefer soft, acidic water while platies prefer harder water. They really shouldn't be kept together for this reason. Depending on the outcome of your pH and hardness tests, I'd plan a new stocking list around those parameters.

Sounds like you're off to a good start!
 
#5 ·
I'm not sure that Wal-Mart carries them, but a good liquid test kit is really a vital tool.
+1 on all you said and FYI.....you can ship it free site to store ;-) Walmart.com: Freshwater Master Test Kit: Fish

Pers I think if you can't afford some $15-20 for a test kit that's literally life safer to fish you shouldn't start the hobby (as fish and equipment will run you much more exp then that)
 
#4 ·
The only thing I would like to add is the sooner you get the tank setup and running, the sooner the cycle will complete and it will be ready for fish. One of the hardest things with setting up a new tank is waiting for it to cycle, alot of the time causing newcomers to jump the gun at the cost of a fish(s) life.
 
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